Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New Jersey
Creative Property
I've been taking photographs of a house near me (I've
never met or seen the owners) whose door is
constantly being decorated bizarrely to fit the season or
topical subjects (for example: the war in Iraq, Mother's
Day etc). I would like to submit these photographs to a
publisher for use in a book. Do I need permission from
the owner of the house to do so and do they have rights
regarding payment for use of these photographs?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Creative Property
To the extent that the door designs constitute original works of authorship (it's a pretty low standard), you would need to get permission from the person prior to publication. Also note that architectural works are subject to copyright - an area that has been a hotbed of litigation recently.