Mystic_Blue_Jay said:
Hi everyone. I know this has probably been posted before, but I've tried searching the forums for this subject and I can't seem to find the thread. (Also, if this thread is not appropriate for the Talking Tarot forum, I'll understand if it is moved.) Well, I've started a tarot blog (nothing special... just a place to record daily draws). Lately I've been using the Hadar Tarot de Marseille for daily draws and I wanted to take photos of the draws with my cell phone camera and post them on my blog (it's a moblog). I tried to get in contact with Kris Hadar's Virtual Institute to get permission to do this, but I got a mailer daemon message back saying the message was undeliverable.
So I guess what I want to know is, what are the basic guidelines of posting images of Tarot cards on a blog? Do we need permission from the authors first? Or can we just post them on the blogs as long as we credit the authors/creators?
I mean, I wouldn't want to infringe on any copyrights...
Hi Mystic_Blue_Jay. Sorry for the extremely long post here, i don't seem to be able to express myself in short concise ways
Thanks for posting this question! I'm an artist (but not for any published tarot yet) so when people want to do the right thing, it makes me very happy.
I've worked a lot with images, both as an artist doing work for others, and as a layout designer using other people's art and photos, so I'm now speaking as someone who has had to think about copyright issues from both sides, so to speak...
The rules are the same for spreading images of Tarot cards as for any other image.
Copyright laws may differ a little between countries but basically they come down to this: that the copyright holder (usually this means the original artist) should be the one who decides how, where and when their artwork is used. Making money of the art is only one part of the whole thing, so just because you're not making money off it, does not make it okay to copy someone else's work and put it on the web. It's still copyright infringement.
You can usually copy stuff "for personal use" which means to make one copy for yourself, of an item that you already own, as a backup of sorts. As long as you don't give it, sell it, lend it or rent it out to someone else, chances are nobody will mind. I'm not sure what the law says, but a private blog that nobody but you can see could
maybe be considered personal use.
But as for what pictures you can put up on a public blog: I'd say NO SCANS unless you have permission of the copyright holder (in writing, so there's no doubt)
But you were not going to scan, you were going to take photos. I know.
If you would photograph the image straight up front so it shows the whole card and not much else, it is not much difference from a scan, and you have more or less made a copy of the image. You're kind of in a grey area, but it still might be considered copyright infringement if you are unlucky. I would not risk it. It doesn't really matter if the image is blurry or not, since it's about not copying and spreading someone else's work without them saying it's okay first.
Crediting someone is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that permission is what you need –
before you use the image.
ALWAYS ask first, is the golden rule. It's not difficult, and we artists usually get really, really happy that you took the time to ask. (And also, because you are taking the time to tell us, in person, that you like what we do.
)
But always respect the artists wish, using without permission can get you into all kinds of trouble and cost you a lot of money.
On the other hand, if you would, for example, photograph your reading area and there's a deck or card lying there – perhaps at an angle, perhaps arranged with other items like crystals or flowers – maybe some of this is lying slightly on top of the card – that would be more okay.
An image like this, I would feel safe putting in some magazine I designed (provided you gave me permission to do that, since you are the copyright holder for this photo), because not only would you have made it very difficult for someone else to copy the art on the card and make something with it, but the card is also only one little part of your photo, which in itself would be a new original piece of art. Also, if it was a photo of a spread to show positions of the cards, that would probably be just fine with most people.
If I needed a clear, clean picture of the card straight up, I would not try to photograph it, I would ask the publisher or the original artist for scans and maybe they could send some images I could use. Everybody loves to know that people like what they do, but most people also like people to be nice and ask permission first - it's just more respectful that way and saves a lot of trouble for everyone.
The only time you don't have to do this, is if the original artist has clearly stated that permission or credit is not necessary.
Good luck, hope your blog turns out just the way you want it to be!
