Legal Question: photography of public art

[George Nedleman]

This is a little off the main question but bears on some of the other comments re:natl. Parks. I was in DC last year and wanted to take a shot inside the train station. I was off in a corner next to a potted plant totally out of the way but a guard came over and said, "No tripods". I couldn't disuade him. Then later on I was out side the Hirshorn Museum on the Mall and a guard came out with the same request. I had to move back to the public sidewalk to appease him. Still later I wanted to take a shot in a metro station and set up the tripod behind a bench again out of the way and was told to move along. The next day on the lower entry "patio" of the Supreme court bldg another guard came over and wanted to know if I was going to sell the picture. I can undersatand having dozens of tripods in the middle of pedestrians but 1 person ???

[lenser]

Kirk,

In doing a search within LFPF and then in the NPS website, all I find are references in the former and a digest of generalities in the latter, but no specific policy statement. Can you please help with a link to the actual National Park Service rules?

Thanks.

Tim

[Leigh]

In doing a search within LFPF and then in the NPS website, all I find are references in the former and a digest of generalities in the latter, but no specific policy statement.

Not exactly difficult...

Go to the NPS website http://www.nps.gov

Type photography policy into the search box at upper right and click Search.

- Leigh

[Frank Petronio]

Take the photo first, worry later. Since most photos are worthless it's usually a moot point. If there is a truly legit legal stopping point, it will come when you try to sell the image, not when you make the image.

I should qualify that. If it has something to do with homeland security then you could get shot while you make the photos. Pesky details....

[paulr]

Also consider artists like Sherry Levine and Richard Prince, who have made careers out of appropriation. Have they run into serious legal issues?

[Brian Ellis]

Thank you all for your responses and very helful links to other pages. I'm convinced after reading your responses and checking the suggested links that I definately need to get ahold of the Freemont Troll artist before doing anything else with this negative an print. He obviously needs to be on board regarding any income that might be generated from my photograph. I have found his name and phone number and plan on contacting him this evening.

You might also want to get on board with the City or whatever organization owns the sculpture. Note that in the Gentile case it wasn't the architect (sculptor in your case) that was suing, it was the organization that owns (I assume) the museum.

[Thom Bennett]

We are currently dealing with something here in New Orleans that relates to a similar copyright issue. The Mardi Gras Indian tribes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_Indians) are attempting to copyright their costumes as sculpture so that anyone who publishes photographs of them must get their permission to publish the photo and/or pay them royalties. They work on their costumes all year in private but parade in public. It's going to be interesting to see how this shakes out. As Frank said, "Since most photos are worthless it's usually a moot point." When the Indians are out on the street there are a thousand photographers around them so I would think in our supply and demand world that there that any given photo would essentially be worthless. But the Indians are going down an interesting road to try to copyright a costume. Keep and eye on this one.