“I’m a photographer. I’m also a web geek. And those two sides of my brain sometimes fight with each other.

As a photographer, I’m outraged when people grab photos off the web and use them without consideration of copyright. I’ve been fighting this “It’s on the internet, so it must be free!” ignorance for more than a decade.

As a web geek, I love the freedom of the web. I love that I can share my work with the whole world, for free. This is the great gift of the internet.

So what to do?”

“In early August, the medical supplies and drug firm Johnson & Johnson sued the American Red Cross over the right to use the red-cross emblem. Most of us had assumed that the red cross, seen on ambulances and first-aid kits, was a universal symbol of succor to the suffering. But like any graphic symbol, the red cross turns out to have more meanings and more history than would at first appear. And the rights to use this symbol are equally complicated—a reminder that many graphic symbols have more complex stories than we expect.”

“It’s easy enough to find out how long copyrights last, but much harder to decide how long they should last—but that didn’t stop Cambridge University PhD candidate Rufus Pollock from using economics formulas to answer the question. In a newly-released paper, Pollock pegs the “optimal level for copyright” at only 14 years.”

“OpenSourceCinema is a collaborative documentary project to create a feature film about copyright in the digital age. We want you to create parts of the film.”

“…taking a ‘I don’t need to file copyright applications’ attitude can often come back to haunt you. The reason for this, under the US Copyright Act, is that registration of the copyright within ninety (90) days of publication (or before infringement takes place) is necessary to enable the copyright owner to receive what are referred to as ’statutory damages.’”

“It’s one thing to try to stop the rampant font piracy. It’s another thing entirely to not let me embed your typeface in the most popular digital format in existence.”

“Interviewing Cory Doctorow is easy. You just flip the on switch by asking the first question, and he emits a constant stream of brilliant, insightful stuff. Editing interviews with Doctorow is easy as well. He generally speaks in coherent, whole sentences and frequently expresses complex ideas for some length that don’t get lost mid-paragraph. So it’s a pleasure to present this conversation…”

Aside from its overall greatness, this is my second-favorite part of the whole Apple iPhone deal. As Rafe at rc3.org said, “a bit passive-aggressive.” UPDATE: Here’s more from Mark Chandler, Cisco’s SVP and General Counsel.

“This post addresses a topic that I have been thinking about for a while, and I have had the occasional discussion with other photographers about this. The main question might be posed as follows. When do similarities between photographs end, and when does plagiarism begin?”

“When the Smithsonian Institution recently announced a deal with Showtime to create a joint venture called Smithsonian Networks, documentary filmmakers and free-speech advocates were outraged by the prospect of a single corporation having exclusive rights to a public trust (the Smithsonian is funded by 75% public money). But this is only the most recent development in the gradual erosion of fair use and the public domain in America.”

“We borrow ideas and imitate designs all the time, so when we lift a vintage image to use in our own projects, is that stealing? It, err, depends, says Gene Gable (and the law). In this installment: Gene admits to graphic thievery, or what he learned from Joe Wieder.” See also WHEN U.S. WORKS PASS INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

A list of things that can’t be photographed/designed as stock photography: “The DNA List (That’s Do Not Accept) is the place to contribute your knowledge of copyright issues. Know of a trademarked building or product? Post it here, and help everyone stay current. Our experts will make sure everything is correct.”

“SignOnSanDiego.com reports that many photofinishing labs are increasingly reluctant to reproduce ‘professional-looking’ photos for fear of copyright infringement liability…”

“Just got back from seeing Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Larry Lessig, and Steven Johnson talk about ‘Who owns culture?’ at the New York Public Library. They webcast the event, so if you’ve never seen Lessig wield his formidable PowerPoint clicker, you may be able to catch it archived there at some point. I’m not going to try to weave this into something narrative, so here are a few random thoughts/observations…”

“Phil Ringnalda points to the new Yahoo Creative Commons search engine and notices that because the engine is relying purely on links to CC licenses to pull out content that is supposedly licensed as CC, there is going to be a lot of confusion related to what is, or is not, CC licensed.”