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Image Copyrights?

by art72
9 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
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Is it true if you alter, resize, or change a feature of an image in Photoshop it removes copyright infringement?

I'm not talking about images of people, just graphics and landscapes, etc...

Thanks.

Art
#copyrights #image
  • Profile picture of the author Mr Bill
    No, it is not. That's a myth. Google it.
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    I have no idea where you got that idea.

    That's like asking if you can rip off a best selling book and claiming it as your own if you change the title of the book.
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    • Profile picture of the author ConfusedJ
      There are plenty of places out there to get free, legal stock photography, although the quality seems to be dodgy. One thing I can tell you is that if you do use pirated (for lack of a better word) images, do not use anything from Getty Images (including iStock), as Getty is known to use legal tactics so extreme and unfair that some have called them unethical. Read more here.
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      • Profile picture of the author cbpayne
        Originally Posted by ConfusedJ View Post

        as Getty is known to use legal tactics so extreme and unfair that some have called them unethical.
        What is extreme and unfair about it? If you are gulity of stealing someones property, don't you want to get back at those who stole from you? Getty would not act the way they do unless you steal from them. Thieves get what they deserve.
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        • Profile picture of the author ConfusedJ
          Originally Posted by cbpayne View Post

          What is extreme and unfair about it? If you are gulity of stealing someones property, don't you want to get back at those who stole from you? Getty would not act the way they do unless you steal from them. Thieves get what they deserve.
          Suing people for several thousands dollars for using an image worth under one hundred dollars extreme.
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          • Profile picture of the author elviira
            Originally Posted by ConfusedJ View Post

            Suing people for several thousands dollars for using an image worth under one hundred dollars extreme.
            Ouch, that almost sounds like you think stealing "worthless" pics is okay...

            As photographer I get mad (= take legal actions) if I notice people have stolen my pics. Even I do watermark my pics, somebody can be an ***hole and remove those. There is no way to secure pics properly... Is there?
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            • Profile picture of the author ConfusedJ
              Originally Posted by elviira View Post

              Ouch, that almost sounds like you think stealing "worthless" pics is okay...

              As photographer I get mad (= take legal actions) if I notice people have stolen my pics. Even I do watermark my pics, somebody can be an ***hole and remove those. There is no way to secure pics properly... Is there?
              I don't think stealing is okay, but I don't think absurd lawsuits are, either. Trying to take thousands of dollars off of somebody for the unlicensed usage of a simple image is, in my opinion, a much bigger form of theft.

              Speaking of Getty...

              Haitian Photographer Wins Major U.S. Copyright Victory - NYTimes.com

              Originally Posted by New York Times

              Photographers have struggled financially over the last decade as millions of images have been taken and published on the Web without proper attribution or compensation. And when photographers try to pursue copyright violators, it is often difficult and expensive. On Friday, the Haitian photographer Daniel Morel won a major copyright victory after a four-year fight over images he had originally sent out via social media.

              A Manhattan jury found that Agence France-Presse and its American distributor Getty Images willfully infringed upon Mr. Morel’s copyright of eight pictures he took of the 2010 Haiti earthquake and awarded him $1.22 million.
              There's more at the link.
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    • Profile picture of the author art72
      Originally Posted by Mr Bill View Post

      No, it is not. That's a myth. Google it.
      Actually, I had always just assumed it was illegal, and I did Google it after posting here, proving my assumptions were correct.

      Originally Posted by UMS View Post

      I have no idea where you got that idea.

      That's like asking if you can rip off a best selling book and claiming it as your own if you change the title of the book.
      The idea wasn't an idea actually, it was a statement made by someone who was showing me their Photoshop skills (*which far surpasses mine, lol) and he was telling me that if you alter, resize, or change the image in some significant way - it removes copyright.

      (*Obviously, him having heard this in his 'college' courses, was a lie!, - I needed to know.)

      And as an artist, and a writer, and maybe one day a photographer too, I'd never knowingly rip off anybody's anything.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr Bill
    It sounds silly and you're right to have been wary of his claims...

    Can't I take an image and change it to make it mine?


    No. Because one of the exclusive rights granted under copyright is the individual right of the copyright owner to create derivative works from their original copyrighted material.

    Modifying or altering an image is infringing upon the copyright owner's rights unless expressed permission is granted or the modification falls under fair use (which is highly unlikely).

    In a few court cases, a modified image was not considered infringement because the original image was no longer recognizable due to the extent and variety of the alterations.

    Altering or modifying published works is strongly not recommended because most artists, writers, musicians, photographers, etc., can recognize their own work even through modifications.

    Many people believe the "myth" that if they change an existing image a percentage (10%, 30%, etc.), then they can legally use the image. Be advised: that is not the law.
    R.I.G.H.T.S.
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