(Disclaimer: None of what follows constitutes legal advice.)
Photography The issue of what can and cannot be photographed is very complex and rules are different in each country. Here are links to examples related to five countries: On the whole, it seems safer to assume that only crowd shots or shots of unrecognizable people do not require permission. However, it is up to you to reach your conclusion based on the laws of the country where you live. Copyright In all your projects, you must make sure you comply with copyright laws. If you are not familiar with the topic, below a few links that can help you learn more about it. Circular 21: Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians Digital Millennium Copyright Act A site with a special focus on multimedia A good introductory site on copyright in the US and Japan Copyright law of Japan (in Japanese) Copyright law of Japan (in English) Regarding music, one has to distinguish between sheet music and specific sound recordings of that music. There are no public domain sound recordings in the US. Sheet music published before 1922 is in the public domain, but sound recordings are not. The earliest that copyright protection will expire for any sound recording in the USA is 2067. You can read more about this by following these links: http://www.pdinfo.com/record.htm http://chnm.gmu.edu/digitalhistory/links/pdf/chapter7/7.55b.pdf The situation is different in the UK. Any recording made there more than 50 years ago is in the public domain. However, the music itself is protected for 70 years after the death of the author. See the following link: http://www.copyright.mediarights.co.uk/ For a little comic relief, here is an academic paper that provocatively provides extreme examples of how the current copyright laws theoretically put everyone at risk of being sued for infringement. Note that the examples begin on p. 543 (the seventh page of the article).
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Last modified: Friday, 1 February 2008, 03:53 PM