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Thread ID: 72598	2006-09-18 23:52:00	Copyright: making prints from an original	Greg (193)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
485629	2006-09-18 23:52:00	My missus bought us an original oil painting recently by a New Zealand artist. It's a fantastic picture (cost a small fortune!). So now I'm wondering, if I wanted to make and sell prints of it, can I do that legally? Does the copyright belong to us now that we own the original?	Greg (193)
485630	2006-09-19 00:18:00	Found some relative posts and citations of US law, which I believe are international in scope, although there are exceptions, ie: "The varying substantive law of different countries means postings legal in one country might be unlawful in another. For example, French law outlaws public exhibition of Nazi symbols; U.S. law would protect that speech under the First Amendment. Jurisdiction, where and under what laws a person can be sued, matters too. " www.chillingeffects.org .......there is some reference to oil paintings there.	SurferJoe46 (51)
485631	2006-09-19 00:21:00	My missus bought us an original oil painting recently by a New Zealand artist . It's a fantastic picture (cost a small fortune!) . So now I'm wondering, if I wanted to make and sell prints of it, can I do that legally? Does the copyright belong to us now that we own the original? NO . NO . NO . Of course you don't . The artist knows where you live . What body parts will you miss most?	Graham L (2)
485632	2006-09-19 00:53:00	A little more searching in US Federal Copywrite laws, especially pertaining to oil paintings got me this result: "Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other copy or phonorecord does not give the possessor the copyright . The law provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that embodies a protected work does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright . " . copyright . gov/circs/circ1 . html][/url]" target="_blank">www . copyright . gov Copyright and National Origin of the Work Copyright protection is available for all unpublished works, regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author . Published works are eligible for copyright protection in the United States if any one of the following conditions is met: * On the date of first publication, one or more of the authors is a national or domiciliary of the United States, or is a national, domiciliary, or sovereign authority of a treaty party,* or is a stateless person wherever that person may be domiciled; or * A treaty party is a country or intergovernmental organization other than the United States that is a party to an international agreement . *The work is first published in the United States [I]or in a foreign nation that, on the date of first publication, is a treaty party . For purposes of this condition, a work that is published in the United States or a treaty party within 30 days after publication in a foreign nation that is not a treaty party shall be considered to be first published in the United States or such treaty party, as the case may be; or The work is a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work that is incorporated in a building or other structure, or an architectural work that is embodied in a building and the building or structure is located in the United States or a treaty party; or The work is first published by the United Nations or any of its specialized agencies, or by the Organization of American States; or The work is a foreign work that was in the public domain in the United States prior to 1996 and its copyright was restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) . Request Circular 38b, Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA-GATT), for further information . The work comes within the scope of a Presidential proclamation . What Works Are Protected? Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression . The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device . Copyrightable works include the following categories: 1 . literary works; 2 . musical works, including any accompanying words 3 . dramatic works, including any accompanying music 4 . pantomimes and choreographic works 5 . pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works 6 . motion pictures and other audiovisual works 7 . sound recordings 8 . architectural works These categories should be viewed broadly . For example, computer programs and most “compilations” may be registered as “literary works”; maps and architectural plans may be registered as “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works . . . . . from here on it gets very complicated . . but I get the feeling a big "NO" as to your question is the answer . . . you do NOT have/possess the copywrite even if you are the sole owner of a work of art thru purchase or some other form of ownership unless you commissioned the painting to be done in your work place and with your employee performing the work while performing such work as representative of your usual business activities .	SurferJoe46 (51)
485633	2006-09-19 01:22:00	Wouldn't it fall under the same thing as copying a dvd, cd etc. Mindyou i saw a program on China and you can get an exact copy of the origin masterpiece eg the mona lisa for bugger all. They were great copies too	lazydog (148)
485634	2006-09-19 02:18:00	Copyright in NZ exists for the life of the artist and 50 years afterwards. So if you are very patient ...	Graham L (2)
485635	2006-09-19 02:27:00	Wouldn't it fall under the same thing as copying a dvd, cd etc . Mindyou i saw a program on China and you can get an exact copy of the origin masterpiece eg the mona lisa for bugger all . They were great copies too Gotta see it this way: In the US, you can legally copy any recorded material IF you own the original, and the copy you make is for your own purposes . . . not for sale or transfer of ownership for any reason . You can make copies of the CD or DVD, but you must retain personal posession of it at the same time you have the archived copy . If you in any way lose the original, you are required by law to also give up and destroy the archived copy . That being said . . . ask yourself . . . "What is the purpose of copying a work or art (painting, photograph, sculpture, et al)?" Other than selling them at market, there is no real purpose to create a stroke-by-stroke copy of the original unless one wants to display the copy as a safeguard against theft or loss . You would still have the original in your personal posession . . right? So . . . that eliminates making copies and selling them . I am not too sure if making clandestine copies for non-profit is a smart move either . Maybe as a hobby you can paint the Mona Lisa on a matchstick or a grain of rice . I do believe that the Mona Lisa is out of date per copywrite laws at this time . BTW: I am kinda amazed that a building is considered a copywritten work . . . see #6 in the post I made b4 .	SurferJoe46 (51)
485636	2006-09-19 05:35:00	Graham L is right Greg... and there is no need to have a little c in a circle on the painting, it is assumed that if it is an original work of art it is copywrited by the artist. I could probably paint you a 'fairly good facsimile' if you give me a few weeks and a few grand, but then if you wanted to sell lots of them you might need a team of Chinese artists who can churn them out at about 50 per hour :) As one who has painted for a living I'd be fairly unimpressed if someone was copying my work and making money out of it!	Shortcircuit (1666)
485637	2006-09-19 06:13:00	It isn't "copywrite". :groan: It's copyright. It is the legal right to copy a thing.	Graham L (2)
485638	2006-09-19 07:40:00	My humble and most heartfelt apologies Graham (well- not really)... this is what happens to the brain when you deal with pedantic people all day :( PS I get it right most of the time and at least I can write coherently most of the time :thumbs:	Shortcircuit (1666)
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