[Wikimedia-l] Copyright on Xrays

[Ray Saintonge]

On 08/20/12 12:17 PM, geni wrote:
> On 20 August 2012 12:52, David Gerard <dgerard at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 20 August 2012 12:50, Anthony <wikimail at inbox.org> wrote:
>>> On Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 7:47 AM, David Gerard <dgerard at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> I'm sure that collectively we can bloviate with the best of 'em on the
>>>> topic - but do we have any case law whatsoever anywhere on the topic
>>>> that might give real-world pointers?
>>
>>> It's a question of fact, not a question of law.
>> Then any real-world examples of the question arising.
> I doubt it. Most X-rays aren't worth enough to be worth suing over and
> the handful that are mostly derive for the scientific community who
> tend not to sue people over the issue of copyright.
>
This certainly sums it up. Personality rights are a separate issue, and 
in most cases it should be easy to separate them except maybe conjoined 
twins and people who have swallowed a charm bracelet with their name 
clearly exposed. Breach of contractual rights and employment contracts 
are also a separate matter. It's actually easier to deal with these 
because something is spelled out. Our concern is more with situations 
where nothing is expressed before the problem comes up.

My basic view is that the X-ray is copyrightable with the ownership of 
the copyright vesting in the person who invested most of the 
originality. If that person is bold enough to be the *first* person to 
put that image in fixed form there will be a presumption that he has a 
right to do so. Who is going to challenge him? A DMCA takedown order 
won't work, because it must reference the work that was infringed as 
well as the infringement. To get any more than provable damages the 
copyright must also be registered.

It may give comfort to owners to know that copyright in a work is 
automatic without registration, but the down side of this is a huge 
assortment of material is copyright where the "true" owner has neither 
the knowledge or desire for this kind of protection.

Ray