Crediting images in special section

[SigilBear]

I'm working on a book that will have a lot of pictures. Many are public domain, but others are taken from Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons and require a variety of CC notices. A few require copyright notices.

Since space is such a premium in an epub, I would like to place the images in the text without any usage notices. Each image would instead be linked to an "Image Credits" section that lists the pertinent information for each image. Each citation would then be linked back to the image it's associated with.

This is actually how Wikipedia does it; you click on an image, and you're taken to a page that reveals the details.

I just wondered if this is a common practice in epubs. Would some people consider it unethical? Could it be considered illegal?

[gmw]

As long as the links are within the epub (and not to some external source) it would not worry me too much. The few illustrated epubs that I have generally manage to satisfy attribution requirements via a "List of Illustrations" (each item in the list links to the image, but the images don't usually bother linking back to the list). The list of illustrations typically goes at the front, but if it is going to be very long then you might prefer to move it to the back.

Example from my copy of The Concrete Planet by Robert Courland:

List of Illustrations
[...]

Figure 7. Bust of Cato the Elder. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Figure 8. Vitruvius presenting his book to the emperor Augustus.
Image courtesy of Thomas Gordon Smith/Wikimedia Commons.

In each case the "Figure n." text is the link to the image.

[SigilBear]

Thanks.

I'm still playing with ideas, but I tentatively have each image in each chapter (e.g. Arizona) linked to a matching section in the back of the book...

<h4 id="arizona"

Under the heading, I have a list of all the images in that chapter. After each image's name, I have a hyperlink to the source, followed by the image's status (public domain, etc.). I discovered that Wikipedia now makes things a little easier by allowing you to copy information about an image's status.

Each image in the appendix is preceded by a back arrow that links to that image in the main text.

It's a fair amount of work, but I think it will be pretty nice.

I wish I knew more about the technical aspects of copyrights, trademarks, etc. I just got an e-mail from some agency in New York City telling me I can NOT use the famous "I (Heart) NY" logo in my book, nor can I use any derivative (e.g. I Love VT).

There must be six million copies of that logo and the variations it has spawned on the Internet.

[Krazykiwi]

https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wik...mparison_chart

and especially: https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wik...al_attribution

There's really no reason to not use the "ideal" format given there, (including the linking), in an ebook.

As for copyright and trademark usage, the rule is really pretty simple.

If you didn't make it, and you want to use it, you need permission, and you need to be careful to follow any instructions given.

For the majority of trademarks, wordmarks (i.e. logos containing words, like the I (heart) NY), you don't need to explicitly ask, most organisations that own that kind of thing have a web page on their site with quite precise instructions, usually labelled terms-of-use, sometimes it's under the press room label too, and you can usually find them in the footer of any corporate website (they want you to be able to find this stuff, or at least for journalists to be able to, so they're usually not very hidden. Or just put "trademark" into the search engine.

Here's HP's for instance: http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/terms-of-use.html#25 - the guidelines are strict, but very precise: Don't pretend you're related to HP, don't use the Logo, don't use HP as a possessive or plural, do use it as an adjective modifying a common noun ("An HP laptop", not "An HP") These are very typical. If you really can't find them, find the contact us link, and ask. If you don't find explicit permission, and don't get an answer, don't use the trademark.

Copyright is a whole other ball of wax, but again, if you didn't make it, find out who did, and if they haven't been dead for 70 years or more, and there is not a clearly labelled license alongside your source, like the CC licenses above, then ask.

And if they have been dead for 70 years, still best to ask.

The biggest mistake most people make about copyright is thinking the "fair use" exception that lets places like Wikipedia use things without asking for permission, will also let you - it doesn't. Fair use does not generally apply to commercial enterprise Wikipedia is a non-profit, you are not. There are exceptions, but it's unlikely you fall into any of them (satire and transformative works, for instance.) Especially song lyrics and poetry snippets get people into trouble all the time. Don't use them without asking, artists right's orgs like BMI and ASCAP go after even small indie authors all the time.

The second biggest mistake I see people making, is with images of things that are in public domain. A painting made in 1750 is clearly public domain - but you can't put a painting in your ebook. A photo of it made last year that shows exactly only the work, in a flat and unprocessed manner, is also useable. If it shows the frame and some of the wall behind it? Nope, new work, new copyright, and you have to ask the photographer for permission. So photos of things like architecture and buildings too. Just because something is old, don't assume you can use a photo of it, unless you took it yourself.

(FYI, not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. But I have written a lot of software documentation and manuals over many years, and I was the documentation manager of a pretty large software concern. I've been on both sides of this, both having to research trademarks, and having to have lawyers yell at people over compliance.

TM owners in particular, are not chasing you down for fun, "vigorously defending" your TM/WM is part of the rules of getting one in the first place, if they don't do it, they risk losing it. Don't take this stuff lightly just because 6 million idiots out there on the internet did - if you're making money, which is your stated intention, they will come after you.)

[gmw]

Originally Posted by SigilBear

[...]I wish I knew more about the technical aspects of copyrights, trademarks, etc. I just got an e-mail from some agency in New York City telling me I can NOT use the famous "I (Heart) NY" logo in my book, nor can I use any derivative (e.g. I Love VT).[...]

When I wrote my first series I had an epigraph at the start of each one. The problem was that the second and third books each used a line from (relatively) recent songs. When I worked out all the potential difficulties involved in publishing with those epigraphs I gave up and dropped them. (Which was a shame, I thought they worked really well.)

Given the nature of what you are doing, dropping the images is not really an option - except where you are given no choice, of course. Given the nature of your book I would have thought things like the NT logo should have been acceptable - this is likely one instance where publishing through traditional publishers might get your foot in doors where the general public are excluded.

[SigilBear]

@ Krazykiwi - Thanks, I wish I knew about those guidelines pages before!

I'm still a little confused about whether it's OK to link the images to credits in an endnotes section in the back of the book. However, one photographer told me that people who use her work often do that.

Also, I found this on one page of the guidelines:

"2. Mentioning the credits within the media itself. For example, crediting videos can be a simple list of the materials used with their associated licenses in a screen at the end of a video. For audio, it can be a verbal recitation of credits at the end of the recording."

I would think ebooks would be comparable; there just isn't enough space in the text for all that legal mumbo jumbo.

I wish I could afford to just purchase images, though. It would make life much simpler. Actually, I've found some sites that seem pretty affordable.

[Krazykiwi]

Originally Posted by SigilBear

@ Krazykiwi - Thanks, I wish I knew about those guidelines pages before!

I'm still a little confused about whether it's OK to link the images to credits in an endnotes section in the back of the book. However, one photographer told me that people who use her work often do that.

Oops, I wrote an epic novel length post, and didn't answer your actual question: Yes, that is pretty standard practice. As long as it's in the same document, and it's done per any requirements they set, that's fine. They just don't want you putting all the acknowledgements on say, a website, and then putting a link in the book to the website - that wouldn't satisfy the license. (People used to do that kind of thing back when we were on dialup, and ebooks were being read on Palm devices and space was at a premium - which is why it's specified in the licenses)