Who owns the copyright of redrawn or altered graphics?
Jinfo Blog

By Norma Beavers

Abstract

The internet has made so much information available that it's easy for some to think it's all free and up for grabs. But is it ok to include certain graphics in your own reports, blogs or documents, especially if you've made some changes or even redrawn them? Clare Painter's article: "How does copyright apply to tables, charts and other figures?" will give you essential tips on avoiding copyright infringements.

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So you've seen a great table, chart or other figure that would elevate your report to a higher level and you're tempted to use it but with a few tweaks of your own. Can you do that without stepping on the original creator's toes and infringing copyright law?

Clare Painter has all the answers in "How does copyright apply to tables, charts and other figures?"

Redrawing doesn't mean you can circumvent copyright

It's a fascinating read because I'm sure some professionals think that if they make their own changes to a chart, table or figure, it then becomes their own creation. Not so, argues Clare, an expert in copyright, permissions and rights management. 

The article is a further investigation of a topic she has covered before on Jinfo which looked at ensuring you're copyright compliant when using online images. It's worth taking a look at both articles so that you too can make use of Clare's expert knowledge of copyright law and infringements.

Clare explains what "substantive" changes are in terms of images and graphics and outlines exactly what steps you'll need to take to really take ownership of any tables, charts or figures you choose to adapt in future.

Find out more

Read "How does copyright apply to tables, charts and other figures?" (Subscriber content) to get totally clued up about whether you need to seek permissions and what alterations, redrawing or adaptations you're legally allowed to do.

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