Benjamin Esham wrote:
John Lee wrote:
Is this particular image even eligible to be
copyrighted, since it is just
a photo of another work?
Hmm, perhaps not. Even so, I think a {{PD-ineligible}} on the image page
wouldn't make a difference to the county government. They don't seem to be
particularly familiar with Wikipedia, and the copyright status of the image
doesn't seem to be the issue at question.
Agreed, it looks more like a trademark issue.
Unless the
seal was created prior to the advent of copyright, if I'm not
mistaken, it would be covered by copyright laws and thus the county would
have a valid claim - we would only be allowed to use images of the seal
under a claim of fair use.
I guess there are three issues here: the copyright on the photograph I took,
the copyright on the actual wood rendering I took a picture of, and the
ability to use the seal in any given situation. My original inquiry to the
county regarded the first item, which they completely ignored, changing the
topic to the third item.
The problem seems to be that when you ask the wrong questions you get
the wrong answers. Asking the question is what started the problem. My
first puzzled reaction was why would you be complaining to them about
their use of their own seal.
The seal is codified in law, which is necessarily
public domain. Suppose I
were to work from the law's definition of the seal and create an SVG file;
would that be considered public domain, since I only created a graphic from
a PD textual description? Even then, the question remains of what I am
allowed to do with the image I created.
I can't see what you are trying to accomplish with this game. If it's
your original photograph you can do what you want with it.
Does Wikipedia have any established guidelines on the
legality of the use of
coats of arms and seals?
Including a picture of a seal is not a use for trademark purposes.
But having
said all that, you seem to have been referred to a law that has
nothing to do with copyright - I'm not sure whether it applies to the
Wikimedia Foundation or to other editors, since the servers and the legal
entity are in Florida.
Indeed... ISTM that it wouldn't even be worth it for the county to
attempt
to press charges against someone outside of New York. I have only a vague
idea of how the Wikimedia servers' location factors in to such legal
matters.
I think this is a non-issue. Assuming that there were a legal case here
in the first place, I suspect strongly that the New York courts would
have jurisdictions. The trick of having someone else do the uploading
only plays games with the idea of jurisdiction, and has no relevance to
the main issue.
I tried the link that you gave to your picture, but it does not give me
the picture. This leaves me the impression that the complaint is much
ado about nothing. If you want to allege that they are using your image
of a sign that any passerby can photograph it is up to you to prove that
it is your photograph. Having your girl-friend stand beside the sign
when you took the picture would be such a feature that would make your
photograph distinctive.
Ec