cpyrt

A Word On Copyrights

A person recently suggested that I remove the copyrights on the still frames, and animated GIFs, in my articles containing images obtained from raw NASA video footage. This person said NASA might have problems with this.

It is TRUE that one cannot record live raw NASA television broadcasts and stamp a copyright upon them. These, as originally broadcast are, and remain, in the public domain.

However…when one isolates selected portions from these raw recordings, and captures specific video clips from these, they become that persons’ WORK. Capturing still frame images, creating animated GIFs from those images, adding comments or markings, adding a voice over to a video clip, zooming, and enhancing also amount to WORK done. It is the work, done by an individual, which can be subject to copyright.

We’ve all seen parts of NASA films, and videos, used in commercial television news broadcasts and documentaries. If you look closely at the credits following these programs, you will note that NASA is thanked for the raw material, and the program copyrighted. It works the same for me. I have ALWAYS acknowledged that NASA TV broadcasts are the source of my material. But it is ME who does the work to make a presentation concerning a particular part of that original NASA material. For this reason I can, and will continue to, add that little © symbol to my work. So, this too is...