Who owns the copyright on the landscape?

[Bill_1856]

I presume that it's just like everything else in the American legal system. Whoever has the best attorney wins, regardless of the merits of the case.

[raucousimages]

Some answers to this can be found on the copyright office web page and their are some good books for artists and photographers on copyright law. Check out the technical differences in Copyright and Registered Copyright. The digital age has also changed things. In the old days you submited images to be registered and each image was done. now if you submit several images on disc the disc or collection is registered NOT each image. So if you copy less than 90% of the disc you have technicaly violated copyright but the courts will usualy side with the copyright holder anyway. My copyright attorney says that these laws are changeing but the process is so slow it could take 20 to 30 years to clear things up and close the loop holes. Patent law is worse by far.

As for loop holes here is a fun one we had localy about 5 years ago. Photographer (person #1) makes an image on film. Lab tech (#2) developes film. Lab tech (#3) prints photograph. Recouch artist (#4) Mounts, Retouches and Sprays the final print. When the photograph became valuable (building in the photo was demolished) the court awarded the copyright to #4 as she was the last person to work on a calaborative effort.

[chris jordan]

I just made a new business card, and my new logo is a high-res image of the earth (with all the details). So, sorry dudes, earth is out as a photographic subject from now on. There's always LF astronomy though...

[Ralph Barker]

Chris - twue, that definitely puts an interesting spin on things. (AT&T holds the copyright on "true" as a UNIX command.)

[tim atherton]

Chris - twue, that definitely puts an interesting spin on things. (AT&T holds the copyright on "true" as a UNIX command.)

normally you can't copyright short phrases or titles (hence so many movies and books with the same title....)

[Paul Coppin]

I just made a new business card, and my new logo is a high-res image of the earth (with all the details). So, sorry dudes, earth is out as a photographic subject from now on. There's always LF astronomy though...

not sure the high res images of the earth are in the public domain, hence, unless you obtained permission to use them on your business card, henceforth all profits from your business will acrue to the copyright holder...

[tim atherton]

not sure the high res images of the earth are in the public domain, hence, unless you obtained permission to use them on your business card, henceforth all profits from your business will acrue to the copyright holder...

I'd have thought all NASA images should be Public Domain...?

(unless you are talking about God?)

[cyrus]

I'd have thought all NASA images should be Public Domain...?

(unless you are talking about God?)

Don't know about NASA in particular. As a general rule, works producted by the Fed gov't are public domain -- but there are exceptions, ie: contractors who are employed on the behalf of the govt retain their own copyright over their product.

[Kirk Keyes]

I'd have thought all NASA images should be Public Domain...?

yes, they are public domain.