Academic Freedom Redux

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:53:30 +0200

Democracy Now reported yesterday that marine conservation professor Rick Steiner of the University of Alaska lost a federal grant for being critical to an Arctic offshore oil development. This was officially denied by federal authorities, but later confirmed by the university in a detailed statement.

In Norway the principle of academic freedom has recently been codified, and the former President of the University of Oslo, professor Arild Underdal, has described the actual level of academic freedom in Scandinavia as good. However, concerns have been voiced especially related to academic programs that partly are funded by business interests.

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Disclaimer: The above painting was found on University of Colorado at Bolder´s LeRoy Keller Center using Google Search. I do not know who to credit neither with regard to the original painting, nor with regard to the digital reproduction. I assume that the original artist died more than 70 years ago and that the painting is no longer subject to copyright. I am using the picture to illustrate a point in my blog, and I may nevertheless claim fair use.

Let´s Say Curious George Took a Picture by Accident

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:50:01 +0200

Who would own the picture?

In most countries it is the creator who is considered the copyright owner. The creation of a picture is often more than pressing the shutter. The motif must be framed, camera and lighting settings must be made, the RAW picture file must be converted to a standard format and in this process the picture is often further doctored and enhanced. Besides, most jurisdictions do not allow an animal copyright protection for its works.

What if the famous photographer Ansel Adams set up the camera, but instead of Curious George above, I pressed the shutter? The mere pressing of a shutter do not constitute an artistic creation. However, I could have so called neighboring rights to the picture, and many laws grant that to photographers. These rights fall somewhat short of the full protection copyright proper.

If I, together with Ansel Adams decided upon the creative aspects of the picture. I suggested the framing and lights settings, he the aperture and shutter speed, we would jointly own the copyright to the picture.

In the recommendable podcast TWIP (This Week in Photography) they recently discussed a controversy over who is the most important: the photographer or the photoshop artist. Under law it is clear that they are equally important. Under Article 12 of the Berne Convention, the photographer must consent to any creative post-work. It depends on national legislation whether the photographer will have a joint ownership with the altered photography, but in most jurisdictions he probably will.

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Disclaimer: The picture of the monkey on the camera by Pete Oxford was found on Allposters.com using Google Search. I am using the picture to illustrate a point in my blog, and I may therefore claim fair use.

Democracy Now!

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:16:56 +0200

I highly recommend the award winning free video podcast Democracy Now!

It is a free-to-air syndicated news program hosted by Amy Goodman (pictured above) and Juan Gonzales. It focuses on social, political and international affairs, and gives in-depth coverage to causes and voice people that traditional media only give cursory notice to.

At times it may be overly critical to the establishment, often implicitly advocating radical policy changes.

I recommend to subscribe to the podcast through iTunes.

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Disclaimer: The picture of Amy Goodman was found using Google Search. The picture is prolific on the Internet and I do not know who to credit. I am using the picture to illustrate a point in my blog, and I may therefore claim fair use.