The subject of the photograph generally has nothing to do with the ownership of the copyright in the photograph. Even if a person hires a photographer to take pictures of a wedding, for example, the photographer will own the copyright in the photographs unless the copyright in the photographs is transferred, in writing and signed by the copyright owner, to another person. The owner of the “work†is generally the photographer or, in certain situations, the employer of the photographer. In the case of photographs, it is sometimes difficult to determine who owns the copyright and there may be little or no information about the owner on individual copies. The policy established by a shop is a business decision and risk assessment that the business is entitled to make, because the business may face liability if they reproduce a work even if they did not know the work was copyrighted. These fears are not unreasonable, because copy shops have been sued for reproducing copyrighted works and have been required to pay substantial damages for infringing copyrighted works. Photocopying shops, photography stores and other photo developing stores are often reluctant to make reproductions of old photographs for fear of violating the copyright law and being sued. My local copying store will not make reproductions of old family photographs. However, in cases of doubt, the Copyright Office recommends that permission be obtained. There are circumstances under the fair use doctrine where a quote or a sample may be used without permission. If you use a copyrighted work without authorization, the owner may be entitled to bring an infringement action against you. See FL 102, Fair Use, and Circular 21, Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians.Ĭould I be sued for using somebody else's work? How about quotes or samples? Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. How much of someone else's work can I use without getting permission? For further information, see Circular 22, How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work, and Circular 23, Copyright Card Catalog and the Online File. Copyright registrations made and documents recorded from 1978 to date are available for searching online. There is no fee if you conduct a search in person at the Copyright Office. Upon request, our staff will search our records at the statutory rate of $150 for each hour. A search of registrations, renewals, and recorded transfers of ownership made before 1978 requires a manual search of our files. We can provide you with the information available in our records. If you are not certain about the ownership or have other related questions, you may wish to request that the Copyright Office conduct a search of its records or you may search yourself. If you know who the copyright owner is, you may contact the owner directly. How do I get permission to use somebody else's work?
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