Public Display (Section 109(c))
Notwithstanding the copyright owner’s right to display the work publicly, if you own a lawfully-make copy you may publicly display it, either directly or by projection. If you display by projection, you can only show one image at a time, and it must only be visible to viewers present at the place where the copy is located.[1]
Question: The library purchased a sculpture from a local artist. Do we need written permission to display the sculpture in our lobby?
Answer: You can certainly display the sculpture without further permission. Section 109(c) says you do not need permission to display copies that you own and are legitimately made.
Question: What about showing a picture of the sculpture on a screen on another floor?
Answer: Taking a photograph of the sculpture and displaying that image is a different question. The simplest solution is to ask the artist to grant the library permission to make and display images of the sculpture for promotional purposes. Without such permission, though, making and displaying an image that does not substantively replace the sculpture would probably be fair use. The more the image could replace the sculpture, the less likely using it would be fair use. Posting a small thumbnail image, or even a somewhat larger image, on a monitor is very likely to be fair use, while hanging a high-resolution, life-size poster is less likely to be fair use. Displaying the picture on a public billboard or in a different building is less likely a fair use. But fair use is still possible for some public uses, such as posting a small, low-resolution image.
Question: The library subscribes to a Web-based product. Absent a license agreement that specifically permits or prohibits any of the following uses, which of these is permitted under section 109(c)?
- ↑ 17 U.S.C. § 109(c) (2006).
