Re: Photographing purchased objects

[Kevin Hawkins <kevin.s.hawkins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There are a couple of items we need to distinguish here:

a) 3-D models of real bones
b) the original photographs of the 3-D models
c) handouts of the photographs

First of all, non-textual works like photographs, paintings, and 
architectural plans are eligible for copyright protection.  The question 
is the extent of the creativity involved in creating them.

The bone models themselves (a) were probably cast from real bones and 
therefore would not be eligible for copyright protection since they are 
simply replicas.  It doesn't matter whether the works were purchased or not.

Who took the original photographs of the bone models (b)?  These 
photographs might be copyrightable since there is some creativity 
involved in taking a good photograph, but if the photographs are rather 
clinical, not creative, in nature, then it's unlikely anyone could win a 
copyright claim.  If the instructor herself took the photos, then 
there's probably no issue.

It's true that in the US, works produced as an employee are considered 
"works for hire", with copyright belonging to the employer.  (Similar 
provisions exist in other countries.)  Most universities have some sort 
of policy granting back to instructional faculty copyright in work they 
produce for teaching and research (limited in cases of special 
institutional funding), but in theory the university could claim 
copyright.  It's good to check the institution's policy anyway, but I 
can't imagine the institution would care about an exclusive right to 
these photographs.

It seems to me that whether the instructor gives out (c) in digital form 
or asks a copy shop to make copies of (c) is of little legal difference 
unless the coursepack company is afraid of liability.  I think that if 
she signs a waiver saying she'll take responsibility for any copyright 
infringement, she'll be fine.

I am not an attorney, and this message does not constitute legal advice.

Kevin

Karen Kunz wrote:
> I have an Anatomy instructor who has created digital handouts for her students
> comprised of photographs of bones along with her additional narrative of what
> each part of the bone is called. The 3-D models of the various bones that were
> photographed were purchased from various companies and there is no identifying
> mark on any of them.
>
>
>
> The students would like to purchase these handouts in a packet (as opposed to
> individually printing them). My instructor is wondering what copyright issues
> might arise from changing the access to these documents from digital (only her
> students) to selling them in the bookstore (general public).
>
>
>
> Since the documents are obviously under her copyright, the issue becomes
> whether she could sell photos of the 3-D models. Since the models are of
> something common (bones) and are not distinctive, I couldn't see any problem
> with her selling her handouts. Does anyone else see an issue that I might have
> missed?
>
>
>
> Thanks for any insight you can give me.
>
>
>
>
>
> Karen
>
>
>
>
> Karen Kunz
> Oregon Institute of Technology Libraries