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Reply to "SCAM ALERT! 56 Speedster, Ebay listing 113829759069"

Sorry, guys, I think you're right on the facts, but wrong on the law.  A poster may relinquish some ownership rights when he/she posts photos online, and shouldn't object to the photos being republished, but the law is clear: under most circumstances, the person who takes the photo has a copyright to that photo, and doesn't lose that copyright merely by posting it online.

Public domain photos fall into rigid categories.  Photos on SOC are not public domain.  A "public domain" photo is different from the facts in this matter in that there is no copyright on a public domain photo, and anyone may use, copy, or distribute the photo for any purpose, commercial or otherwise.  An interesting facet of the internet is that photos posted online are controlled more by the site than the photographer, since most sites demand terms of service that the photo owner continues to own the copyright, but gives the site a license to distribute them.  I can't recall what boilerplate release we all signed when we joined speedsterowners.com.

Mention of the "fair use" doctrine is also misplaced on these facts.  In the US, the fair use doctrine has a four-point test: 1) the purpose of the use, i.e., is there any new element; was value added; 2) what is the nature of the copyrighted work, and was it published or not; 3) was a minor or major portion of the work republished; and 4) what was the effect of the use, i.e., did it decrease its commercial value.  The defense of fair use is irrelevant.

Last edited by Jim Kelly
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