[Clipart] Copyrighted material appearing on the website.

[Jarod Russel]

Here we already go with a good example. 
http://www.openclipart.org/detail/31843 and 
http://www.openclipart.org/detail/31567 shows an Audi A4 with the audi 
logo on it.


Am 16-Mar-10 03:47 AM, schrieb chovynz:
> You said it better than what I did. Haha! Thanks for clearing it up. :)
>
> Cheers
> Chovynz
>
>
> On 16/03/2010 2:27 a.m., Jason Simanek wrote:
>>
>> On 03/15/2010 12:53 AM, chovynz wrote:
>>> Conversally, I would say that clipart of copyrighted designs (in the
>>> physical) are ok. If we stuck to a hard line like "No clipart of a
>>> copyrighted/recognisable brand of car" then we would have no clipart
>>> whatsoever of any technology since everything is patented, and we would
>>> have no clipart of any people without their express consent (which in
>>> many cases is impossible to get). "Clipart" is different to "Designs".
>>
>> For the record, you don't want to confuse patents with copyrights. 
>> Patents, at least in the U.S., refer to unique solutions or methods 
>> to solve problems or tasks. Patents also have a very short lifespan. 
>> In the U.S. they are only intended to protect inventors so that they 
>> have a few years to market their original product without being 
>> undercut by larger existing companies/manufacturers. This isn't 
>> always the case due to the U.S. patent system having been... 
>> hijacked. But it is the actual reason for existence of patent 
>> protection.
>>
>> Copyright is much different. Copyrights in the U.S. applies to 
>> written text and pretty much anything remotely considered artistic. A 
>> copyright is protected for up to [I think] 60 years after the DEATH 
>> of the creator (you can thank Walt Disney for that). So this is a 
>> very different thing.
>>
>> Anyway, as a professional graphic designer and sometime illustrator, 
>> I am quite certain that Volkswagen cannot sue you for taking a 
>> photograph or making a drawing of a VW Beetle. You just can't make an 
>> image of their logo, reuse their pitch line or stuff like that. The 
>> car's design might fall under copyright, but if you aren't building a 
>> car that looks exactly like a VW Beetle and selling it for profit, 
>> you aren't breaking their copyright. A drawing of a car is not a car.
>>
>> Just to be safe, you'll probably want to leave logos or logotypes off 
>> of any such illustrations. You should be in the clear.
>>
>> Rule of thumb: if it's already 2-D artwork, don't copy it. If you are 
>> making a drawing of a physical object you are creating an original 
>> piece of artwork.
>>
>> U.S. Copyright Office
>> http://www.copyright.gov/
>>
>> The 'Frequently Asked Questions' is quite good. Not that U.S. 
>> copyright and patent law is the only country's laws to be worried 
>> about, but as I understand it the U.S. has the most strict laws in 
>> place.
>>
>> Hope this helps, but if you can find a lawyer to help out that 
>> wouldn't hurt.
>>
>> -Jason Simanek
>> _______________________________________________
>> clipart mailing list
>> clipart at lists.freedesktop.org
>> http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/clipart
>
> _______________________________________________
> clipart mailing list
> clipart at lists.freedesktop.org
> http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/clipart
>