SL Photos and Copyright laws

I was hoping someone could direct me to information regarding in-game images/photos and how copyright would be applied to them.

For instance -- if I am writing an article on Second Life for either an in-game publication or a RL publication, and I take an in-game snapshot of something, am I allowed to use it in my article without a) seeking permission from the creator of all content that is visible in the snapshot, and/or b) tracking down and specifically crediting the creators of everything in the snapshot?

If there are not already rules regarding this for in-game content, I'd be interested in articles about real-life situations which correlate. My initial thoughts are that an in-game snapshot is akin to a photograph taken in RL, and that the objects in the photo are in the public domain by virtue of the fact that they are voluntarily placed in plain sight of anyone passing by. But I'm interested in information which would argue either for or against this presumption.

Thanks!

- Rachel Darling

One of the things I noticed about photos of other peoples content is if you don't have total permissions to the product or item try to like post something about a product or funny item you found the image gets really blurry.
Now maybe this is me being newbie or something but thats what I have noticed.

Actually, photos are not in the public domain by virtue. There are many cases (good old Google will provide them) where people have used telephoto lenses to invade people's privacy and judges have found the defendants guilty. Another example -- taking pictures of confidential information (government classified documents, business trade secrets, naked minors, etc) can land you in prison in Canada, whether such was in plain site or not.

The safe way to approach this situation is to ask. It's rude to just start taking hundreds of pictures of someone in real life you don't know without asking beforehand, regardless of whether you're ever punished for it. Likewise, it's rude to do it in the virtual world. Some private island covenants actually have screenshot restrictions written explicitly in their covenant. Seeing as the covenant is basically a contract, were you to take screenshots on these properties, you could expect retaliatory action. As a media figure, the last thing you want to do is appear to be just another member of the paparazzi.

I think it would impractical in most cases to ask. There are simply too many objects in most screenshots to check the creator and owner of each one, check the covenants etc.

Imagine, no street scenes, because you are not able to identify the owners or drivers of every car.

Imagine if the photographers at music concerts had to ask the permission of everyone in the photo for permission to publish, or any photographs which depicted large public gatherings.

As long as the photos are not offensive, and you have not invaded privacy by sending your camera into someone's home, then just go ahead.

The copyright in the photo then rests with you.

Good luck

Rock

Actually, it would and should fall into the same category as general editorial photography. You do not need a model release when taking photos for editorial purposes. Nor would you need to contact the persons whos property you're taking the images on.

It's easy to fall into the trap of treating images of avatars belonging to other people as the same as images of other RL people. But they're not, and while such an argument passes the snicker test, I'd still be surprised if a court took that interpretation literally.

People have certain rights with regard to their own image. These are not copyright-relatede, because copyright refers to works of art or literature created by a person, and a person's face is neither (DNA doesn't count, though a makeup job might be. As has already been stated, the use of a RL image of a person for editorial purposes generally needs no release, as long as you had the right to take the picture in the first place.

However, avatars in SL are works of art (good or bad) created by a RL person. As such, they are covered by copyright, unlike an image of a RL person. The standard for use of copyrighted work without explicit permission is called fair use. My personal opinion is that a snapshot taken in SL of a location that has no restriction on who can enter, and where the snapshot just happens to include a bunch of avatars, and where it's used to illustrate a magazine article, ought to be considered fair use. There are other situations in which the use of a SL snapshot should not be considered fair use. The first court to try such a case is likely to have to spend some time just learning how SL gets used, in order to decide which usages are fair and which aren't.

The usual "I am not a lawyer" and "this is personal opinion, not legal advice" opinions apply.

Only reason anything is blurry is because the image data hasn't fully downloaded to your computer yet. Has nothing to do with permissions.

There were numerous stories about Anshe Chung trying to sue people for using her picture, which many real life lawyers commented on the invalidity of any such lawsuit. You could probably Google for it if interested.

There was also a statement by Catherine (?) Linden that in-game snapshots did not require permission from any land holder, builder, or avatar.

Per the Terms of Service, since LL has a permanent, irrevocable right to anything uploaded to their server, they can state this authoritatively, without regard to whatever laws might apply in the real world.

Does this extend to SL users, or just Linden Labs?

I bet its just Linden Labs.

Though how they could possibly control everyone's screen shots ?

Even if those shots werent supposed to be displayed seems a monumental task to keep track of them all.

If the snapshots are published, they could pass the liability on to the user. There may be a copyright issue, as Kidd Krasner suggests, if the subject is a model, or there may be a disclosure issue if the avatar is engaged in private activities.

For the most part I've taken shots that, even when candid, showed respect for the subject. But if I've taken shots to promote the sim, and even that character, could someone leaving with sour grapes turn around and make a legal or Linden complaint about using their image?

It extends to players by virtue of a Linden having given a public statement of policy saying that snapshots are fair use of materials they have total rights to.

I'd love to find that post, but the search here is a tad limited.

Reminds me of a march many years ago, when a photographer decided to take pictures of me -- not just random crowd shots, but of me in particular. I didn't mind, but I was surprised when she didn't come and introduce herself afterward. At the very least, I would have liked to have found out where any photos were going to end up, so I could buy copies.

Regardless of the legalities, it's kinda tacky to take pictures of someone without their permission, whether in RL or SL. Maybe a flattering tackiness, but still... If you're taking shots of avatars, just ask first (or shout, if it's a crowd), and you can take care of the courtesy and legal angles with one stone. Especially if you're going to be publishing the photo, it's just presumptuous not to -- possibly even verging on exploitative, if you expect any income from the photo.

Similarly, I'd think any random landscape that's publicly accessible shouldn't require permission anymore than a random photo from a car window would, but if you're taking a picture of something in particular, it's just tacky not to ask permission.

From what i had experienced, players are allowed to take any pictures and make movies out of it in the SeconfLife.

If you are a kind person, you can friendly asked that person permission before taking their pictures. Anyway, why do you want to do that? Unless, you want to be friends with them or maybe want them to help you out for better photo-taking.

To be frank, it is hard to identify a person in the pictures taken or movies due to the 'screen blurness'. Furthermore, there can be a multiple faces of you in SecondLife and it's all about L$ and time to make it happened. I, myself can changed my face for 365 times in a year.

Unless, one fine day, SecondLife decide to make peoples born/fix with a permanent looks right at the beginning and that's is unique and copyright laws may come in. Then, peoples will created their account for 1000 times or pay L$$$$ just to get a better lookings. LOL...

When I first got here, I thought common courtesy would dictate that someone would ask first, but I've since been jaded by ppl taking random unsolicited shots of Me, and since then, I've been guilty of the same behavior. Everyone does it, great, but will it bite Me in the ass?

To date, I'm not aware of any suit that has been successfully brought regarding actions within an MMO.

In our society people love to threaten to sue, but rarely follow through. If they did, recoverable damages are declared by 17 U.S.C. 504which looks pretty scary on its face ($30,000 ) but hinges on Fair Use (17 U.S.C. 107) which frees most reportage, teaching, and commentary from liability.

As a RL photographer, when capturing identifiable people at public events it is often hard to approach them before as it tends to ruin the shot. I do try to approach them afterwards (for reasons of politeness) but it is not always possible nor necessary. If I was intending to use the image for a commercial purpose, I would try really hard, but don't have an affirmative obligation.

Here is an example of someone who knows what they are doing copying a copyrighted image.

Correct, this is called the "fair use" clause if you want to google it and learn. Note that this applies to use in articles, but not to all photos taken in SL for any purpose.

You can learn a LOT about copyrights at http://copyright.gov. This is US copyright law, but most of the rights issues (as opposed to filing issues) are harmonized to be pretty consistent among hundreds of countries.

Most of the info there is written for the layperson, not for attorneys.