Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Copyright and the Button Maker

I was thinking about copyright, and found this page for collage artists, which I thought also applied to button makers. Often, people will think they can just stick celebrity pictures on a button, and since it's a derivative work, it should be fine, right? No. Or that because they got the image off the net, it's public domain, or because they aren't making a million bucks, they deserve to use anything they want. All of these are false beliefs. It's better to learn about potential problems beforehand, than complain when it arises. This site is just the first step. Learning copyright law may also protect you. When you create original buttons, you don't want someone to take your hard work, and use it. Also, for you determined to use other works, it can also show you the loopholes in which you can get your work through. (and selling a button is not 'fair use') and whether you are willing to take the risk.

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