›

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register

Copyright versus Copyright Free.

UnknownDreamlandUnknownDreamland
edited April 2009 in Artist Alley
<span style="font-size:75">Another topic taken from another game, that I thought nonetheless would be helpful. The writer gave her permission and can be found <a href="http://www.pixpixypixelface.deviantart.com"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">here</a>.</span><br><br><br>"<span style="text-decoration:underline">Copyright vs. Copyright Free Images Guide</span><br>by Pix c:<br><br><span style="font-weight:bold">Copyright!? What is this strange concept!?!</span><br>Copyright lasts 70 years after the maker's death and you can assume a copyright is in place unless it is stated somewhere by the person who took/drew/produced the work. This means you may not edit it, use it in a manip or image, post it on another website (links are ok), use it as a reference etc. <br><br>Ideas can not be copyright. For example if someone had an idea of a story about a girl eating pie or an idea of an image of an ant carrying a leaf someone else can make an image "stealing your idea" but it does not mean it is copyright. It must be in place physically for an amount of time, no matter how brief, for it to be copyright.<br><br>This also applies to poses and art styles. You can not copyright a pose or style because technically its an idea.. This is unless the style has made a lot of money and become a hallmark. It must be extremely stylized and recognizable. This is a touchy issue and a lot of people debate on it, but unfortunately unless you take it to court your style probably isn't protected. <br><br><span style="font-weight:bold">What is "fair use"?</span><br>Fair use is a concept of using an image/work etc. for purposes of commentary and criticism. Its very complicated and doesn't really apply to manip making exactly so I wouldn't worry about it. I thought I'd put it in here because people keep asking me what it is. The fair use law forces the judge to consider four basic factors when a copyright infringement occurs none of which you need to know unless you have already stolen something and are being sued. Look it up if your curious. <br><br><span style="font-weight:bold">What does "royalty-free" mean?</span><br>It means the image is not free, but the buyer may use the image multiple times and not be continuously charged every time. A good example is a logo.<br><br><span style="font-weight:bold">What are "watermarks"?</span><br>Watermarks are put in place to keep the work safe and let people know it is copyright. You may not remove a watermark and assume it is then yours. <br><br><span style="font-weight:bold">What is a Creative Commons license?</span><br>An image with a Creative Commons license is not the same thing as a copyright-free image. Creative Commons lets the photographer retain the copyright while allowing certain exceptions and permissions. This means the person is saying "use my image but only like this". So it is important to pay attention to what the person specifically says when he or she uses Creative Commons.<br><br><span style="font-weight:bold">How can I tell whether an image is copyright-free?</span><br>- Check for a Creative Commons license and its terms.<br>- Check for a free for "non-commercial and personal" or "free for commercial and personal use" tag. If the image is non-commercial you may not sell it for personal gain. <br>- Check the bottom of the page for a (c) or a copyright, all rights reserved or a statement that says 'copyright, please do not use' etc. <br><br><span style="font-weight:bold">Where can I get stock images for my manips?</span><br><a href="http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/graphicsblog/2007/09/16/huge-list-of-free-stock-photos-on-the-net/"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">Here</a> is a giant list. Pay attention to the instructions for each website. I recommend <a href="http://search.creativecommons.org/"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">this one</a> as the easiest to use. Make sure they are free for commercial use if you are going to sell the manipulations. <br><br>Places to be careful of are deviantart, photobucket, flickr, google, or any other major image hosting/searching type website, unless you use the Creative Commons search I just mentioned to search through them. Deviantart has an option to search for only stock photos, but a lot of people see a photo and think its free so they steal it. Same thing with flickr. Google images, photobucket, imagebucket, tinypic etc. are all copyright unless you find a statement that says otherwise. So <span style="text-decoration:underline"><span style="font-style:italic">no google image searching</span></span> please. I have seen and reported so many people lately.. -sigh-<br><br><span style="font-weight:bold">This is the law. It is the law set down by the man. Wanna hear it again?! It is the <span style="text-decoration:underline">law</span></span>. It is unlawful to use an image unless it says you can use it. If it doesn't say anything, you can't use it. If it says (c), you can't use it. You can't use it as a photo for your dogs. You can't edit it. You can't reference it. If it says not for commercial use, you can't sell it. If it says "credit me", you must credit the person. Most importantly, not under any circumstances can you claim something as your own.<br><br>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <br><br><br><span style="font-weight:bold">To Add:</span><br>- intellectual property - Such as strategies and ideas, when used in a corporate or money-making environment, are subject to some form of copyright."
2mhssbd.png

Comments

Sign In or Register to comment.