Legal issue

[mishele]

Are you allowed to take a picture of a famous person that is in a mag. or a news paper and use it? Sorry if this is a silly question. I was going to set up a shot but didnt know if it was legal or not.

Thanks
Michele

 

[Big Mike]

What do mean by 'use it'?

 

[tirediron]

If you mean taking a photograph of a photograph in a magazine, then, no, that would not be legal as you would be violating that magazine's copyright.

 

[SonnarSphere]

Are you allowed to take a picture of a famous person that is in a mag. or a news paper and use it?

just my unqualified opinion..

you mean like a scan, or a photocopy.. for personal NFP use/reference.
i guess that is maybe ok :-/? .. or do you mean a photo you can then claim as your
own intellectual property? this i would strongly doubt.

although..taking a picture of someone reading a newspaper with JFK or MLK on the
front page ..that's a debate that could be interesting to follow. who owns that?
the person shown is not defamed, and let's say you are not depriving them of
revenue...

 

[mishele]

"although..taking a picture of someone reading a newspaper with
JFK or MLK on the front page ..that's a debate the could be held."

This was more what I was looking at. It would be a news paper and someone holding a record. lol Without give away my complete idea is that legal? Both w/ a famous person on them.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Because someone shows up in a magazine does not mean you can take their picture and use it however you want.

Brad Pitt shows up in magazines regularly and you can take just about any picture of him and use them because he is a celebrity. Just don't sneak in to his bathroom and take a picture of him in the shower. You may make more money from the picture than you would spend on the lawsuit and damages but I doubt it.

Model X also shows up in magazines but unless model X is a super famous model, I wouldn't take model X's picture and publish it with no compensation to the model. After all, it is the way models make a living.

That was my answer to what I think is a badly asked question.

My serious answer: No.

Any image (photo or otherwise) in a magazine, newspaper, ad, etc, etc, is copyrighted. And to use it you would have to pay a usage fee.

There is only one way to use such an image for free: in a collage.

I cannot tell you what today's collages rules are (it's been too long) but they were based on the percentage of the original image used. Past a certain percentage (and it was not very big), it was not a collage.

You have two options: research today's collage rules very carefully or don't use someone else's image.

 

[manaheim]

People offering legal advice should be cautious about stating fact, especially if they are not attorneys.

Here is some info that may be of help:

Photographer's Legal Rights
Model Release Form
Court Case on Legality of Sale of Street Photography
Fair Use, Copyrights, Needing Permission

Be aware that internet sources are not necessarily valid and that laws vary from state to state and country to country.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

"although..taking a picture of someone reading a newspaper with
JFK or MLK on the front page ..that's a debate the could be held."

This was more what I was looking at. It would be a news paper and someone holding a record. lol Without give away my complete idea is that legal? Both w/ a famous person on them.

Actually, from what I remember, this is not debatable in the USA (where I live and mostly photograph.) Same rule applies as in the collage equation.

 

[SrBiscuit]

so you want a picture of michael jacksons death in the newspaper, and in the same shot, the album cover for thriller...

what's the application?

 

[mishele]

Wow!!! thanks for all the quick responses!! I think at this point I m going to bag the idea I had cause it was going to be for fun and its not worth the worries. But I am surprised that you cant take a picture of a newspaper. Or if I own a record that I cant take a picture of that either. Thanks again!!

 

[mishele]

LOL there was a little more to it then that but I was playing around w/ an idea.

 

[SonnarSphere]

Actually, from what I remember, this is not debatable in the USA (where I live and mostly photograph.) Same rule applies as in the collage equation.

that makes sense to me.

 

[manaheim]

Legalese aside, no one is going to sue you for printing something up for your mom or something. Just keep in mind what you're doing and try to be sensible about it.

NOTE: I AM NOT A LAWYER... taking my advice on legal issues would be stupid.

 

[mishele]

So for my mom yes but anything else no...lol

I have to read up!! I m not even that big of a fan........just a lot of emotion to work with. (that sounded cold, didnt mean it to)

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Come on, you're an artist. Don't give up so easily!

"it was going to be for fun" Meaning what? Art? If it is art you can get away with a little bit more. Not much but a little bit more.

The bigger question though is: can you re-work your idea to fit the "collage" rule?