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Copyright at Kalamazoo College

Images and Copyright

Remember that images are copyrighted, just as text and music are. You cannot reproduce an image without permission from the copyright holder.

  • Do not assume that images on the web are copyright-free and in the public domain.
  • Often the copyright owner is the person who created the image, but not always. Even though an artist may no longer be living, another person may hold the copyright to images he or she may have created.
  • Publications that may have reproduced an image do not hold the copyright to the image, so if the copyright for a particular publication has expired, that does not mean that the image reproduced within is in the public domain.

Use of Electronic or Digital Materials

These forms of electronic or digital materials are covered under the US Copyright Act of 1976. Common violations of this policy include unauthorized use or distribution of:

  1. Text and Data.
  2. Software.
  3. Trademarked Images - This includes corporate logos and cartoon characters.
  4. Photographs - This includes all photographs that are not in the public domain.
  5. Artwork - This includes scanned or computer generated artwork that is not your own.
  6. Video - This includes video clips of movies, television shows, etc.
  7. Audio – This includes any audio file that is not your intellectual property.
    Many of these files are currently available as MP3 files.
    Sound recording infringements are punishable by up to 5 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

Clearance Rights for Art Work

Clearing Rights for Art Works
From the Artists Rights Society

"Artists Rights Society (ARS) is the preeminent copyright, licensing, and monitoring organization for visual artists in the United States. Founded in 1987, ARS represents the intellectual property rights interests of over 30,000 visual artists and estates of visual artists from around the world (painters, sculptors, photographers, architects and others)."

 

Useful sites about Images and Copyright: