Studio 142 operates under a “CopyLeft” philosophy.  The images I produce are licensed under the Creative Commons licensing sytem.

Under USC Title 17 and the Berne Convention, I own and retain all rights to the images I capture.  This is stated explicitly in federal law and international treaty.  In no way does the invocation of Creative Commons licensing revoke or abrogate those rights of ownership and control.

So… what does this mean in simple terms?

As the photographer, I own the images I take–even if they’re images of you.  In traditional copyright situations, this means you would need to ask permission to do anything with the images you buy, because you’re not buying the image, you’re buying the photograph–that is, the actual piece of paper you can hold in your hand.  You’re not allowed to make copies, post it online, or do anything other than look at it.  If you want copies, you need to pay the photographer for each one.

Under the Creative Commons, I’m able to give you a legal license to use the images without having to pay anything extra.  I still own the image, and can assert my rights if you violate the license agreement, but I’m not going to sue  you if you make copies to pass out to your friends and family or post the images to your webpage.

The images I take fall into one of 2 categories.  The licensing is different for each one.  Here’s what they mean:

Non-Commercial:

Creative Commons License

Most photos fall into this category.  These are photos you want for yourself.  Family portraits, senior portraits, and intimate shoots for your personal enjoyment.  These are licensed under the Creative Commons “Attribution, NonCommercial, No Derivative Works” license.

Attribution Attribution:  I allow you to copy, distribute, display, and perform my copyrighted work– but only if you give me appropriate credit.

Noncommercial Noncommercial: I let you copy, distribute, display, and perform my work–but for noncommercial purposes only.

No Derivative WorksNo Derivative Works: I let you copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of my work, not derivative works based upon it.

Commercial:

Creative Commons License

Attribution Attribution:  I allow you to copy, distribute, display, and perform my copyrighted work– but only if you give me appropriate credit.

No Derivative WorksNo Derivative Works: I let you copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of my work, not derivative works based upon it.

Definitions and Explanation:

Attribution
Very simple:  Anywhere you show the photo (such as on your website), you include a tag that says “Photo by M Blaze Miskulin” and, if possible, a link back to this website.  It costs you nothing, but can bring a lot more business my way.  This is one of the reasons I’m willing to let you do so much with the photos:  it’s good advertising–but only if you tell people who I am.
In the case of print usage, a photo credit to either M Blaze Miskulin or Studio142.org is required.
No Commercial Use
  • You can’t sell the images (or anything which has the image on it).
  • You can’t use the images in any advertising (not even for a non-profit org)

If you’re going to use the image to make money, you need to pay for commercial rights.  If you use the image commercially and don’t have the rights to do so, I can sue you for up to $150,000 per incident.   Neither of us want that (though… $150,000 would pay off my house and all my loans…)

No Derivative Works

Simply put: you can’t change the image.  You  can’t “Photoshop” the image.  You can’t retouch the image.  You can’t use it in a collage.  You can’t do a painting or drawing based on the image.

Fair Use

U.S. Law provides for “fair use” exceptions to copyright law (under which Creative Commons is based).    “Fair Use” is a legal defense–NOT a right–for using or modifying images without permission of the copyright holder.

U.S. legal precedent defines fair use as such:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

  1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
  3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
  4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Unless I have a strong moral or factual objection to the use of my images under Fair Use circumstances, I won’t pursue the matter.  This does not mean that I will allow any and all use of the images just because the user claims he has the “right”.

You can also do  quite a bit more if it’s only for your own personal use.

The Final Word

While I do allow clients a lot of rights to use the images I take of them, I must make it clear that I hold the copyright to every image, and that affords me ultimate control over how the images may be used.

All images will be registered with the US Copyright Office.  Unauthorized use of a registered image may result in civil penalties of up to $150,000 per violation, and possible criminal penalties.

If you have any questions about what you’re allowed to do with the images presented to you, simple ask.  I’m more than fair.