Copyright - What You Need to Know?

From the moment of its creation your work in considered copyrighted. Copyright laws can be a tricky. Laws are different for different countries and can even be different for specific locations. Check for information concerning your specific location to make sure you're not violating any local copyright laws. If you live in the US and want to view the entire Copyright Law of the United States it can be found here. A word of warning, it is very complex.

Here is an example from Section 101 of the Copyright Law called Definitions
A work is "created"; when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time; where a work is prepared over a period of time, the portion of it that has been fixed at any particular time constitutes the work as of that time, and where the work has been prepared in different versions, each version constitutes a separate work.

This is from Section 102

Subject matter of copyright: In general

(a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:

literary works;
musical works, including any accompanying words;
dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
pantomimes and choreographic works;
pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
sound recordings; and
architectural works.

(b) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.

There are 366 pages in the pdf document. We're not going to be concerned with most of it. This article is directed towards giving you a general idea of what you can expect to find as far as restrictions and rules pertaining to Microstock websites. Since this article is also concentrating on how copyright laws affect the illustrator in particular I feel that some of the problems that can be faced by other creative people such as photographers are more easily dealt with by vector artists.
For example, a photographer takes a photo in a downtown section of a major city. Within the photo there will most likely be many copyrighted element such as company logos that are seen in various areas of the image. The photo will probably be rejected because there will be multiple copyright violations unless the logos are edited out and this can sometimes be extremely difficult.
If an illustrator decided to create artwork representing the same scene it is simpler to leave the logos out in the first place.
Depending on where the photo is taken there may still be copyright violations because of the buildings represented unless you get signed property releases.

The information below is taken directly from the iStock website and is a great example of the rules and limitations you can expect to find as a Microstock artist. The entire training manual can be found here and is a fantastic source for the beginner and experienced artist. Depending on where the phNBoto is taken there may still be copyright violations because of the buildings represented unless you get signed property releases.

iStock - Stock Illustration Training Manual

Copyright, Trademark and Trade Dress

Logos and Trademarks

Any readable company name, logo, element or design that represents or could identify a company or its product will ALWAYS be rejected by iStock.

Trade Dress / Protected Design

Generally, identifiable 'product' style illustrations* should be handled with extreme care (for trade dress - the protection of design). If the inspection team feels that the product design represented as the main subject of a clip is protected, it will be rejected unless accompanied by a property release.

Illustrations where the product is the main and primary subject.

How to use a product in your composition:

A modern product should be avoided as the primary composition where its potential use could endorse another product, company, business or corporation. A product should be used as an accompaniment to the overall concept of composition.

Protected Designs: Maps & Globes

The design of a map and/or globe is owned by the creator and/or the company which commissioned the artist. Map and/or globes as part of a composition should NEVER be clearly identifiable. We do accept ‘generic’ map designs such as silhouettes.

When submitting a map illustration, you must include the following information in your image description:

The source of the map you have used for reference (URL or ISBN number if the map is derived from a book or atlas)
The software you have used to create your file
The date your file was created
The layers of data used

Public Buildings

Every public building has different requirements for illustrators to access and record land, structures, contents, interiors and exteriors. Check with the security office and obtain consent, if possible. Some buildings may have information about commercial photography posted on their web site. (Exception: Any building (with logos removed) as part of a cityscape is acceptable as part of an illustration. Under no exception is a reference photo of a private building taken from within the property acceptable without a property release).

For more information on specific building structures see the iStock Technical Wiki.

Identifiable Information

Information that may identify an object or property requires the identifying mark or text to be removed or a property release to be obtained. Identifying marks include: license plates, airplane call letters, boat names, addresses, identification, credit cards, etc.

Privacy and Residential Homes

In accordance with privacy rights, residential homes (as clearly recognizable in the illustration) will ALWAYS require a property release, irrelevant if the home number is visible in the illustration.

Sports and Sporting Events

Sport figures, uniforms, team insignia and professional athletes will NOT be accepted unless accompanied by a property release. Professional sporting events are strictly protected by the venue and NOT allowed in the use of royalty-free stock illustration.

Statues

Only statues dating older than 75 years of age (with exception to private ownership) are acceptable as part of an illustration. Sculptures, figurines, installations, modern art any object in a museum, any object in an art gallery including public sculpture, some architecture, and advertisements are likely protected and should be accompanied by a property release for use in royalty-free stock illustrations.

Vintage Photography

Using vintage photography as reference material is only acceptable if the photo has been inherited from the original creator (family member), passing down copyright ownership. Illustrations based on vintage photography must always be accompanied by a property release (and model release where appropriate).

As you can see they cover just about anything that you need to be concerned with in creating your vector art. Here is another example.

This except is taken from the 123RF website on their contributor FAQ page.

An image of a property/landmark/logo may require a signed property release if it is to be used for commercial purposes.
For example a picture of an identifiable house would require a signed release from the owner. If in doubt, remove all identifiable logos and trademarks from your images if you plan on selling them for commercial purposes. However, please be careful when submitting images with buildings that have patented some technology or design. An image with Eiffel Tower in the morning can be used for stock purposes but the same image at night with the lights on are trademarked and may not be sold as the design of lights are copyrighted.

There is an amazing list called Known Image Restrictions from Shutterstock found here. The list includes Places & Landmarks, Objects, Brands and Events. This list is great because it includes specific locations such as:

Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings

The architect Frank Lloyd Wright has designed numerous buildings in the United States as well as a few in Japan. Some of his most famous buildings are:

Robbie House – located in Chicago, IL.

Fallingwater – located in Mill Run, PA.

Johnson Wax Headquarters – located in Racine, WI.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – located in New York City.

Taliesin – located in Iowa County, WI.

Photography is only allowed for personal use.
Unacceptable for commercial use

McDonald's Fries

The design of the McDonald’s French Fry Container is copyrighted.

Applies even if the container is blank because the design is protected.

Unacceptable for commercial use.

Boot Stitching

Certain manufacturers use elaborate and distinct stitching designs.

Isolated images featuring stitching are unacceptable for commercial use.

Images in which the stitching is visible can only be accepted with a property release.

In Conclusion:

By using these particular resources you can get a pretty clear idea of what is considered copyrighted. There is one more thing I would like to cover in this article and that is...

Plagiarism

Directly related to the idea of copyright is plagiarism. We will be dealing with the word as it refers to stealing from or copying someone else’s work.
There can be fine line between using a photo you found on the internet as a reference for an illustration and outright plagiarism. If you use someone else’s work as a reference don’t copy what you see. Make a sketch or several sketches of the subject until it becomes something other than what it was to start with. In other words make it your own. It’s really not as difficult as it may sound.
If at all possible use your own photographs for reference and you don’t have to be concerned about it. The Microstock websites will give you an option to upload your reference materials. If they think it necessary they will request that you include these references.
If you frequent the forums you’ll soon see people claiming that others are copying their ideas and sometimes even incorporating their illustrations into their art. I’ve seen some fairly blatant examples of this. The Microstock agencies do their best to prevent this and the artists and photographers help them in this pursuit. They are quick to remove anything they feel is an infringement.
Always report anything you see that you consider to be plagiarism or copyright infringement because you could easily be the next victim.