The FAR® Blog

A photograph of a famous building or a famous painting. A painting based on a photograph. A painting depicting a photograph of a commercial product, like a can of soup. What do they all have in common? Layers. And not just the digital image layers we’re all familiar with from photo editing programs: These creations involve layers of copyright and other legal interests that remain bubbling up through the work from the original image to the final product.

As a painter, do you know what your legal rights are regarding a photograph which someone else takes of your painting? As a photographer, do you know what rights you hold in that same photo, and which of the painter’s rights you need to respect? In this article, attorney and Fine Art Registry legal analyst Cindy Hill walks you step by step through the legal rights and obligations that pertain to layered art, including when a copyright first attaches, when a photograph qualifies as a created work that garners copyright protection, and the difference between the creative elements of a photograph that are legally attributable to the photographer and those elements of a photograph which are in the public domain or belong to another person.

Do you know whether or not the design of a building is copyrighted, and what that means to your photos that include architect-designed buildings? This article tells you what the 1990 Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act says about taking pictures or make paintings of the public portions of a building without running afoul of the architect’s copyright, and whether or not that law applies to fountains, landscapes and sculptures.

All artists need to know when the work they are creating runs afoul of copyright laws by comprising a duplication or derivative work of another copyrighted artwork, be it a photo, painting, sculpture or any other media. This article will explain how to ensure your own copyright attaches to the creative elements which are the product of your skill and imagination, while respecting the rights of others whose works have inspired or played a part in your own. The article also explains the best way for artists to protect the copyrighted portions of their works, including prompt registration with the U.S. Copyright Office and with the publicly accessible art database of Fine Art Registry.

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