GIF copyrights

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 Kim Keegan asked if graphics downloaded from the Web are
 copyrighted and if using them without permission could lead
 to trouble. The short answer: yes to both questions! Worse
 yet, if the creator of the graphic formally registered
 copyright, you could be liable for substantial monetary
 damages if the creator catches you and chooses to sue.

 The long answer: Canadian copyright law specifically states
 that visual works (films and videos) and artistic works
 (here, meaning drawings) are copyrighted; moreover, it
 makes no distinction in terms of the medium in which the
 work has been created. Sorry, one small amendment: the law
 allows for specific copyrights on each "mechanical
 contrivance", so (for example) the CD version of a song and
 the cassette version would each be independently
 copyrighted. The important point is that the medium in
 which the item exists is only important in the sense of
 defining a separate copyright for each medium. (Since
 Canada is a signatory to all the main international
 copyright treaties, the same rules should apply elsewhere.)

 Downloading a graphic from the Web is no different from
 photocopying one from a book and calling it your own: a
 clear violation. (Un)fortunately, if you download the
 graphic, change its size, recolor it, change the text, add
 and delete elements, and otherwise provide significant
 intellectual input to the redesign, you're probably safe...
 copyright only protects a specific execution of an idea,
 not the idea itself. (Of course, if the graphic serves as a
 trademark for the creator, then you might be prohibited
 from infringing on that trademark, irrespective of
 copyright issues.) This is tricky ground, because the
 extent of the required modifications will be left up to the
 lawyers to decide.

 --Geoff Hart     @8^{)}     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
 Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.