Is it against the law to paint an old photograph that someone has taken?
Can I paint a photograph that someone has taken? If the photograph was taken before 1930 but published in a book in 1980, does the copyright on the photograph still exist?
Alison on Febraury 23, 2012
It is not legal to sell paintings of photographs that have copyright. See the recent issue with Shepard Fairey and the Obama “Hope” poster. However, since the photo is old, it may no longer have copyright. Works taken before 1923, and works taken before 1977 that were not published with a copyright notice do not have copyright protection. They are in the public domain and you may paint them. The copyright of the book is separate from, and generally does not affect, the copyright of the photo.
derivative work, painting photos, public domain
- Law
- Copyright
- Copyright Questions
- Do buildings have copyright?
- What is editorial use?
- What is copyright infringement?
- Where is the public domain?
- Can I copy old family photos that are 65 years old?
- Can I use a photo off the Internet in a presentation?
- Can I use my newspaper photos in my portfolio?
- Can photos of my artwork be sold without my permission?
- Is it against the law to paint an old photograph that someone has taken?
- Do I have rights to photos I took for a college paper?
- Can I legally copy an old photo from an eBay ad?
- Can someone sell a painting of a photo that I took?
- Do I need permission to sell a photo of someone’s house?
- How do I prove that I took a disputed photo?
- Can similar shots of a landmark get copyright?
- Can a print store refuse to scan a portrait of me?
- I’m a model. If I hire a photographer, who gets the copyright?
- Who owns the copyright if the photographer died?
- Does copyright exist for proprietary RAW photos?
- Can I sell street photos without model releases?
- Can I copy proofs from a model shoot?
- Can I sell photos of famous public parks or landscapes?
- Do I need permission to sell photos of a famous building?
- Can I resell photos that I previously sold?
- Do I lose copyright if I enter online photo contests?
- Can I remove blemishes from a photo of me?
- Can a website use Facebook photos and make fun of them?
- Can a photographer rescind permission?
- Can I sell photos of paintings in a gallery?
- Can I use my photos in a portfolio if they’re on Facebook?
- Can I use product photos in my portfolio?
- Do website rippers infringe copyright?
- Can a yearbook publisher use my Facebook photos?
- Are particular old photos in the public domain?
- What if a photographer complains about unauthorized use?
- How do I convince a print store that I took some photos?
- Do I own copyright in a drawing of a photo?
- If I paid a photographer, who owns the copyright?
- Can I sell products using images from the Internet?
- Can I stop my wedding photographer from using my photos?
- Do I get copyright if I infringed someone’s rights?
- Do I need permission to sell a photo of a branded car?
- Can a school claim copyright for photos I took there?
- Can I copyright a 3D picture?
- How do I copyright my pictures?
- Can I publish photos of tattoos without permission?
- Am I infringing on copyright if I sell a montage using a picture of a statue?
- Can a photo of my family be sold without my permission?
- Can I sell photos of toys at a store?
- Can I stop a website using my Facebook photos?
- Can I sell photos that I find on a discarded computer?
- Can I copyright or trademark my building?
- Do I need permission to use photos of houses?
- If a client breaks a contract, can I revoke photo use?
- Can I copyright a photo with effects from an iPhone app?
- Can I paint and sell a photo from Google?
- Can I use a photo of a celebrity without their permission?
- Can I display on the Internet my photos of paintings made before 1800?
- Can I use thumbnail photos of storefronts in an online directory?
- Do we need permission from photographers to use their photos of our church?
- How do I get permission to use somebody else’s work?
- How can I find out who owns a copyright?
- Am I allowed to take photos of accidents to use as evidence?
- How can I obtain copies of someone else’s work and/or registration certificate?
- How much of someone else’s work can I use without getting permission?
- Can I photograph a painting by a dead painter for private display?
- How much do I have to change in order to claim copyright in someone else’s work?
- Somebody infringed my copyright. What can I do?
- Does the law stop us from selling photos of covered bridges in state parks?
- Could I be sued for using somebody else’s work? How about quotes or samples?
- Do you have a list of songs or movies in the public domain?
- Do I need a license in California to sell personally or online?
- I saw an image on the Library of Congress website that I would like to use. Do I need to obtain permission?
- My local copying store will not make reproductions of old family photographs. What can I do?
- Can I use, on my website, photos that I took at my full-time job?
- Can I paint and sell a photo by a famous photographer that I found on the Web?
- As a model, can I sell photos that I appear in?
- To sell photos of a city, do I need a permit for commercial photography?
- What are the laws regarding using family photos of siblings on a website?
- How can I disable the right-click ‘save target as’ on images?
- If I photograph a document that is out of copyright, do I get a new copyright to that photograph?
- Can I make copies of my professionally-taken family portraits?
- Can I sell photos that I took at zoos and battlefields?
- Can I sell pictures of buildings that show a phone number and address?
- In an ad campaign, can I use a photo I found on a website if I can’t find who owns the photo?
- Can I copyright a photo if I did not take it and it is over a 100 years old?
- What is copyright?
- Does a model have rights over photos I took of her?
- What does copyright protect?
- When is my work protected?
- Do I have to register my copyright to be protected?
- I’ve heard about a poor man’s copyright. What is it?
- Is my copyright good in other countries?
- Can I copyright my website?
- Can I copyright my domain name?
- How do I protect my recipe?
- How do I copyright a name, title, slogan or logo?
- How do I protect my idea?
- Does my work have to be published to be protected?
- How do I protect my sighting of Elvis?
- Does copyright protect architecture?
- How long does a copyright last?
- Are copyrights transferable?
- Do I have to submit a form to transfer a copyright?
- Can I copyright a diary I found in my grandmother’s attic?
- What is a copyright notice? How do I put a copyright notice on my work?
- What is a work made for hire?
In ps_get_permalink but no post_id supplied, from ps_breadcrumbs at line 12421