I think I've learned something again

On Saturday I went to the Seaway Bank Community Art Fair. There were some good work and other products to be had there. I really like one artists painting of the Chicago Skyline.

He's either got the Skyline at night, at sunset, or during the day. It was the most vibrant paintings I have ever seen. I just wish that I had $300 or so dollars to make a purchase. The paintings would have done the city proud and of course they looked like a lot of work was put into the paintings.

BTW, what have I learned on this day?

Well I had my camera with me to document the scene but a lady called me out and told me to not take pictures of her work, it was copyright infringement. The only thing I could have reasoned was that I wouldn't have made her work out to be my own. That probably wasn't the point and while I can't say I liked that, my personal policy is to respect that. The main reason being is that it's her property.

In any case I had to ask some questions and look things up about copyright infringement. It wasn't entirely illegal to take a pic of her or any artists work. Indeed I was just taking pictures, the only problem is that if I made it public, that is I post a digital picture onto this blog and someone might download that pic and hang it on the wall without having to know who that particular artist is nor would they want to make a purchase. While I'm sure this can be a scare tactic without requiring more information and because I moved on I sort of saw her explanation as baloney. It would have been enough to just ask that I not take any pictures of her work.

Of course I'm sure in situations like this, it's got to be about the money. If she could benefit by me posting a pic of her work especially if I was to sell the pic or indeed place the pic in a book. At least something that results in a financial gain for me then she'd want a part of that action. In that case I can't blame her for trying to be proactive. Though sometimes I wonder if that might hamper any sales of her works, especially if her goal is to be protective.

I don't want to run into any trifles and I'm not going to make a tense situation worse. Most of the time I find it easier to just cease and desist and not argue. If no harm was intended I hope that a situation such as this doesn't turn into a very serious one.

Oh and if there is a lawyer in the house who can further clarify this scenario and copyright infringement then by all means please do. Although I'm not asking to hire a lawyer. Just consider this a crash course more than anything else.