Re: [CR]Copyright in This Digital Era

(Example: Framebuilders:Cecil Behringer)

In-Reply-To: <000b01c5a42f$f82acd60$6501a8c0@Velostuf>
References: <000b01c5a42f$f82acd60$6501a8c0@Velostuf>
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 16:20:49 -0400
To: "john barron- velostuf" <jb@velostuf.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "Sheldon Brown" <CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Copyright in This Digital Era


>Cousin Dale wrote:
>
>>Mark, thanks a million for your generosity and time taken to supply
>>these resources to all of us FOR FREE and at no benefit to yourself!!
>
>>Maybe it would be a good idea to give acknowledgement to the sources
>>whenever possible, but images on the web especially those on eBay
>>auctions, are acknowledged by all reasonable folk to be in common play
>>and unless personal profit is being made from their "theft", it is
>>totally kosher...

John Barron responded:
>Actually Dale, just because an image is on the Web, doesn't mean
>that it's OK to download it, post it elsewhere, share it, etc. In
>the same way that hardcopy/printed works are protected, so are those
>works when digitized. It's not a matter of who is reasonable... I
>have been working indirectly with copyright issues for the last 17
>years, and while they remain gray and generally confusing, I can
>with certainty that everyone should be thoughtful and maybe careful
>about how they use images acquired from the Web. I won't go into the
>Fair Use statutes here, but images on the Web are *not* necessarily
>public domain.
>
>Finally, it isn't just a matter of whether the poster is in it for
>profit, but whether the owner of the image is in it for profit. My
>Velostuf business is NOT a money maker. I do it for fun, and to
>share the knowledge. If I *were* in it to earn my living, I would be
>aggravated if someone posted my images without permission and
>offered them for free to all takers.
>
>There are professional photographers on this list who may be able to
>shed some light on the issue of images being shared on the internet.

My feeling is that manufacturers' printed advertising materials, catalogues, brochures and the like are generally OK within the spirit, if not the letter of the law. While they're current, they constitute free advertising for the originator, and once they're obsolete, I can't imagine that any manufacturer would mind them being reproduced for free distribution to the general public.

It is in this spirit that I reproduce such materials on my Websites.

Photos taken by individuals, whether for eBay sales or other uses, however, do remain the property of their creator, and should not be reproduced without permission.

Sheldon "Gray Areas" Brown Newtonville, Massachusetts +--------------------------------------------------+ | The less you bet, the more you lose if you win | | --Alan Rudolph (_Trixie_) | +--------------------------------------------------+ --
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