Hi All
While the talk is on Flickr I just wanted to pass on a cautionary tale
about copyright.
There have been some cases recently where a high profile
multi-national company has been downloading and using Flickr pics for
their advertising campaign. I guess it give them the gritty "user
generated" feel that's hot at the moment. The way the ad headlines and
taglines are being used with the pics is not all that flattering to
the photographer/models.
I don't mean to shamelessly plug my blog but I'm also trying not to
";defame" (if that's the right word) anyone, so if you're interested in
the details I've posted at
http://creativespark.wordpress.com/2007/09/25/like-a-virgin-sued-for-the-very-first-time/
with a link to the online chatter.
Overall the general opinion seems to be that although copyright wasn't
breached, the company that downloaded and used the pics didn't get a
model release, and that probably puts them on the wrong side of the
law. Even so, they will have deep legal pockets, while the
photographers won't... and the system is always stacked in favour of
those who can afford to fight hardest.
The problem stems from the Creative Commons license. Basically what a
CC license does is give away or reduce some of your natural rights of
ownership. Some people, such as me, do that willingly because we want
to share our work/art with others. We are basically encouraging people
to borrow our work if they like it and find it useful.
But there are several types of CC licenses, so I guess this lessons is
a good reminder to be conscious of the one you choose. If you choose a
non-commercial CC license then the problem these people are now having
will not be your problem, you will be protected. But if it doesn't
specifically say non-commercial then it seems that the waters are now
being tested by companies for "borrowing" work and using it in
advertising.
Of course legally if you have no CC license at all on Flickr then you
retain all rights to your pictures, so if you have no altruistic
desire to allow people to use your pics then this is the option you
should take. Basically having no CC license will give you more rights
than having one.
Sorry, a little off topic but something I thought you should all be
aware of.
=) Marc
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