Rules... rules... rules... how to make sure you don't break copyright laws can be very perplexing!
As I listened to the 10 myths video and the copyright basics that Joe Bustillos provided, the issue about how long a copyright lasts (lifetime+70 years for an author and 100 years for a company) triggered more questions that needed further investigation. I started thinking about all of the various pieces of fine art as well as illuminated manuscripts, and music that might fall outside of this guideline. For example, what about music written before 1900 such as: Bach to Brahms (ca. 1700-1900) or the use of a Requiem or chamber music for background music in a video for education? Or how about the masterpieces created by Donatello (1386-1466), Michelangelo (1475-1564), and da Vinci (1452-1519) all who died before 1900? Then there are the logo designs and the very beginnings of branding from the 1700 and 1800s such as family genealogy coats of arms or the coca-color script used for the logo/branding by John Pemberton in 1886 (Bellis); would these still fall into the category of copyright if one wanted to use those works to create something new for another purpose. Would we still have to gain permission from family members because the original copyright holder was no longer living, to use these items? And what about literature and a variety of authors such as TS Eliot, Virginia Woolf’s essays, or Shakespeare (circa 1558-1939)?
As a graphic designer and visual communication instructor, students are always asking if they can use images, text, or fonts that have been created by others as part of their design work for various projects. In the past I have always said no unless they could get permission to use the images but that they would have to incorporate the original work in such a way as to significantly change it so that it became another original work created by them. In that way they would use the original work as an example of a style or thematic application upon which to build their own original designs. So, now this issue of time constraints raises another question in how to deal with copyrighted materials.
The information that was given on copyright basics was great! But if we are to adhere to copyright law, could we use the video to show our students by simply getting Joe’s permission to use the footage, or would we also have to get permission from Brad Templeton?
Bellis, M. (no date). The inventor’s guide: The history of Coca-Cola. Retrieved 3/29/11 from: http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/coca_cola.htm
Kathy,
ReplyDeleteI agree! The more I learn about copyright issues, the more questions I seem to have. You made a great point about the art that was made before copyright law came into existence. Is that protected by copyright law automatically? Does Michelangelo's family receive requests to use his art? Do they receive royalty checks in the mail?
The question that I want to focus on is how are we to use copyright? Can we use pictures or logos that we see on the web, if it's for educational purposes? I would rather be safe than sorry. There are great websites which offer pictures to use for educational purposes.
Excellent questions. Beginning from the end, I guess I need to be much more explicit that my work is licensed under Creative Commons/attribution/non-commercial/share-alike. But the things I've created for FullSail are all-rights-reserved by FullSail. So, here's a perfect example of the huge grey ocean that is copyright. Strictly speaking you can use the individual components and create your own version of what I've shared (just as I did from the versions that I've based my unit on). Copying and pasting for more than your own records, however, will probably irritate some lawyer somewhere. Generally for me, I'm happy just for the attribution and spreading the information is most important. At the same time if someone turns one of my ideas into something with large financial rewards, I'd be more than willing to participate in some rev-share of the income, so to speak. :-)
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