[Advocacy Advisors] FoP in the Global Legal Post

Fri Feb 20 14:58:04 UTC 2015

Today's front page of the legal-news site the Global Legal Post features 
an article on Freedom of Panorama, written by European trademark 
attorney Sharon Daboul.

http://www.globallegalpost.com/blogs/global-view/by-day-and-by-night---two-different-stories-at-the-eiffel-tower-6410796/

The text can serve as a high-quality reference when we bring up the FoP 
issue from a public-interest point of view. It says, for instance:

"This is likely to come as a surprise to many tourists who like to share 
their holiday snaps online, particularly on social media. Strictly 
speaking, by sharing photographs of the Eiffel Tower or Atomium, they 
may have violated French and Belgian Copyright Law as their use of the 
images is no longer personal once they have been published on a public 
or commercial website. This applies even if the photograph is their own 
original shot."

[...]

"Whilst it is hard to imagine SETE [who own the copyrights to the Eiffel 
Tower lighting] sending out a cease-and-desist letter or filing a 
lawsuit against individuals sharing holiday photos on Instagram, if an 
image starts to attract economic value or high public exposure, users 
should be aware that the penalties for copyright infringement can be 
heavy.  The prevalence of infringing images online tends to support the 
view that individuals are unlikely to be approached, but it is best to 
err on the side of caution."

Best regards,
Karl

-- 
Karl Sigfrid
+32 487 94 76 30
karl at wikimedia.be

Rue du Trone 51
1000 Brussels