Breach of Copyright 164RM: You will get a decent response because those Council executives would not risk damaging their careers and risk losing their huge salaries by ignoring a...
Copyright laws NZRM: Confusing - Yes! It would be nice if we had more laws which showed (by default...
A few years ago I had a dispute with an employee of a welfare agency regarding a pamphlet which I had placed in the agency. She arranged to have the pamphlet reprinted with a couple of minor changes, including the removal of my name - without my knowledge or permission. It only took one letter to the board of management to have the new pamphlets destroyed. As I understood it, the agency would have had to prove that it held copyright - basically whoever claims copyright is deemed to own copyright.
Yes, definitely write to the Shire Council. You can get free printed information from the Australian Copyright Council - it would be a good idea to enclose a copy with your letter. Be nice about it - point out that, had you been asked beforehand, you would obviously have given your permission for the use of the photo for such a worthwhile cause, blah blah. But end by stating that a person representing the Council is in breach of the copyright laws and, if this matter is not resolved promply, you will have no alternative etc. (What's the bet that no-one actually thought about copyright.)
A letter to the Shire Council would, I imagine, be immediately pbutted on to their legal representative for comment and, considering that a substantial fine which could be imposed, I'm sure the person running the "work for the dole" scheme would be promptly spoken to.
One possible excuse might be that these photos were accessed in the course of "private research" - but if you know about it, then the results have obviously been published in some form, without acknowledgement of the original author.
Barbara
