Unit 30: Digital Graphics

P6: Legislation and Guidelines

Roksana Rzezniczak

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2

What is meant by copyright? .......................................................................................................... 2

Identifying ownership ..................................................................................................................... 2

What is copyright free?................................................................................................................... 3

What are copyright free images? ................................................................................................. 3

Gaining permissions ........................................................................................................................ 3

Example of a copyright breach ....................................................................................................... 4

Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 4

References ...................................................................................................................................... 5

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Introduction
In this report, I will be explaining the laws placed upon the use of graphic images for
commercial and non-commercial use.

What is meant by copyright?

Copyright is a law that aims to protect the hard work of individuals, e.g. poems, songs, books,
etc. In other words, it gives the owners of work the power to choose how their work can be
distributed and used by others (1). Copyright happens automatically- for example, as soon as a
writer finishes writing their book their book is held by the copyright
law. You don't have to register it anywhere or fill out any forms.
Copyright lasts as long as the owner lives, and about 70 years after their
death (1). Anyone who breaches the copyright law by attempting to
steal or copy someone else's hard word can be fined or even
(5)
prosecuted.

Identifying ownership
Usually when something is owned by copyright, the symbol will be somewhere on that piece
of work. To identify an owner of a published text you just simply have to look out for his/her
name, usually located on the back of the title page. For a journal, the owner will be called a
publisher, whereas for a book, it will be the authors name that you would have to look for (4).
Identifying ownership on images is much more
difficult because the owners name is not always
indicated beside the image (4). In this case, it is
better to leave the image and look for a different
(6)
one with the owners name, so that you can contact
them to gain their permission to use their work.

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What is copyright free?

Something that is copyright free is basically something that is not held by the copyright law (2).
For instance, when someone dies, their copyright of work expires about 70 years after their
death. Such work is then called 'copyright free'. This means that if someone does copy their
work, then they will not be fined or punished, because that work is not held under the
copyright law no more. However, they still might be required to pay a small fee in order to
obtain the full copy of the work (2).

How copyrighted images can be used?

A lot of the time people assume that if something is available online, then it is 'public domain'
and so they are free to use it however they like. Unfortunately, people who do so may be
breaking the law, since a lot of content that is published online is still protected by the
copyright law. Anyone who finds an image on the internet and would like to use it in any way is
obliged to ask the owner of the image for permission to do so.

What are copyright free images?

A copyright free image is an image that is not protected by copyright. This could be due to
expiry date or when an owner of something simply doesn't want their work to be copyright.
Whilst there are no legal requirements of copying copyright free images, there may be a small
fee involved in it (2).

Gaining permissions
In order to be able to use a copyrighted work, such as images, you must first ask the owner of
the work for permission to do so (3). This is because if you do use their work in any way without
consent then you might be faced with a fine or even a criminal sentence. A way of gaining
permission to use copyrighted work is by purchasing or obtaining a license from the owner of
the work (3). For example, gettyimages.co.uk is a site from which you can purchase images in
order to use them legally for your own use. In some cases, all you have to do is simply send an
owner a message, for example, via email, asking for
permission.
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Example of a copyright breach

Recently on the news there was a story about Sprowston Town Council which was found
breaching the copyright law. Cemetery Development Services claim that the Council used their
drawings of a plan for cemetery extension without gaining their permission. Its been said that
the company was hired by the Council to design the plan, but the company argues that the
Council should have asked for permission for the drawings to be used anyway. The town clerk
June Hunt comments on this saying I perhaps naively thought that if someone was receiving a
fee that we would own the file and those plans (7). The managing director of the company,
Justin Smith, supports his claim by saying that We did the original drawings and suddenly the
cemetery was built and a third party had its name on the drawings done by us. We wanted to
find out how this happened (7). The council has been warned that it may have to pay the
company damages for the alleged crime.

Conclusion
To conclude, copyright is important because it protects peoples work from being copied by
others who had no input whatsoever in the making of that work. Music, poems, books and films
are examples of work that copyright covers. Anyone who tries to copy or share someone elses
original work can be fined or even sentenced in court. The symbol usually indicates whether
something is held under the copyright law, but even where the symbol is invisible copyright
may still apply.

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References
1. Copyright http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/legal/2copyrightrev1.shtml
Date accessed: 27/04/2016
2. Copyright free http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/royalty-free.html Date accessed:
27/04/2016
3. Legal considerations
http://ditgitalgraphics.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/p6-legal-considerations.html Date
accessed: 29/04/2016
4. Identifying and locating the copyright owner
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/396/copyright_and_licences/116/clearing_copyright/3
Date accessed: 29/04/2016
5. Copyright https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright Date accessed: 29/04/2016
6. YouTube started copyright school
http://jajodia-saket.sjbn.co/2011/04/youtube-started-copyrights-school/ Date
accessed: 29/04/2016
7. Sprowston Town Council faces pay-out over alleged breach of copyright
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/sprowston_town_council_faces_pay_out_over_alleged
_breach_of_copyright_1_4509207 Date accessed: 04/05/2016

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