[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, that's a difference between copyright and trademark law. Copyright infringement can occur whenever an image is copied without the permission of the copyright holder - eg the album cover (I'm guessing that's what it is?) you have for your avatar could conceivably be considered to be copyright infringement if you don't have the permission of the copyright holder to reproduce it (although nobody would be bothered by such usage in reality). Trademark infringement can only occur if a trademark is being used for purposes of trade. Eg, you're free to set up a web site selling Hoovers, and have pictures of Hoovers on it, but you couldn't start a company called "Hoover Repairs, Ltd", because that would be using the trademarked name "Hoover" for commercial purposes.

To break this thread further:
http://www.wipo.int/sme/en/documents/ip_photography.htm

Advertising, fashion, interior design and lifestyle photographers frequently include paintings, sculptures, craft items, architectural works, jewelry, clothing, toys or other artistic works in their photographs. Often, such items are protected by copyright. Only the owner of a copyright has the exclusive right to reproduce the copyright work. Photographing a copyright work amounts to reproducing it. Therefore, before you take a photo of any copyright work, you need the prior permission of the copyright owner. Photographers who infringe a copyright may be required to compensate for the economic loss, that is, to pay the damages they have caused and sometimes also other expenses, such as legal costs.

Be warned: Copyright law protects a wide range of different types of material. Examples of copyright works that are routinely reproduced in photographs are:

Literary works (such as books, newspapers, catalogs, magazines);
Artistic works (such as cartoons, paintings, sculptures, statues, architectural works, computer and laser artwork);
Photographic works (such as photos, engravings, posters);
Maps, globes, charts, diagrams and technical drawings;
Advertisements, commercial prints, billboards and labels;
Motion pictures (such as films, documentaries, television advertisements);
Dramatic works (such as dance, plays, mime); and
Works of applied art (such as artistic jewelry, wallpaper, carpets, toys and fabrics).

As indicated earlier, photographing a copyright work is considered a way of reproducing the work, and this is an act which the copyright owner has the exclusive right to do. This is why you may need to get prior permission to include a copyright work in your shot.

Some other activities that only the copyright owner has the exclusive right to do (and for which you may need permission) are:

Making prints of a work, scanning it into digital form, photocopying it, copying digital works, etc.;
Making a collage from several different photographs or images;
Adding new artistic elements to an existing work (e.g., colorizing a black and white picture);
Photographing someone’s work and then displaying the photo to the public (e.g., exhibiting the photo in a gallery, supplying copies to the public in postcard form, putting it on a website, sending it to customers via e-mail, etc.).

So that there is at least an argument that you have in fact (completely unknowingly) infringed on the BBC's copyright by transmitting a photograph of their copyrighted object to the public.

The point being that not all infringement is done knowingly by evil pirates. People routinely share MP3 files, as they had previously shared CDs, and wouldn't realise that they were doing anything wrong.