[Tagging] tagging awards and ratings

[Frederik Ramm]

Hi,

On 27.07.2012 00:28, Alan Mintz wrote:
>> At least in Germany, a photographer may not photograph anything in
>> public view and claim ownership; it is possible that photographing
>> e.g. a work of art and then using that photo requires consent from the
>> rights holder even though the object was in public view.
>
> I should have said "in the US", in which my statement is, I believe,
> correct.

This is explicitly about the US situation:

http://www.photosecrets.com/photography-law-permission-do-i-need-permission

Quote:

"Works of art — sculptures, paintings, and even toys — are protectable 
by copyright. Furthermore, buildings created on or after December 1, 
1990 are protected by copyright. A copyright owner has the exclusive 
right to reproduce a copyrighted work, and photographing a copyrighted 
work is considered a way of reproducing it. Thus, you may need 
permission to photograph a building or an art work."

The text goes on to say that there is a "photographer's exception" for 
buildings that allows you to photograph them from public ground, but 
this exception does not e.g. hold for statues or other works of art. For 
these, "fair use" would be your only excuse and this is "always subject 
to interpretation."

So if a hotel brandishes its Michelin rating and you photograph that, it 
must either be fair use or you'll need permission from the copyright 
owner of whatever is shown (not the hotel owner).

In cases where whatever is shown has been created by the federal US 
gov't you're of course in the clear and don't have to think about fair 
use or not.

Bye
Frederik

-- 
Frederik Ramm  ##  eMail frederik at remote.org  ##  N49°00'09" E008°23'33"