Permissions...and what is ideally needed
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 by Jafo | Discussion: Permissions
Today I rejected an upload for the third [I think] time....[at least twice, anyway].
Reason was....the permission.txt [actually a jpg] was about as clear as mud.
I don't mean pixellated....I mean vague.
"Can I use this?" "Yes". - doesn't quite cut it.
"I am making a skin...can I use this?" "Yes". - still doesn't cut it.
"I wish to use your wall X in a logon...may I?" "Yes, I give you 100% permission to use my wall, or any of my walls." - STILL does not suffice.
"I wish to use your wall X in a logon to be uploaded and redistributed to the public....may I?" "Yes, you may." - NOW YOU GOT IT!!!
The whole idea of obtaining permissions is about what YOUR intended use is. Artists' copyright is about who owns the object/content/artwork AND its rights of distribution.
That is why you ask the owner [artist] but you ALSO explain the intended use, ESPECIALLY 'public redistribution'.
The latter is important because the artist is then relinquishing [partial] distribution rights to another party [you], and needs to be seen to be aware that that is the case.
In this 'permission.txt' what is also needed is appropriate email headers/contact details of BOTH parties....not just the artist, but also yourself...so it is clear the agreement was between the correct two people...and can always then be verified by a third party if needed.
It's not really complicated...just correct/clear request and affirmative response, that's all.
When people upload/submit works to Wincustomize [and other public sites] it is expected that appropriate permissions are in place where needed. It is far easier for each individual uploader to handle approval chasing etc. prior to upload than for a moderator to chase them up yet again after the fact.
One final note....if you seek but do not receive permission reply....then you didn't get it...so you cannot distribute, at all.
Everyone has works in dusty corners like that. One of mine's been there about 4 or 5 years....
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Reply #6 Wednesday, April 16, 2008 9:36 AM
And probably will not be the last time
Until the next forum revamp and all stickies become unstuck.
Reply #7 Saturday, April 19, 2008 12:26 AM
It's simple.....[include the email headers, obviously]....
"Fred...can I use your wall in a logon to redistribute publicly?"
John
"Yes, John, you can."
Fred
********************************
It doesn't get any simpler, really it doesn't...
Reply #9 Saturday, April 19, 2008 7:24 AM
Hi Jafo
a simple question: how long will be last the copyright + the right I mean there is an expiring time (3 >30 years)?
BTW we are always talking about "not commercial" ones\use !
thanks !
Reply #10 Saturday, April 19, 2008 9:25 AM
No, there's no difference between a commercial interest...eg selling another's work as your own, or distributing it as your own.....other than with the former there's a case for remuneration/compensation for lost commercial asset. In other words the 'ripper' can be sued for potential profit losses.
Expiration is something under review....as it's always the case that commercial interests will want to sway or alter laws to favor themselves [money talks]. I don't quite see how one's personal property can be time-limited at all. It's a bit like owning a car only to have someone X years later knock on your door and say 'oh, time's up...give me the keys...it's mine now'.
However....Lawyers who have never achieved anything tangible in their entire lifetimes will determine how long you get to keep what is yours, before they too can take ownership of it. Bit self-serving, really....
Reply #11 Saturday, April 19, 2008 4:40 PM
Reply #12 Saturday, April 19, 2008 5:47 PM
I heard about "Fan Art"... is it a kind of exception of the copyright rules ?
+ Is it possible to precise when an image reworking could be considered Fan Art ?
thanks again !
Reply #13 Saturday, April 19, 2008 8:40 PM
It's not an 'exception' but an 'extension', originating in US Law/interpretation and subsequently adopted elsewhere through International Trade agreements [eg. Australia now is in synch with the US re fair use and fan art].
The one issue with such is the determination of what constitutes fan-art is a little vague and open to interpretation, because of the inclusion of 'fair use'. In theory it can be 'fair' to take images from a source, Movie, say, add a bit and declare it's Fan Art...yet the Movie has strict copyright control....as its original medium.
Generally submissions here are treated on an individual basis, as one may borrow a little too much more than another...
Reply #14 Saturday, April 19, 2008 8:58 PM
Last I remember, Fan art is art that is made to resemble or emulate popular figures etc, but is not made using any images owned by the Copyright holder.. It does not circumvent rights of the entity that holds the copyright. Disney for example have often pulled Fan sites for copyright infringement, they have the right to refuse any and all distribution of any items made to emulate Disney related items such as drawings,sketches, scans,Etc, of Micky, the Disney castle, or any other copyrighted materials they hold.
Tho many Institutions allow Fan art, it is still within the copyright holders legailty to request they be removed if they deem so, refusal to follow the request, would entail many lawyers at your door.., even Implied permissions by "non inforcement" can be revoked at any given time.
As Jafo stated earlier permissions need to be clear and complete as to the asking of use and redistribution intentions. Any works with unclear permissions should and will be rejected until clear and proper permissions are obtained.
Making sure proper permissions are obtained protects every one involved. The artist rights are preserved, the Porter ( person who uses anothers work to build a new skin etc) is protected as if at any time the Original Author revokes permission. The Porter will be in a postion to defend himself if the O.A. Claims he never offered permission. (it has happened before).
Reply #15 Sunday, April 20, 2008 7:19 AM
if I decide to upload the same skin (I am the author) on another gallery site should I ask permission to the site where I uploaded in the first time\ make the skin different\ change the name ?
thanks again + again
Reply #16 Sunday, April 20, 2008 7:28 AM
No. There's no need. You own the rights to the work's distribution so can decide where you wish to place it, or not.
The only time this can become an issue is if you enter an agreement with one site to have exclusive rights to your work. What that means is you are rescinding in part the rights to your work in favor of a particular upload location [site], but deciding such is within your control and no other's...
Reply #17 Sunday, April 20, 2008 7:47 AM
This is all about to change if our government has it's way check this out http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/orphan.html.
Reply #18 Sunday, April 20, 2008 8:09 AM
Reply #19 Wednesday, April 23, 2008 1:58 AM
...and what about the personal avatar image ? There is any rule in using images or in some cases it's needed a permission ?
Thanks !!
Reply #20 Wednesday, April 23, 2008 2:04 AM
I think that would fall under the 'personal use' rule
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Reply #1 Wednesday, April 16, 2008 8:56 AM
I had a few logons that at one time I wanted to upload but didn't know how to go about asking for pernission. If I had known that, I might have been a brave gal and had an uploaded skin, it's a moot issue now though, as I have lost them to a bad crash on my desktop(which I still can't figure out how to fix)