Images: Art, Photographs, Digital Images
 Visual
works of art (pictures
(digital or original), sculptures, or graphic works)
are protected under copyright law just as are
print works.
Works of art in any form raise
particular copyright issues. While fair use often allows
copying portions of works, an image is a complete work
in itself. As with other formats, there may also be
multiple copyright owners. The main difference that arises
frequently when discussing visual works of art and
Copyright Law comes from the fact that what educators are using in their
classrooms today are not the actual works, rather the
digital reproductions/photographs of the
original work.
For example, an art professor would not
show his students the actual David statue by
Michelangelo - rather he would show them a photo of it.
The David statue itself is no longer protected by
copyright law, but what about the photograph that the
art professor has chosen to display to his students?
And if this photograph is protected by copyright law, is
the professor legally allowed to show it to his students?
If the work is safely considered an "art
reproduction", then yes, the photograph is not a
new original work of art in it's own right, and
does not therefore fall under copyright law. However, if enough artistic merit and
ingenuity has been placed into creating the
photograph (and courts have decided that skill,
creativity, or just plain accidental
circumstances frequently result in a new
artistic work) then the new photograph of the
old public-domain work does indeed fall under
copyright law.
The complications of identifying and securing
appropriate rights to copy and display images are one
reason that Blackwell Library and the Fulton School of
Liberal Arts are partnering to bring the ArtStor
image database to campus. ArtStor secured permissions
for educational uses of its almost 500,000 images
with the capability to zoom into rich details rather
than view thumbnails only. Not an art but an
image database, the images cover many disciplines
including women's history, Native American history,
Asian art, classical studies, medical drawings, Buddhist
cave paintings, architecture, photographs and a wealth
of other images within a restricted usage environment
that balances the rights of content providers with the
needs and interests of content users. ArtStor allows:
students and other users to create their own image folders faculty to create groups of images and add images of their own and make them accessible to students scholars to download and use at no cost high-resolution images for scholarly publications
For more information contact Stephen
Ford, Information Literacy Librarian:
saford@salisbury.edu
For Student Multimedia Projects:
Conservative guidelines allow use of
one entire photograph/illustration, no more than five images by an artist, and when taken from a published work,
no more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, if the project is created for a specific course and is shown
in the course and/or is incorporated in a portfolio for later personal uses (job interviews, graduate
school applications).
For Faculty Multimedia Projects:
Conservative, but not legally binding,
guidelines allow use of one entire photograph/illustration, no more than
five images by an artist, and when taken from a published work, no
more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, for up to two years before obtaining permission for teaching,
if:
the project is a teaching tool for face-to-face, online classes and directed studies students are advised that they cannot copy presentations online sessions are limited to students enrolled in sessions online sessions use technology to prevent copying or in its absence faculty post
projects for 15 days after their initial real-time or assigned use followed by access to a
copy in the library or similar location for on-site use only
Although the process of securing
permissions should begin immediately if the multimedia teaching tool will be used for
more than two years, other uses do not have the same prescribed time limits: use in
presentations at workshops and conferences and in personal portfolios (tenure reviews, job applications).
one copy of a chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book,
periodical, or newspaper at the request of a teacher for research or use in teaching
or preparation to teach a class, or multiple copies not to exceed
more than one copy per pupil in a course at the request of
or by a teacher giving the course for classroom use or discussion if each
copy made includes a notice of copyright, is for a
single course during an academic term, and insufficient time
existed to secure permission.
Digitizing Images (Slide Collections) for Educational Use
Although the Conference on Fair Use didn't reach
consensus about creating and using digital images for
education, they provide some
direction. Their guidelines apply only to:
lawfully obtained copyrighted analog
images (pre-existing and newly acquired analog
visual image collections) educators, scholars, students,
librarians and curators engaged in instruction,
research or scholarly activities at educational
institutions (non-profit) for educational
(non-commercial) purposes
The
guidelines permit institutions to:
digitize existing image collections
images (typically slide collections), use images for
a period of seven years during which time making
reasonable inquiry to obtain permissions. After
seven years, apply fair use factors for longer term use. digitize newly acquired collections
if images aren't available to purchase or license at
a reasonable price in digital format create thumbnail images only display through a secure network with notices that images should not be downloaded,
copies, retained, shared, modified or used in other ways create compilations of images for courses if access is limited to students in the course limit the use of newly acquired digitized analog images to one semester, seek
permissions during that semester and thereafter apply fair use factors for longer term use. If the
rights owner is unknown, images may be used for three years from first use provided reasonable
inquiry is made.
The guidelines permit faculty and students to:
display images in lectures, presentations and non-commercial workshops and conferences use images in course assignments in fulfillment of degree requirements display their work in courses in which they are enrolled retain work in personal portfolios for later uses: graduate school, employment
The guidelines do not address the use of images in publications.
Information Resources
Several web sites list public domain images (no longer protected by copyright and able
to be used freely without requesting permission).
The Center for Social Media at American University provides an array of information: documentary
filmmaker's interpretations of fair use, fair use scenarios, and opportunities to blog:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/. Public Domain Movies and Film provides readily
available films for downloading, copying, and performing.
The bottom line when dealing with digital images - follow the same rules as
you would when dealing with printed/written works and you will be on the right side of the law.
|
