Copyright, trademark, privacy and portfolios

I have been studying privacy, trademark and copyright issues and still don't have a satisfactory answer for this question - I am working on celebrity portraits professionally for book covers, magazines and the like.

Is it permissable to use such a portrait in one's self-promotional literature and on a web site without the permission of the person whose likeness you have used? I am speaking of public figures, politicians, celebrities, etc. I know I can do this legally provided there is permission, or if it is commentary ("editorial exemption"), or under satire, but not for "commercial purposes", but where it comes to adding samples to a portfolio?

Right now I have only samples on my pages that meet criteria I know are legal and ethical, and I want to keep within the law. But that does restrict what I can show, and how I can present it. I have a lot of material I am not showing in my online portfolio because I don't have permissions.

Technically what I am planning on doing is for "commercial purposes" but I am not planning to sell these specific images - only show them as examples of my work. The recent 3 Stooges case has me a little nervous just when I was thinking I'd be okay. I have seen many other artists showing their work online - obviously without permissions. Are they taking a huge risk? What is accepted practice in this regard?

[Stanka Kordic]

Brandi,

You may want to contact the Graphic Artists Guild for legal question such as that. I'm sorry I don't have their #'s anymore (since I left the field of illustration). They are probably on the web somewhere (based in New York). Good luck!

[Karin Wells]

It's tough to imagine not being able to show samples of your commercial artwork.

When a publisher hires you to draw/paint a portrait of a celebrity from a photo that they supply for the cover/insides of a book that they will publish, they have the legal responsibility to obtain the necessary legal permission to use that photo. And you are completely safe in showing this published piece (probably available at a bookstore or newstand?) as a sample of your work.

If your photo source is a commercial photo supplier, it is standard practice to purchase the rights to use that photo. And you can certainly show the resulting artwork as a sample of your work unless for some strange reason your contract prohibits it.

If you use a photo of a celebrity to base your artwork on (so that it is recognizably from a specific photo) and you don't have permission to use that photo, both you and the company you sell your artwork to could be in violation of a copyright law.

I don't know who you are working for, but the company should certainly know about copyrights (if they're planning to stay in business these days).....be sure to ask them if you're nervous about it.