Why Can't I Copy Something Copyrighted?

After being a printer for two years, you can't imagine the amount of times someone has brought in a copyright photo to me and I had to turn their printing down. Despite me telling them that me duplicating the photo (or book) was illegal and they and the company would receive a hefty fine, they still wanted to copy.

"Why can't you copy this?"

We're going to answer that question with common markers that make a book or photo illegal to copy.

The most noticable for photos is looking on the back. Most photographers, when they print out the photo, use a special type of photo paper. It will read DO NOT COPY on the back, and the person you are going to for printing will know this. So if you see him or her turning the photo over, that is what they are checking.

Now, does that mean if the photo does not say those three words that you are free? No.

To avoid potential law suits, if a photo looks copyrighted and does not have that message (which does happen every now and then) they will still refuse. The common 'look' of a professional photo will be a certain amount of clarity that common household photographers cannot achieve with their cameras, a balancing of light and shadow, and common looking backdrops. Many school photos do not have the copyright message on them, but they are still copyrighted to the photographer.

Another way to know if the photo is copyrighted, which I saw every now and then, is instead of a DO NOT COPY message on the back, there was a logo on the front. Most notably I saw this with Disney, from those photographers standing near the entrance of the park taking photos. "I can't get a hold of that photographer, can you please copy this for me? No one will ever know." The answer is still no.

Here is another thing I heard a lot. "But it's me/my child/family/friend/etc. They can't copyright this!" Yes, they can. While they do not own your face, they own the photo containing your face (or that of any relative, so this excuse will not work).

If you do need a copy of a professional photo, what can you do? Most photographers receive this request frequently, and offer releases that can either be physically picked up, but more often than not are faxed over to the printer. Some photographers don't charge for this form, but most do (the common fee associated from my experience is $10-$20, but it can be more). They will ask you what you plan to do with the copy, and the release will be stipulated that you can only do that. So if you say you want 10 copies, but then decide to do that and a blown up poster you can be sued by the photographer and they will win.

What about international copyrights? While it is true that the copyright will not hold up in court (also some countries do not even have copyrights), we go back to the aforementioned "if it looks copyrighted it is" aspect. The printer will most likely refuse to copy the picture, despite you being in the right about this case.

What about books?

It also was not uncommon for me to receive a customer requesting a page or two from a book to be copied. They may have wanted the photos inside, or an easier to carry around page or two. Some customers brought in text books and wanted to copy pages to make studying easier.

Printers at schools will probably not refuse the latter, but commercial ones like Staples will (unless you are a teacher and have proper identification showing such, where you can then copy 10% of a book if you need it for a class).

However, the way to tell if you can copy anything from the book is looking at the page with the publication information. Right there it will most likely say no part of the book can be copied unless they are notified. While publishers received these requests less than photographers, most do offer a release deal.

Art follows a similar vein. Caricatures, paintings, comics, anything that has an artist's name at the bottom is their property and you have only received a copy of it. After hearing that, customers have asked, "what if I rip off that part, it no longer belongs to them right?" I hope this comes off as stupid as it is. It is still the artist's property, and the printer will know that and would have refused the work even if the name wasn't there based on the appearance. If they do not refuse the work though and assume the artwork is not under any copyright, then copying would still be illegal.

If your photo, the book you are trying to copy, or the artwork is under any copyright then be prepared to have your print job denied. Teacher's can get around some of these copyright issues, but most people will find these strict rules bar them from copying anything, despite how good their intention is.

You may be asking why would they be so paranoid. Again, your intentions are good, or contacting the photographer is impossible, why won't they let it slide? Rarely people are sent in, much like mystery shoppers, and attempt to make the printer copy something copyrighted. If they do, there is a world of lawsuits. The common lawsuit for breaking this law is: $100,000 to $250,000 fine to both the company and the person copying. Then whatever machine used is destroyed. Of course, while the printer who irresponsibly broke this law will not be sued, they will definitely be fired. Believe me, it's not worth trying with numbers that high against you.