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No, the relevant law is the one where a work is published. For this you don't need to spread law around the globe. There are known cases where a work was alread

No, the relevant law is the one where a work is published. For this you don't need to spread law around the globe. There are known cases where a work was already in public domain in the country of creation but not in Germany and the heirs successfully sued in German court. Yes, in this case the chance of getting sued is pretty small, but it's there. See for example the US government's own statement: > Copyright laws differ internationally. While a U.S. government work is not protectable under U.S. copyright laws, the work may be protected under the copyright laws of other jurisdictions when used in these jurisdictions. The U.S. government may assert copyright outside of the United States for U.S. government works. http://www.usa.gov/copyright.shtml#Exceptions http://www.usa.gov/copyright.shtml#Exceptions Many German blogs stopped using copyrighted photos (at least much less use such photos than blogs in other countries do) because you are actually at risk of being sued. Some people lost quite a lot of money for doing this.

snowwrestler 12y ago
If you know of a case where a U.S. federal government employee successfully sued for their copyright in Germany on a photo they made in the course of their official duties with the U.S. government, I'd appreciate if you could point me in the right direction. I'm familiar with the idea that copyright expirations can take longer in Germany vs. the U.S., and that the U.S. government reserves the right to assert copyright internationally. But I've never heard of a case like I mention above. Thanks.
- germanier 12y ago
  The US governments specifically preservers the rights for their work abroad (see my other comments for citations). I know no case where they actually enforced that and therefore personally I'd take the risk of using US government work. However, I know that if they started suing I'd loose.
  - snowwrestler 12y ago
    Ok, I agree with that, but what you said above is, "It's not the risk of NASA suing you but the risk of the original creator suing you." I've never heard of such a case.
    - germanier 12y ago
      I can't verify what contract the employee signed with NASA. If they retain rights to use the work abroad (we don't know) they potentially could sue you. Again, the risk is minimal but it's present. I can't name you a specific case, only that if it ever gets to court a user of such an image in Germany never rightfully acquired a license and will therefore loose.
vinceguidry 12y ago
So, let's say you're in Germany running a blog. You've made a few questionable image choices and now the people owning the images decides they want to be a dick and come after you for royalties. What's your exposure here? Is it something where all you need to do is take the infringing content down and that's the end of it? Or are you potentially on the hook for monetary damages going all the way back to where you first published the images? Don't tell me that that's a question for a lawyer, because you should know about the risks regularly taken in your industry that can produce outsized penalties. You don't become a surgeon without the understanding that surgical malpractice could ruin your career, even though it almost never happens. If you don't know, you're just being naive. Even if you did potentially have that liability, what's the likelihood that they'll actually exercise it? Sure, the US Government will want to retain as many rights as they can, but realistically they don't really give a shit unless you make them give a shit. If your clients are putting space images up in the service of saying that the US is horrible and should be boycotted or whatever, absolutely you'll have poked a hornet's nest and they're going to assign a bureaucrat the job of making your life hell. But if you use the damn gifts you were given in the spirit in which they're given, do you really need to let fear guide your choices here?
- germanier 12y ago
  These cases are usually settled for a few hundred Euro, which is what a court would set anyway. As there have been quite a few trials of this kind the sums are pretty well established. That is well known in the German blogging scene. For example, "Marions Kochbuch" is a website with cooking photos that some people say only exists to serve notices to unsuspecting bloggers that use their photos. Every few weeks a new case of someone who didn't know makes rounds in the German-speaking internet scence. Personally I would use US government photos on my website (but not random other photos found on the web). But I know that I'd take a small risk with that. The US lawmakers specifically wanted to preserve rights abroad, who knows whether the government will actually start to enforce it: > The prohibition on copyright protection for United States Government works is not intended to have any effect on protection of these works abroad. Works of the governments of most other countries are copyrighted. There are no valid policy reasons for denying such protection to United States Government works in foreign countries, or for precluding the Government from making licenses for the use of its works abroad. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Copyright_Law_Revision_(House_Report_No._94-1476) http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Copyright_Law_Revision_(House_...

snowwrestler 12y ago

If you know of a case where a U.S. federal government employee successfully sued for their copyright in Germany on a photo they made in the course of their official duties with the U.S. government, I'd appreciate if you could point me in the right direction. I'm familiar with the idea that copyright expirations can take longer in Germany vs. the U.S., and that the U.S. government reserves the right to assert copyright internationally. But I've never heard of a case like I mention above. Thanks.

germanier 12y ago
The US governments specifically preservers the rights for their work abroad (see my other comments for citations). I know no case where they actually enforced that and therefore personally I'd take the risk of using US government work. However, I know that if they started suing I'd loose.
- snowwrestler 12y ago
  Ok, I agree with that, but what you said above is, "It's not the risk of NASA suing you but the risk of the original creator suing you." I've never heard of such a case.
  - germanier 12y ago
    I can't verify what contract the employee signed with NASA. If they retain rights to use the work abroad (we don't know) they potentially could sue you. Again, the risk is minimal but it's present. I can't name you a specific case, only that if it ever gets to court a user of such an image in Germany never rightfully acquired a license and will therefore loose.

vinceguidry 12y ago

So, let's say you're in Germany running a blog. You've made a few questionable image choices and now the people owning the images decides they want to be a dick and come after you for royalties. What's your exposure here? Is it something where all you need to do is take the infringing content down and that's the end of it? Or are you potentially on the hook for monetary damages going all the way back to where you first published the images? Don't tell me that that's a question for a lawyer, because you should know about the risks regularly taken in your industry that can produce outsized penalties. You don't become a surgeon without the understanding that surgical malpractice could ruin your career, even though it almost never happens. If you don't know, you're just being naive. Even if you did potentially have that liability, what's the likelihood that they'll actually exercise it? Sure, the US Government will want to retain as many rights as they can, but realistically they don't really give a shit unless you make them give a shit. If your clients are putting space images up in the service of saying that the US is horrible and should be boycotted or whatever, absolutely you'll have poked a hornet's nest and they're going to assign a bureaucrat the job of making your life hell. But if you use the damn gifts you were given in the spirit in which they're given, do you really need to let fear guide your choices here?

germanier 12y ago
These cases are usually settled for a few hundred Euro, which is what a court would set anyway. As there have been quite a few trials of this kind the sums are pretty well established. That is well known in the German blogging scene. For example, "Marions Kochbuch" is a website with cooking photos that some people say only exists to serve notices to unsuspecting bloggers that use their photos. Every few weeks a new case of someone who didn't know makes rounds in the German-speaking internet scence. Personally I would use US government photos on my website (but not random other photos found on the web). But I know that I'd take a small risk with that. The US lawmakers specifically wanted to preserve rights abroad, who knows whether the government will actually start to enforce it: > The prohibition on copyright protection for United States Government works is not intended to have any effect on protection of these works abroad. Works of the governments of most other countries are copyrighted. There are no valid policy reasons for denying such protection to United States Government works in foreign countries, or for precluding the Government from making licenses for the use of its works abroad. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Copyright_Law_Revision_(House_Report_No._94-1476) http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Copyright_Law_Revision_(House_...