The 411 On Copyright For Net Photos — страница 2

protection.[11] In the context of copyright protection for computer programs the Ninth Circuit held in MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer Inc., that “copying for purposes of copyright law occurs when a computer program is transferred from a permanent storage device to a computer’s RAM [random access memory].’`[12] The court described fixation as “sufficiently permanent or stable to permit [them] to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration.’`[13] This decision as it relates to photos on the net may be a practical problem of proof. Net photos, like Christo’s sculptures, may be here today, gone tomorrow. Consequently the problem will be a whether a “copyright claimant will be able to provide a court documentary

evidence of the copyrightable subject matter.’`[14] INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION International copyright protection is of special importance to Net photogs. The Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention address copyright in the international market.[15] Mr. Cinque outlines the three policies supporting copyright protection: incentive/dissemination; morality/fairness; natural law.[16] Incentive/dissemination is the tradeoff that society benefits from the work of creative artists while the artist may reap economic benefits.[17] Morality/fairness is the commercial aspect of rewarding the worker and punishing unauthorized appropriations.[18] Natural law embodies the concept that the author owns her work and may do with it as she sees fit.[19] Considering these policies,

Mr. Cinque argues that under the Berne Convention a copyright may be infringed when a work is copied or stored into a computer system because it is considered a reproduction.[20] The Berne Convention provides a minimum of 25 years protection for photographic works and member states may provide additional protection.[21] Mr. Cinque presents the case for and against increasing global enforcement of copyright protections in the digital world and concludes that international enforcement is necessary to continue to encourage artists to share work on-line.[22] ECONOMIC INCENTIVES Mr. Cinque’s view supports the widely held assumption that artists require broad copyrights with strong enforcement in order to motivate the production of new, copyrightable works. The copyright act is aimed

at protecting an artists’ economic rights.[23] Economic theory is based on the concept that individuals are “rational, profit-maximizing creatures.’`[24] But economic theory when applied to artists doesn’t explain their full range of motivation. “[I]t would be difficult to explain why intelligent, presumably rational people ever become artists, a word more often associated with the adjective ’starving’ than with ‘wealthy.’`[25] Net photogs appear generous with fellow internetters when it comes to non-commercial use of photographs. On the other hand, no one likes someone else making money of their work. Photographer Philip Greenspun describes his frustration with unauthorized use of his pictures in, The Somewhat Nasty Copyright Notice . As an artist he not only

wants to get paid, but desires a certain quality level for his photos. On the other hand, Mr. Greenspun embraces the camaraderie of “fellow internetters’` by authorizing redistribution of his text for non commercial purposes and requesting a source attribution and hyperlink for photos. SHARING RESOURCES The camaraderie among photographers is further evidenced by the wellspring of resources for photographers on the Net. The Michigan Press Photographers Association brings photographers together to share information, as does the Atlanta Photo Journalism Seminar and numerous other resources. One suggestion to assist photographers in protecting copyrights and collecting royalties is a centralized photo bank. Mr. Franklin presents the case for creating a centralized service to

license photos, collect and distribute royalties, and engage in license enforcement. [26] The centralized service would include a copyright notice and computer code with the photo in order to track use.[27] A similar system was recently established and is called United Image Royalties.[28] EMPLOYERS A special note to photographers establishing homepages from work. Two authors warn of creating works using an employer’s Internet connection because work-related products may be determined to be the property of the employer.[29] For example, Allen Rose, Ordinary Photographer is employed by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Mr. Rose’s weekly photo series is copyrighted to the newspaper. In a related matter, notice that Mr. Rose chose the location “arose’` rather than something like