[Commons-l] Re: Trademarks

Wed Sep 14 00:20:00 UTC 2005

Matt Brown <morven at gmail.com> schrieb/wrote:
> One cannot take photographs of many real-world objects or scenes
> without encountering trademarks. Cars bear trademarks (their
> manufacturer's emblems, names, sometimes even shapes or paint
> designs). Streets are covered with trademarks. And so on and so forth.

I think that's a different problem: The question here is whether we care
about the unfreeness of minor elements if they appear on a free photo.
You still can copy, distribute and modify the photo unless you take such
element and distribute it without the rest of the photo.

This is not about trademarks only. It's nearly impossible to take a
photo that does not show something that is copyrighted or protected as a
registered design (US: design patent), eiher.

In effect, that's similar to quotes: You can have them in GFDL'd content
(although the GFDL fails to mention that explicitly) but that does not
mean you can take the quote and distribute it under the GFDL without the
rest of the document.

Claus
-- 
http://www.faerber.muc.de