Copyrights?

[Sir_Fuse]

Not really a Vray question but I was using Vray at the time when the question popped up in my head -

I was recently working on an apartment complex and doing some interiors of the various units and was placing some pictures and artwork on the walls when it occurred to me - am I violating the copyright and could end up in hot water for placing a copyrighted picture or artwork in the rendering.

Didn't know if anyone had come across the issue in the past

Thanks

[glorybound]

I have had clients contact specific artists so that they can use their art. Personally, I am not sure it's an issue.

[squintnic]

I know studios and agencies that have sued for use of art on resi marketing images here in Australia successfully.
I would sue someone instantly if I saw something of mine used without permission

[fixeighted]

Just musing on this and I have an analogy.

If I video the interior of an apartment and it features an image on the wall that is instantly recognisable, then I would imagine that this would be judged to be fine, as the video is not claining ownership of any art, merely filming it
incidentally in an environment.

So why should that not be the case for the exact same image used in a render is what I'm wondering?

[anthonyh]

Get your client to supply any art and explicitly say so in an email, it might be enough protection for you if it went bad. Any legal issue would likely occur only after a removal request from the copyright owner was refused/ignored, and more likely only on a more publicly available animation rather than a pitch for example since they are usually just shown a few times only to clients and then discarded. Ultimately it`s not good form to use copyright work without a license for profit, try and find some license free imagery instead. Typing `public domain free art` into google seemed to be a good start.

[squintnic]

Just musing on this and I have an analogy.

If I video the interior of an apartment and it features an image on the wall that is instantly recognisable, then I would imagine that this would be judged to be fine, as the video is not claining ownership of any art, merely filming it
incidentally in an environment.

So why should that not be the case for the exact same image used in a render is what I'm wondering?

i suppose its specifically done in manner that is co-opting that work to sell another product. If it was filmed outdoors and incidentally featured or showed an artwork it is explictity in the public realm. Would depend on the case and be context senstive but if it was a wall print or painting by an artist and used without permission there would be a case I reckon.

[Mokiki]

Overall it really depends on the laws of the country you're in but ground rule is if you use someone else's work. They have to agree to it and allow you copyright usage. Especially when it is something you get paid for. Unless they explicitly state beforehand that an image is allowed to be used for commercial work.

[Neilg]

Yeah you are opening yourself up to potential legal trouble. It happened to us a long time ago and we only use licensed or royalty free art now. It's kind of better too because it forces our clients to handle the licensing - they often decide to license art they'll eventually use in the building.

You'll probably get away with it if your work isnt hugely public but there are plenty of litigious artists out there eager to make a quick 10k in a settlement.

[Neilg]

Get your client to supply any art and explicitly say so in an email, it might be enough protection for you if it went bad.

it wont - they are unlikely to supply a legally binding indemnification. certainly any developer with a legal team would not let them sign something like that. And you'd have to fight it to make this point so you're already losing money.
They may be able to plead that they didnt realise what you meant by asking them to ok it, they thought it was just if they liked it / whatever. As the creator of the image you're responsible for what goes into it.

[dgruwier]

I'm a little late to the discussion, but a tip I've gotten from colleagues is to just get a temporary subscription to a stock photo site like Storyblocks, which allows unlimited downloads and doesn't expire their licenses, then downloading a library of generic artwork from there. Costs like $10, and you never have to worry about copyright again, since you legally purchased the right to use everything you put in your renders.

[glorybound]

I'm a little late to the discussion, but a tip I've gotten from colleagues is to just get a temporary subscription to a stock photo site like Storyblocks, which allows unlimited downloads and doesn't expire their licenses, then downloading a library of generic artwork from there. Costs like $10, and you never have to worry about copyright again, since you legally purchased the right to use everything you put in your renders.

I like that, but often my clients send me links to the artwork that they want to use.