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UNDERSTANDING COPYRIGHT LAW     The Copyright Act of 1976 is fairly complicated. Camerique Inc. Intl. does not intend to convey legal advice by mentioning it here. If you are going to use materials and resources that have been copyrighted, you must understand what you may and may not do with them. Definitions     A copyright is the exclusive right granted to "authors" under the U.S. Copyright Act to copy, adapt, distribute, publicly perform, and publicly display their works of authorship, such as literary works, databases, musical works, sound recordings, photographs, and other still images, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works.     A derivative work is described in the Copyright Act as "a work based upon one or more pre-existing works," such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed or adapted. Regarding still images     1.Unless you created them, you do not own them.     2.You may not use a copyrighted image, in whole or in part (even a small part) without the       express permission of the creator.     3.Stiff fines may be imposed. There are some good books available that will help you understand this in greater depth. Multimedia Law Handbook, a Practical guide for Developers and Publishers, by J. Dianne Brinson and Mark F. Radcliffe, Ladera Press (3130 Alpine Road, Suite 200-9002, Menlo Park, CA 94025) $74.95. Order copies from: Ladera Press, c/o RLS Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 5030, Port Huron, MI 48061-5030. Tel: 800-523-3721 Fax: 810-987-3562 The Software Publishers Association Legal Guide to Multimedia, by Thomas J. Smedinghoff, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. $44.95 Right to Privacy     During our lifetimes, most people think we should have the right to keep other people out of our way. This "right to privacy" was not specifically granted in the constitution. As a result, each state has written its own right to privacy laws. In general, these laws say that no one can use your image without getting a "model release" from you. In many states, you can also prevent someone making an image of your property without getting a "property release." The most important exception to this right is the right to free speech that is part of the First Amendment to the Constitution. This "fair use" doctrine says you or I may use another person's copyrighted work as an example or illustration, in political or education discussions. I can refer to and quote from Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech without paying a royalty to his estate. However, I cannot "perform" his speech for money or use phrases from it in an advertisement or commercial, without permission and a license agreement. In general, the "Fair Use" exception does not make it easier to license still images, because it is almost impossible to make an "excerpt" from an image that does not infringe on the whole. Right to Publicity     Famous people create a value in their name and appearance that is part of what they leave behind when they die. They have a right to control this value during their life -- that is why people pay celebrities so much for their "endorsements." State courts have generally ruled that the estates of famous people also have the right to control publicity about them after they die.

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