Digital Images - IS It Legal to...

[JenniV]

I'm creating a lot of digital images with an image editing software. Especially collages.. sometimes I used other people's photos and retouched it at least more than 30%. Is this legal to post them as mine? Do I really need permission from the artist if they can't even tell it's originally theirs? :)

[Karmond]

According to this: http://www.copyright.org.au/PDF/InfoSheets/G011.pdf

"It is generally an infringement of copyright to deal with a photograph is any of the ways exclusively reserved to the copyright owner without the copyright owners permission, unless the copyright has expired. Using part of a photograph in one of these ways may also infringe copyright, if that part is important or distinctive, even if it is a relatively small proportion of the photograph"

[Rowdy]

Basically, if someone wants to retain the copyright on their pictures, you aren't allowed to edit them in any way, or claim them in any form as your own. You aren't even allowed to copy them.
It's no different to copying a piece of text, and claiming it as your own, or copying software.
Some people don't mind you doing whatever you like with their pictures, but you have to check first, otherwise yes, you could be breaking copyright laws.
Sometimes just a reference to the author of an unedited piece is all that is required to keep them happy.

[sc_leader_bisho]

only if they have copyrighted it under there name, if not you can

[donic]

copyright exists with the creator of the image the instant the image is created - the comments made by both Rowdy and Karmond apply - unless the copyright owner has signed over the copyright or given a licence to you to use their image for a particular purpose

[passion4pixels]

only if they have copyrighted it under there name, if not you can


Not so. Once you have created an image, it belongs to you. No one else can claim it to be theirs. The creation of it is your copyright.