User talk:Stagememories

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Welcome

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Copyright status of your pottery photo

I really feel bad about this, but I fear that your photo of the Fairyland piece may violate Robinson's copyright. In my opinion, copyright law is a horrible mess, grossly weighted in favor of corporations pretending to "protect" creative people, but Wikipedia is bound by the law. A picture of a 3D object has two separate creative components. First, any copyright that may apply to the object itself, and then a copyright in the "derived work" (the photo) which is held by the photographer. Thus, you claim of "own work" applies to the derived work, but does not cancel the copyright on the Fairyland images, which is held by whoever Robinson assigned them to. Yuck.

By contrast, should you choose to photograph just the registered mark, there is no "creative element" in that portion of the 3D object, and you would own the photo's copyright.

Since I hate this entire mess, I will take no action to raise this issue on Wikimedia Commons. -Arch dude (talk) 18:10, 27 September 2020 (UTC)

UPDATE: I'm used to US law (anything after 1924 is still under copyright.) UK copyright law appears to say that copyright on works like that mug expires 70 years after the death of its creator, so Robinson's copyright expired in 1944+70=2014. You are OK for the Fairyland images. I think we can ignore the copyright in the "creative element" of the actual shape of the mug on the grounds that the shape is not creative enough to bother with, but if you want to get pedantic, copyright for a anonymous or corporate creator expires 70 years after the production of the piece. Technically, you should update the commons description page: Don't bother unless someone contests your description. -Arch dude (talk) 18:27, 27 September 2020 (UTC)