Since we are talking about copyright, what about private buildings
shot from public streets, can we sell them as art?
--
JR
I am under the impression that you can sell anything as "art" - a
painting of Cambells Soup is a good example. This is especially
true for "one off" type of stuff. Selling a single photograph as
"art" would not land you in trouble as say for example, if you
started selling many prints? Publishing your photographic "art" in
an "art" book also gives you some leway, from what I have read.
There are cases when the design of the building itself can be
protected under trademark. There was an important case where a
photographer shot photos of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and was
selling them. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame sued him and lost their
case. Their appeal was also turned down. An example of a building
trademark would be the Transamerica building in SF which is
incorporated into the Transamerica trademarked logo.
You can read more about the "Rock Hall" case here:
http://re.cleveland.oh.us/archives/19991001.html
And always, always remember of course:
Shoot first, get permission later!
