180 Copyright, Trademarks, and Model Releases
center, there is no reason in English law to remove those logos and
designs. But, with the exception of a library like Shutterstock, where
such images might pass muster for editorial use, no microstocks will
touch them.
The reason for the microstock sensitivity, beyond legal require-
ments, involves the way in which royalty-free images can be used
for a very wide range of purposes, including advertising and design,
that might imply approval or endorsement by the owners of the
particular trademarks or copyright designs. No library wants to
“buy litigation,” so by applying the lowest common denominator
test, the microstocks take the safest option and exclude anything
that might involve some risk. In my view, there is no reason in English
law why Figure 11.1 should not be sold by a microstock library,
because I own the copyright to that image by statute. I can and
will sell images like it on a rights-managed basis through nonmicro-
stock libraries without a problem. But for the microstocks, it falls
in to a gray area, and they would probably reject it for “copyright
infringement.”
I have a lot of appreciation for the great care taken by the micro-
stocks. It is too easy to engage in knee-jerk criticism of their oversen-
sitivity to copyright and trademark issues. But you have to see the
issue from their end of the telescope. And once you are in the routine
of avoiding the problem or dealing with it in postproduction, then all
becomes sweetness and light.The Practicalities
To prevent rejection for copyright or trademark “infringement,” follow
these steps:- Remove from your images all corporate logos, marks, names, etc., using the same
techniques we discussed in Chapter 5. - Make sure your images of individual buildings do not expressly identify them unless
they are public buildings, such as the Houses of Parliament. - Remember that including so-called copyrighted buildings (as in Figure 11.1) is
usually fi ne if the building is a small and incidental part of the overall image (see
Figure 3.13). Otherwise, you will fall foul of the microstock copyright/trademark
restrictions, regardless of how hard you might try to persuade them that they are
wrong (and I have tried). - Check the libraries for their own guidance and lists of prohibited material, for
example, iStockphoto’s comprehensive Technical Wiki at http://www.istockphoto
.com/tutorial_copyright_list.php.
For more reading on copyright and trademark law, I recommend
Christina Michalos’s book The Law of Photography and Digital Images,