- Joined
- Apr 9, 2009
- Messages
- 41,401
- Reaction score
- 5,706
- Location
- Iowa
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
If you're modifying the document, wouldn't it be more like using it for inspiration? Or, a 'derivative work' at the worst.The problem with Googling documents is that it's technically stealing like using someone else's photo without permission.
I don't know how similar copyright law is when it comes to derivative works between documents and photos though... It may or may not be an issue.
From page 1 of http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
Section 106
of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive
right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
• reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords
• prepare derivative works based upon the work
Many things cannot be copyrighted, also from Circular 1 - linked to above:
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for
federal copyright protection. These include among others:
• works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of
expression (for example, choreographic works that have
not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches
or performances that have not been written or recorded)
• titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols
or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation,
lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
• ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts,
principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a
description, explanation, or illustration
• works consisting entirely of information that is common
property and containing no original authorship (for
example: standard calendars, height and weight charts,
tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from
public documents or other common sources)
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