Startups Stack Exchange Archive

Is photographic composition protected as copyrighted derivative works?

• posted by: martin’s on 2014-11-22
• tagged: copyright, patent
• score: 2

Example:

In shooting photographs for the marketing of a product company A experiments with various arrangements and lighting techniques through A/B testing until a winning formula is found. This includes the placement of the objects relative to each other as well as the lighting and effects applied (highlighting, darkening, blurring, etc.) during post-processing with tools such as Photoshop. The company files for Copyright protection on these photographs.

A competitor, company B, copies the composition, arrangement, lighting and digital techniques. They use all of this to effectively create images with the same “look and feel” except that instead of featuring company A’s product it shows company B’s product.

When viewed side-by-side the images look strikingly similar in “look and feel” except for featuring different products.

Can company A protect it’s “look and feel” based on their copyrighted images by reaching for the derivative works protection?

Answer 1729

• posted by: BFR on 2014-12-23
• score: 3

I have studied advertising (it's laws as well), photography, and I am an online geek.

The answer to your question is that it's very contextual.

• It depends on the Copyright and Advertising Laws of the state you reside in.
• There are advertising laws where you cannot copy your competitors ads (visual and/or copy). Legal action can be taken in such cases.

• Pertaining to the Internet

  • Photos on the internet belong to the user (original uploader).
  • If someone plagiarizes photos, then one can make a request to Google to help remove them under the DMCA policy.

---

All content is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.