There's an interesting report by Margo Blythman and others on 'visual plagiarism' at http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/documents/blythman_casestudy.pdf
It doesn't address the legal copyright situation as such as the main focus is how to help art and design students think through some of these underlying issues in relation to creative influences - where do you draw the line, what level of 'borrowing' and repurposing of existing cultural artefacts is acceptable etc - but may be of interest to some list members.
Best wishes
Pauline
---------
Pauline Ridley
Visual Practices Coordinator, LearnHigher/ Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE)
Centre for Learning & Teaching, Mayfield House, Falmer Campus, University of Brighton
Email [log in to unmask]
CLT website; www.brighton.ac.uk/clt
Visual Practices: www.brighton.ac.uk/visuallearning
ALDinHE: www.aldinhe.ac.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: List for discussion of issues in museum education in the UK. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Helen Graham
Sent: 11 October 2011 18:10
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: copyright
Also pretty sure Jason's right - the copyright on the paintings will have expired. I would have also suggested that the only copyright issues relate to the image (probably held by the museum?). However, it could be that this does count as a derivative work and is therefore fair game. In any case it is probably the case that if she's changed the image enough, then it becomes a new piece of work with it's own copyright.
However.while there may be no significant copyright issues around the image itself there probably are 'moral rights' associated with attribution. This would mean the artist would need to fully acknowledge the original source for her new creation. She might also want to mention the museum which holds them (in the book at least, if not on the fabric) esp. if it was from their website that she found the image. (I may not be legally right about moral rights for art works - it does clearly stated in the 1988 Copyright, Patents and Design Act that adaptions to music or literary work requires attribution however art work doesn't seem to be specifically mentioned - however, I would have thought respecting this moral right would be the right thing to do).
But in any case, I'd reassure her - she's seen paintings held by a museum, which are being taken care of (I assume) with public money, in the form of an image taken and put on the web specifically (again, I assume) to increase public access and she's been inspired by them and been creative with them. I sincerely hope the museum which holds them is pleased. Even if she makes money from this I think this is great..the museum itself might want to make it's own form of hay from this by doing a feature on it's website (showing how it's public access approaches have enabled creative entrepreneurship) and maybe even selling the book/ fabric in it's shop.
Anyway, at Newcastle University we're just exploring these issues at the moment and are just starting now to develop a booklet using scenarios and dilemmas to help people think through how best to approach copyright and consent issues in their own institutions and projects. Locating issues of copyright within broader questions of public good and public value does seem to be key - if museums become very assertive about IP then there must be some danger of putting into question their public mission.
If any Gem listers out there have any other copyright or consent dilemmas, I'd be interested to hear about them. Here's our current, very underdeveloped website but more to come.
http://partnershipandparticipation.wordpress.com/
Helen
Helen Graham
Research Associate
International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies Newcastle University [log in to unmask] / 0191 2223858
Current project:
Intellectual Property and Informed Consent: Partnerships and Participation http://partnershipandparticipation.wordpress.com/
From: Jason <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Reply-To: Jason <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:52:09 +0100
To: "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Subject: Re: copyright
If the paintings are 150 years old, the copyright has expired. The only copyright could be on the photo of the painting. Here's some info I found.
"There may be two copyrights: copyright in the artistic work (for example, a painting) and copyright in the photograph of the artistic work). You will generally need permission from the owner of copyright in the artistic work unless the copyright has expired. It is unlikely you need permission in relation to the photograph, if the photograph depicts nothing but the artistic work and is indistinguishable from other photographs of the same work. Otherwise, you will generally need permission from the owner of copyright in the photograph.
In other words, when someone photographs a painting of Van Gogh in a museum, producing a picture that is indistinguishable from other photographs of the same work, this cannot be considered an original art creation: it is precisely requested that the photographer annihilate his own personality to only mirror the artist's own personality and reflect the artwork with maximum fidelity through the photograph. Thus, the photographer does not hold any copyright on the picture itself. "
"Works old enough to have lapsed copyrights are "in the public domain" and are no longer subject to any copyright protection. This includes the exclusive right to make copies and "derivative works" such as photographs of old masters. The copyright of derivative works is reserved to the copyright owner, which in this case is the public. Therefore, there is no copyright of photographs (or any other reproductions) of old masters -- they would also be in the public domain, with minor exceptions."
Thank You
Jason Hurley
Crumplezone Multimedia
01257 416596
<www.crumplezone.co.uk>
on 11/10/11 12:14, Claire Adler at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Many thanks to everyone for your responses. I have passed on the information and I think the artist is going to try the museums that hold the images so that she has at least tried to get copyright approval, as both images are about 150 years old.
Many thanks
Claire
Claire Adler
Heritage Learning Consultant
268 Cherry Hinton Road
Cambridge
CB1 7AU
E: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
T: 01223 411555
M: 07970671965
W: www.claireadler.co.uk
From: List for discussion of issues in museum education in the UK. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sally Fort
Sent: 11 October 2011 11:11
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: copyright
Very true, I think I was assuming she couldn't get hold of them and it was too late for that, but yes, good idea.
I think getting permission to use something in its intended form, is slightly different from using with without permission, adapting it then trying to pass it off as her own.
Sorry, not trying to scaremonger, it's just that I work with so many artists, crafts people and designers whose work has been used and profited from in the past couple of years without permission and I've seen first hand how upset it makes them feel that I feel especially passionate about it.
But Rebecca's response is a good option - maybe she could try all of those solutions and see which response / advice comes back soonest and which she feels happiest with. There may be several solutions and some may suit her better than others.
best of luck
Sally
Sally Fort
Consultant: cultural projects
www.sallyfort.com
<http://www.sallyfort.com/><http://www.sallyfort.com/>
________________________________
From: rebecca mileham <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, 11 October 2011, 10:53
Subject: Re: copyright
Best approach is probably to get in touch with the original owner (you don't say if it's an artwork, photo etc).
When I've been in touch with photographers asking if I can reuse their work in books etc it's always been OK - they take the photos in order for them to be seen!! The main thing is usually arranging a credit for them. It can thus work well for everyone.
best wishes
Rebecca.
On 11 October 2011 10:45, Sally Fort <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
Hi Claire (and anyone else this might be useful for)
Clearly the best answer is that she should withdraw it immediately, if she's worried enough to be concerned about the copyright issue then her instincts are probably valid. The repercussions once it is publicly available, especially if she's drawing income from it, could be far worse than the inconvenience of pulling it at this stage. The PR for whoever commissioned her could be at stake too - there has been a lot of this lately and even big companies like Tesco and Paperchase have had really bad press and had to pull product lines because of similar occurrences so she's right to be worried. A small organisation would have a lot to be worried about in the same situation.
However, having stated the obvious, there are companies she can turn to for advice such as DACS - http://www.dacs.org.uk/ and ACID http://acid.eu.com/
There are some fine details about copyright issues as you probably know, relating to who owns the copyright on the original (sometimes no-one does, in which case she might be OK). Also there are 'loopholes' - depending how many adaptations she's made, it might be seen to be different enough from the original that she can claim it to be her own. Also if the original was creative commons licensed she may also be ok - depending what sort of license it has.
Depending where she lives she might also be able to get advice from a local design development agency (I can probably let you know the nearest one if you want to email me off list to say which area she's in)
Hopefully for the future she knows now that as an artist / designer, creating wholly original work is much better practice, and will also help her carve her own niche which is a better business model for her to persue anyway. But in the meantime DACS and / or ACID should be able to help her work out what to do about this particular case.
Hope she finds a solution that sees her (and the original artist) happy about the outcomes.
All the best
Sally
Sally Fort
Consultant: cultural projects
www.sallyfort.com
<http://www.sallyfort.com/><http://www.sallyfort.com/>
________________________________
From: Claire Adler <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, 11 October 2011, 9:13
Subject: copyright
Dear All
I know this isn't entirely GEM related but I hope someone might be able to help me.
I am working with a young artist who has taken an image from a website, altered it and has made it her own to be included in a book and to sell on fabric. However she is now worried about infringements of copyright. Does anyone know what she should do about it?
Many thanks in advance
Claire
Claire Adler
Heritage Learning Consultant
268 Cherry Hinton Road
Cambridge
CB1 7AU
E: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
T: 01223 411555
M: 07970671965
W: www.claireadler.co.uk <http://www.claireadler.co.uk><http://www.claireadler.co.uk>
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