I dedicated an entire class to copyright for my undergraduate students. In ranges from differences in leasing and selling work all the way to piracy and copyright infringement. Here's the summary info I supply them with. It’s a good idea to have an understanding of copyright law as an artist. Be you a painter, illustrator, photographer, designer or, art student. Knowing your rights and how you can or can not use other’s images in your work is essential knowledge for working artists. Basic Copyright For Work You Create The minute you create any work for your own use (whatever that use may be), you own the copyright. You have the right to reproduce the artwork, copy it, display it and use it for financial gain. You also have the right to stop someone who copied your image from using it. If you create a painting and sell it, the buyer owns the painting and you own the copyright.* If you create a painting for an employer/client who is paying you to create it, The painting and copyright belongs to the employer/client.* If you create a painting on commission for a client the painting and copyright belong to the client* If you allow a company to publish your work/s (e.g. in a magazine, calendar, etc.), you are licensing the work to them. The original work and copyright usually still belong to you but, this depends on the agreement you signed with the publisher. In the EU and the USA the duration of copyright is 70 years beyond the life of the creator. This can vary in different circumstances and from country to country. *Unless stated otherwise in an agreement. Usually a signed legal document. Common Questions Q: Can I use someone elses image in my painting (or, for reference)? A: No. Mostly. If you take an image and use that image to make one that looks like it, you have infringes on the owner/creator’s copyright. However, if you use that image as a source of inspiration for your own work and, the result is your own unique image, you are not infringing on the owner’s rights. The safest option is to use your own images or, public domain images. Q: Can I make copies of images for my own personal studies? A: Yes. Even though you are making a copy of a copyright image, because it is for your own personal use, there is no copyright infringement. This falls under the “fair dealing” and “fair use” exceptions. You can not sell these works for profit. I recommend not including these in portfolios. Q: Do I need to use the © symbol on my artwork? A: No. But, it can be useful in preventing what is called “innocent infringement.” A situation where someone who is unfamiliar with copyright law require legal defense for unknowingly infringing upon the owner’s copyright. Q: How do I use the © symbol? A: © 2014 Jane Doe. All rights reserved. Something to think about Let’s say you are an artist who makes their living from the art you create. You spend the better part of a month working on on a piece of art. You then add images to your online portfolio and put it up for sale at a commensurate amount for the time and experience that went into it’s creation. One week later you stumble across an online store selling hundreds of copies at an affordable price. How does this affect you? How does this make you feel? How do you imagine musicians, game developers and, other creatives feel about piracy? Myths About Copyright Mailing a copy of your work to yourself. The US Government Copyright Office states that: "The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration" 1. References 1. http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Research and Information Sites http://www.copyright.gov/ http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ40.pdf - Copyright Registration for the Visual Arts http://www.visualartcopyright.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substantial_similarity

The easiest ways to avoid copyright infringement are to take your own reference photos, use reference photos taken by family or friends with their permission if you know any photographers, or purchase royalty free photos from sites like Photobash for reference. Some artists also sell photo reference packs, I'd just review said artists' individual policies on photo use. There are sites like Paint My Photo where you can find free reference photos, don't think they even require attribution so long as you follow the site's rules. Has been awhile since I've used it, but I think they require your art to be traditional, not digital, and you have to post your artwork as a reply to the original photo on their site. Just be sure to review their policies if you go that route. You can also use multiple photos from a Google search or what-have-you for reference of your subject so long as you don't copy any of the photos directly. Say you're drawing a crow, for example. You can look at multiple photos of crows from different angles with different types of lighting to get an idea of the shape of a crow's body, maybe even do a few quick studies from different angles that you don't share, just to get a better sense of the body structure, then you come up with your own composition. No attribution necessary so long as you're using a wide range of photos for general understanding of the anatomy without directly copying.