ANSWERS: 2
  • In America any copyrightable subject matter is afforded copyright protection as soon as it is reduced to a tangible medium. Thus, unless the work is extremely old (which means it could be in the public domain), or unless the publisher gives a general license, then the work is copyrighted.
  • According to uptight laywerspeak, as soon as a photo is taken or a film recorded, it becomes the intellectual property of the artist. Even if the "artist" does not file for a copyright they still have grounds to sue you if you use their materials without permission.... You might say...well that doesn't help at all....here's the beautiful part...If you find the source of a photo or piece of video footage and you you send a request to the artist asking for permission, they are obliged to answer you. If they ignore your request, and most do, then you can use it because you have made a reasonable attempt to give them due credit. This is good rule of thumb and likely to cover your backside in the slim chance of a money-grubbing so-called-artist that just wants to cash in. Rock on.

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