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QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places (Read 5478 times)
Tracie_152843
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QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Jun 2nd, 2011, 10:35pm
 
Does anyone know if it is legal to use a photograph you yourself took of a statue or other permanent piece of art found in a public place such as a park? And if so, do you put credit to the sculptor in the artist's notes? Any info would be much appreciated  Smiley
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Rosanne_132497
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #1 - Jun 2nd, 2011, 10:57pm
 
The short answer is "it depends". A good place to start for this sort of information is "Legal Pitfalls in Taking or Using Photographs of Copyright Material, Trademarks and People" from the World Intellectual Property Organization
 
http://www.wipo.int/sme/en/documents/ip_photography.htm
 
As a photographer myself, I do photograph modern public installations in parks if I find them attractive (as a tourist) but I never use the images for a commercial activity. It could infringe copyright. After all, it's not my art  Smiley .
 
If it's very old, you may well be OK, but you would have to check.
 
My two cents.
 
Cheers,
 
 
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Ramelle_149580
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #2 - Jun 2nd, 2011, 11:13pm
 
It's tricky. I had to delete a card that I made featuring a photo of the "Little Mermaid" statue in Copenhagen. The photo was free, in the public domain, and I altered it to make it an entirely new work of art, but the statue itself was copyrighted. How was I to know?
Watch out for landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Seattle's Space Needle, too.
Follow the same rules my mom taught me concerning questionable leftovers in your 'frige: "When in doubt, toss it out."  Wink
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Cathy_151407
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #3 - Jun 3rd, 2011, 5:25am
 
Thanks for the site, Rosanne!
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Tracie_152843
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #4 - Jun 3rd, 2011, 5:53am
 
Thanks everyone. That's what I was assuming, but the only info I found was for the UK. So thank you, Rosanne, for the link. Much appreciated  Smiley
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SunAtNight_145914
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #5 - Jun 3rd, 2011, 8:06am
 
There is a 2nd variable that wasn't discussed as you didn't mention what city or state. The location matters. Most city,county and state parks in California will not allow commercial photography without a photography permit. This is the same for all National Parks. Larger metro areas are employing the same process. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Ft. Worth, Dallas, Washington D.C. just to name a few. I've heard rumblings about New York, Chicago, Detroit, Maui and Honolulu.
 
The other topic that wasn't mentioned was the property release. This is similar to a model release only for property. Technically you'll need one of these signed by the property owner.  
 
This is standard photography industry business...which is to say that these forms are not required by GCU at this time for submissions. But it does protect you legally as a photographer.  
 
If you don't already have the property release in place or the permit I advise you to follow Ramelle's refrigerator rule. That's a good one!  Grin
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Tracie_152843
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #6 - Jun 3rd, 2011, 8:35am
 
Thank you, SunAtNight  Smiley Yep, I will follow the advice. Everyone here is so helpful and I have learned so much from you guys. You are all such a wealth of knowledge.
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Richard_154030
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #7 - Jul 15th, 2011, 11:41am
 
I recently did a card (833495) with an outlandish tower that I photographed towards the outskirts of Prague.It says New Condo when it couldn' possibly be. To settle the question of weather or not I could publish the image,
I phoned the Czech embassy for permission. They seemed intrigued by this question, a week later they said OK.
 
Richard Toglia
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Corrie_131338
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #8 - Jul 22nd, 2011, 10:37pm
 
The Eiffel Tower was mentioned... photos of the Eiffel Tower during the day are copyright free, at night, though, photos of the illuminations are restricted. See the official Eiffel Tower site for info:
 
http://www.eiffel-tower.com/the-eiffel-tower-image-and-brand/image-rights-the-ei ffel-tower-brand
 
Corrie
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Evelyn_142919
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #9 - Jul 29th, 2011, 4:35am
 
Hi Tracie,
The Statue of Liberty is free of copyright and ok for commercial use.  Not ok for commercial use: Crazy Horse Memorial (sculpture), any dinosaur museum, the Korean War Vets Memorial in D.C., the Sam Houston statue in TX, the swan boats in the Boston Pubic Garden, anything from Colonial Williamsburg, Rubik's Cube, the Slinky, Hershey's Kiss, and Peeps. Smiley Face submissions will be evaluated on a case by case basis. What really surprised me was learning that the Lone Cypress on the CA coast is unacceptable for commercial use.  Huh
~ Evie
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Lynn_150145
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #10 - Jul 29th, 2011, 7:13am
 
Quote from Evelyn_142919 on Jul 29th, 2011, 4:35am:
Hi Tracie,
The Statue of Liberty is free of copyright and ok for commercial use.  Not ok for commercial use: Crazy Horse Memorial (sculpture), any dinosaur museum, the Korean War Vets Memorial in D.C., the Sam Houston statue in TX, the swan boats in the Boston Pubic Garden, anything from Colonial Williamsburg, Rubik's Cube, the Slinky, Hershey's Kiss, and Peeps. Smiley Face submissions will be evaluated on a case by case basis. What really surprised me was learning that the Lone Cypress on the CA coast is unacceptable for commercial use.  Huh
~ Evie

 
Thanks for sharing Eve, great list to start with.  Interesting that the Lone Cypress is not okay - how did you uncover that one?  Also interesting because an artist is selling a stamp on Zazzle of the Lone Cyrpress.  
 
Lynn
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Tracie_152843
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #11 - Jul 29th, 2011, 7:16am
 
Thank you, Evelyn, for the info. It's much appreciated.  Smiley
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Evelyn_142919
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #12 - Jul 29th, 2011, 11:04pm
 
Tracie - you're very welcome.  Smiley
 
Lynn - yep, that was an eye opener.  Shocked  Here's the link to the site with the list of what's acceptable and what's not:
 
http://buzz.shutterstock.com/legal/stock-photo-restrictions
 
~ Evie
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Lynn_150145
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #13 - Jul 30th, 2011, 6:36am
 
Quote from Evelyn_142919 on Jul 29th, 2011, 11:04pm:
Tracie - you're very welcome.  Smiley

Lynn - yep, that was an eye opener.  Shocked  Here's the link to the site with the list of what's acceptable and what's not:

http://buzz.shutterstock.com/legal/stock-photo-restrictions

~ Evie

Great resource Eve, thanks so much for sharing!
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eric_154675
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #14 - Aug 3rd, 2011, 5:02pm
 
Quote from SunAtNight_145914 on Jun 3rd, 2011, 8:06am:
There is a 2nd variable that wasn't discussed as you didn't mention what city or state. The location matters. Most city,county and state parks in California will not allow commercial photography without a photography permit. This is the same for all National Parks. Larger metro areas are employing the same process. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Ft. Worth, Dallas, Washington D.C. just to name a few. I've heard rumblings about New York, Chicago, Detroit, Maui and Honolulu.

The other topic that wasn't mentioned was the property release. This is similar to a model release only for property. Technically you'll need one of these signed by the property owner.

This is standard photography industry business...which is to say that these forms are not required by GCU at this time for submissions. But it does protect you legally as a photographer.

If you don't already have the property release in place or the permit I advise you to follow Ramelle's refrigerator rule. That's a good one!  Grin

 
 
One needs to be careful of the difference between taking a picture for profit and doing "commercial photography"  As to National Parks here is a link the the whole set of rules
 
http://www.nps.gov/applications/digest/permits.cfm?urlarea=permits
 
The applicable text is
 
-----------
When is a permit needed?
 
All commercial filming activities taking place within a unit of the National Park system require a permit. Commercial filming includes capturing a moving image on film and video as well as sound recordings.  
 
Still photographers require a permit when  
 
1.      the activity takes place at location(s) where or when members of the public are generally not allowed; or
 
2.      the activity uses model(s), sets(s), or prop(s) that are not a part of the location’s natural or cultural resources or administrative facilities; or
 
3.      Park would incur additional administrative costs to monitor the activity.  
 
-------
 
The main reason for a permit is to cover activities that are out of the norm or that would inconvenience the public.  
 
Its always best to ask but from my experiences in DC the security folks do not always know the difference or know how to interpret the rules.  The most interesting situation I ran into was that you cannot use a "photographic aid" (e.g. tripod) on the grounds of the Capitol without a permit (same permit as is needed to stage a demonstration).  Also you are not allowed to use any photo taken on Capitol grounds for commercial purposes -- however if you are across the street your are good to go......
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Corrie_131338
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Re: QUESTION: Photograhy of Art in Public Places
Reply #15 - Aug 4th, 2011, 12:01am
 
All those interested in this topic (which is every photographer out there, I think):
 
Today on the GCU Community blog, we're running a guest blog from Sun at Night, who's written a very thoroughly researched and resources rich article on Photography in Public Spaces. I recommend everyone go read it now.  
 
Corrie
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