The Record (NJMG) sues Sarah Palin over use of 9/11 photo

[BLeafe]

http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/sarah-palin-sued-for-using-9-11-photo-to-raise-funds-1.6071590


Sarah Palin sued for using 9/11 photo to raise funds

Originally published: September 13, 2013 9:23 PM
Updated: September 13, 2013 9:30 PM
By JOHN RILEY  john.riley@newsday.com


A northern New Jersey media company on Friday sued Sarah Palin and her political action committee for copyright infringement for using an iconic Sept. 11 picture to raise money without permission.

North Jersey Media Group, owner of the Record and the Herald News, said its now-famous picture of three firefighters raising an American flag on the World Trade Center was posted on the website of SarahPAC and on Palin's Facebook page.

The Manhattan federal court lawsuit says that by using the picture "to promote Sarah Palin and to raise money for SarahPAC" the former Republican vice-presidential nominee has "irreparably damaged" the newspaper company.

The lawsuit said the copyright on the photo was registered in October 2001. It seeks an injunction and money damages from Palin.

On Friday, a Sept. 11 tweet from Palin on the SarahPAC website linked to the photo. The PAC did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.

[just watching]

There's no damage to The Record whatsoever, it's all a copywrite issue.  It's just an oppy for The Record to get greedy.  Does anyone know how long a copywrite is good for on a photo ?  At what point does it become part of the public domain, especially a famous photo like that one.

[irons35]

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html

[BLeafe]

There's no damage to The Record whatsoever, it's all a copywrite issue.  It's just an oppy for The Record to get greedy.  Does anyone know how long a copywrite is good for on a photo ?  At what point does it become part of the public domain, especially a famous photo like that one.

Why would you make such a statement and then ask what copyright is all about? Everything you need to know is at your fingertips (as Mike demonstrated). I know you know how to do research, so why wouldn't you do it now?

There's another point about copyright that a lot of people don't realize: you just don't "have" copyright - you have to "maintain" it.

That means that if someone is using your image without permission, you have to go after them. If you're lax about it and let people steal your image and you decide one day to sue someone for the same violation, you have a good chance of losing your case (and possibly your copyright) if the judge finds out that you previously ignored repeated unauthorized usages.

NJMG did what it was supposed to do to maintain its copyright.

[just watching]

OK, so when NJMG says they are "irreparably damaged", that damage they are referring to is the financial interest in maintaining the copywriter? 

That might be obvious to you because you have photos that you may seek to maintain a copywrite, but it wasn't obvious to me at all.  I will stand by your explanation, and I appreciate your response.

I had thought it was because NJMG doesn't like Sara Palin and the Republican Party, that they think the whole world knows that NJMG has the copywrite on the photo, and that people might think NJMG is endorsing Palin because they see her with that image.  And that therefore NJMG is irreparably damaged by not maintaining their ultra-left politics.

I really would like to know the actual laws, because I am writing a book and want to use photos that you can download via online sources.  I was told not to do that, because I might be downloading a photo that someone actually has a copywrite on, and then they could sue me.

[BLeafe]

I am writing a book and want to use photos that you can download via online sources.  I was told not to do that, because I might be downloading a photo that someone actually has a copywrite on, and then they could sue me.

That's absolutely correct.

You start by assuming that ALL photos are copyrighted. The burden is on YOU to determine without a doubt which photos are public domain and which are not - an arduous task.

It might also help to learn how to spell "copyright" before beginning that task.