Copyright for Visual Artists

Your artwork has value. Know your rights.

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Visual Copyright - Frequently Asked Questions

  • Everybody downloads copyrighted movies and music without paying for them so what's wrong with downloading copyrighted images and using them without permission?

    • " Visual artists, like all other well trained, hard working people, are enititled to be paid for their work and their efforts. Respecting the copyright of artists is one way to ensure they receive proper compensation for their work."

    That's a great question! Yes, it is true that many people download copyrighted movies and music without paying or permission. Most people who do this don't give a second thought to the fact that the artists who make those creative products are people who need to live, pay rent and buy food.

    Think about this for a moment - let's say you have a job working as an ambulance attendant. You had to get specialized training to do your job (and you probably had to take out student loans to get that training), and you work hard for your wages. What if someone said: "you're pretty lucky to be an ambulance attendant and you're living high on the hog. From now on you'll do this work 40 hours a week for nothing, after all, you enjoy your job so much you'll work for free, right?" How would you respond to that? How long would you be able to continue working for free, even if you did get a great deal of enjoyment from your job?

    People who feel some guilt about downloading movies and music without paying sometimes justify their actions by saying that greedy corporate media organizations don't deserve a cent. Wealthy corporate media companies are one thing but visual artists who live in poverty are another. Visual artists, like all other well trained, hard working people, are enititled to be paid for their work and their efforts. Respecting the copyright of artists is one way to ensure they receive proper compensation for their work.
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  • I'm a painter - am I allowed to use copyrighted photos as references for my paintings?

    • The brief answer to that question is "no", but with reservations. If you find a copyright protected photo on the internet and use that photo as a reference to make a painting that looks exactly like the photo, you have infringed the copyright of the photographer. However, it would be difficult to find a painter who has never used a copyright protected photo as a reference for a painting. When I was a teenager I was fascinated by glamorous models in glossy fashion magazines and I spent hours drawing pictures of them in my sketchbooks. Even though those fashion photos were all copyright protected, since my drawings were for my personal use only there was no copyright infringement as personal use falls under "fair dealing" and "fair use" exceptions.

    What if your paintings are so great that people want to buy them, but most of your paintings are photorealistic style copies of copyright protected photos? Well, you might get away with selling those paintings to people you know in your own community but as soon as you upload your paintings to the world wide web, someone with sharp eyes will likely notice that your images are copies of someone else's work. Unlike pre-internet days, it is hard to hide copyright infringement when images are broadcast to millions of people all over the world. Using copyright protected images to create paintings is not beneficial to your legal, commercial or artistic integrity. It cheapens your portfolio and puts you at risk of legal consequences. With the low cost of digtial cameras, you can take your own photos to work from. You could also search for a public domain image.


    " Visual artists cannot help the fact that they live in a visually saturated environment teeming with images. Artists are influenced, whether consciously or unconsciously, by the images around them in books, magazines, on TV, the internet, and in advertising."

    On the other hand if a painter needs to create an illustration of a swan, for example, they will probably need to look at some reference photos of swans for inspiration and accuracy. Visual artists cannot help the fact that they live in a visually saturated environment teeming with images. Artists are influenced, whether consciously or unconsciously, by the images around them in books, magazines, on TV, the internet, and in advertising. If you use photos as reference images, use your own photos or public domain images. Look at the photo for inspiration but add your own creativity and "artistic license" to make the final image your own and make sure that your image is not an exact copy of the photo.
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Disclaimer
These pages are for educational purposes only. This site offers a combination of fact, anecdotal information and editorial opinion of the writer, none of which should be construed as legal advice. If you require legal assistance on any aspect of copyright law, please contact a lawyer.