La Fotografía

La Fotografía según la define Michael Landford en su libro La fotografía paso a paso (2004)Lanford, M. (2004). La Fotografía paso a paso. Tursen editores, Reino Unido. ISBN 9788487756016. como el procedimiento o técnica que permite obtener imágenes fijas de la realidad mediante la acción de la luz sobre una superficie sensible o sobre un sensor.

Sin embargo, Vicente Aguilera Cerni en su libro Posibilidad e imposibilidad del arte (2017)Aguilera, V. (2017) Posibilidad e imposibilidad del arte. Editorial FísicaBook. Madrid, España. ISBN 13;9788436904482. sostiene que la fotografía en cuanto a medio artístico, tiene especificidad propia. Es decir, forma parte de las expresiones creativas modernas del hombre sin ser confundida con ninguna manifestación artística temporalmente anterior a ella como la pintura o la escultura. La fotografía es una técnica de captación de imágenes pero no se puede desconocer su importante carácter estético. Sin embargo, “durante mucho tiempo se discutió la condición de la fotografía” (Lipszyc, 1993Lipszyc, D. (1993). Derecho de Autor y derechos conexos. Buenos Aires: Cerlalc.) como obra de arte. Las técnicas fotográficas han cambiado fundamentalmente desde la invención del daguerrotipo, que cumple en este año 2023 sus 184 años.

Hoy es posible captar imágenes mediante teléfonos celulares, tablets o cámaras. La era digital solo representa un modo diferente de fotografiar utilizando nuevas tecnologías. Todas estas expresiones encuentran su amparo en las normas jurídicas. La fotografía supone para la OMPI una imagen fija producida sobre una superficie sensible a la luz o a otra radiación, cualquiera que sea la naturaleza técnica del procedimiento (químico, electrónico, etc.) utilizado para realizar la imagen (Lipszyc, 1993Lipszyc, D. (1993). Derecho de Autor y derechos conexos. Buenos Aires: Cerlalc.).

La imagen personal y el Derecho de Autor

Existen cuatro sistemas posibles de protección de la obra fotográfica según, a saber:

La normativa de Derecho de Autor, siendo la Ley No. 154/2022 publicada en la Gaceta de CubaGaceta de Cuba. Número 122. Ordinaria. GOC-2022-1103-0122 “De los Derechos del Autor y del Artista Intérprete”, protege tanto los derechos morales como los patrimoniales o económicos del fotógrafo autor de la fotografía. Con relación a los primeros, los derechos morales, el fotógrafo tiene derecho a decidir si da a conocer o no su obra (derecho de divulgación), a que se le reconozca la paternidad de la misma (derecho de atribución) y a que no sea alterada (derecho de integridad). Es común en el caso de la fotografía que se viole el derecho de atribución, particularmente en el ámbito virtual, no mencionándose al autor de la imagen por su nombre o su seudónimo. Del mismo modo se viola el derecho a la integridad en sectores como la prensa, la publicidad o la moda a través del uso del retoque de la imagen con y sin el consentimiento del fotógrafo. En estos casos se recurre a programas de computación que van desde muy simples hasta altamente sofisticado. Quizás el más conocido con licencia de software es Adobe ® Photoshop ® que permite la creación y edición de imágenes digitales, aunque este no es el único programa que existe y hasta los teléfonos celulares ofrecen, entre otras, las posibilidades de alterar el brillo o el enfoque entre otras maneras de edición digital.

El derecho de autor en la Fotografía de Cuba

Cuba goza de tener un patrimonio cultural muy rico, principalmente en las artes, de ahí la necesidad inmediata de los autores y creadores de las obras de protegerlas y registrarlas en la asociación correspondiente que ampare dicha necesidad. Para esto fue creada en el año 2001 la Agencia de Autores Visuales (ADAVIS), con la misión de gestionar en el territorio nacional e internacional los derechos generados a favor de los titulares por el empleo de que puede ser objeto una obra visual. Es propósito fundamental de la institución lograr que la mayor cantidad de artistas de la plástica cubana pasen a formar parte del repertorio de la Agencia de Autores Visuales, y seguir legitimando su trabajo en el terreno internacional. ADAVIS no es solo una posibilidad para los artistas, sino además una alternativa para quienes requieran utilizar imágenes y hacer uso de las obras de los creadores dentro de un marco de legalidad.

ADAVIS es la encargada de proteger, mediante la Ley, las imágenes de los creadores de las artes visuales. Como agencia negocia, controla y gestiona con los interesados en adquirir sus productos, las posibilidades de usar las imágenes de las obras visuales, además de dedicarse a la distribución de las recaudaciones que provienen de esa utilización a los dueños de los titulares de la obra, además de ofrecer una garantizada seguridad institucional, comercial y jurídica, firmando convenios de representación recíprocas con instituciones similares en el mundo.

Ubicada en el edificio del Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, en la Plaza Vieja de La Habana Vieja, ADAVIS emite diversos contratos como el de Cesión General de Derechos, el de Cesión de Derechos de Comunicación Pública (directa o indirecta), el de Cesión de Derechos de Reproducción y Distribución y el Contrato de Cesión de Derechos de Transformación. También ofrece entre sus servicios, el Banco de Imágenes en el que los autores inscriben las obras que desean proteger; el Sistema de Contratos al cual pueden acceder los clientes interesados en reproducir alguna obra, el Sistema de Reclamaciones en los casos en que se dañe la integridad de ese patrimonio o transgredan los derechos de autor, el Consejo Asesor en cual está formado por importantes artistas plásticos quienes orientan y ayudan en la toma de decisiones y un Sistema financiero que opera en las dos monedas que circulan dentro de la Isla.

DEVELOPMENT

Copyright regulated in Law No. 154/2022 “On the Rights of the Author and the Performing Artist”, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of CubaGaceta de Cuba. Número 122. Ordinaria. GOC-2022-1103-0122, refers to scientific, artistic, literary and educational works of an original nature, that have been or may be made public knowledge by any lawful means, whatever their forms of expression, content, value or destination.

This covers two types of rights: economic rights that allow the rights holder to obtain financial compensation for the use of his or her works by third parties; and there are also moral rights, which protect the non-property interests of the author.

Copyright protects a wide range of works, including:

Copyright does NOT protect ideas or simple facts.

Copyright protects the way ideas are expressed. This expression is the original way in which words, musical chords, colors,etc., are chosen and presented. What gives originality to a work is expression. This means that there can be many different works about the same idea and that they will all be protected by copyright, as long as they express that idea in an original way.

The specific rights granted to authors through copyright depend on the laws of each country. Therefore, the rights of authors in one country may not be exactly the same in other countries. Therefore, the use of the works can be somewhat confusing, especially in a world where works from different countries can be easily accessed, for example, via the Internet. To reduce this confusion, many governments have signed international agreements that attempt to close differences in their copyright laws and facilitate the use of works around the world.

The first international agreement that attempted to reduce the differences in the rights granted to authors in different countries was The Berne ConventionConvenio de Berna (1886) Suiza. , which has 163 members, being the most signed and recognized worldwide. It has three fundamental principles that are aimed at protecting the works and rights of authors, offering the means to control who uses their works, how and under what conditions, collected in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Víctor Hugo, the famous French author of Les Misérables, contributed to the creation of that Convention. He and other authors wanted to ensure that their rights were respected in countries other than their own. Victor Hugo contributed to the creation of the Berne ConventionConvenio de Berna (1886) Suiza. .

Since the adoption of the Berne Convention in 1886Convenio de Berna (1886) Suiza. , authors enjoy a series of common rights in the more than 160 countries that have signed the Convention (its Member States). Each member state of the Berne Convention has to offer the same protection to the works of authors of other member states as it offers to the works of its national authors. An exception to this is the shortest term rule. Under this rule, a Member State is not obliged to offer protection to works by a foreign author for a period of time longer than the period of protection granted to those works in the author's country of origin. Furthermore, according to the Berne Convention (1886)Convenio de Berna (1886) Suiza. , works do not have to be registered to be protected by copyright. Copyright protection is automatic from the moment the work is created.

Infringement occurs when a work protected by copyright is used (reproduced, translated, adapted, publicly displayed or performed, distributed, broadcast, or communicated to the public) without the permission of the rights holders and such use is not covered by any of the limits to copyright. Copyright infringement reduces the ability of authors to earn income from their works, and it harms us all by reducing the motivation of authors to continue creating works that we can all enjoy.

Plagiarism is the act of copying a work, in whole or in part, pretending to be its original author. As we have seen in the previous section, ideas themselves are not protected by copyright, therefore, there is nothing wrong with writing about an idea that we find in another work. However, to avoid plagiarism, we have to express the idea in a personal and unique way. Sometimes an author has expressed an idea so well that we cannot express it better in our own words. In these cases, we can copy the original text word for word as long as it is enclosed in quotes or italics. These quotation marks or italics inform the reader that this specific text is taken from the work of another author. The original author must be mentioned in the text, before or after the citation, or with a footnote. Most colleges, universities, and companies have strict rules against plagiarism. Although it is easy, on the Internet, to copy and paste someone else's work and say that it is your own, the consequences of plagiarism can be very serious, even when using the abused term postmodernist work.

The Photograph

Photography as defined by Michael Landford in his book Photography step by step (2004)Lanford, M. (2004). La Fotografía paso a paso. Tursen editores, Reino Unido. ISBN 9788487756016. as the procedure or technique that allows obtaining still images of reality through the action of light on a sensitive surface or on a sensor.

However, Vicente Aguilera Cerni in his book Possibility and Impossibility of Art (2017)Aguilera, V. (2017) Posibilidad e imposibilidad del arte. Editorial FísicaBook. Madrid, España. ISBN 13;9788436904482. maintains that photography, as an artistic medium, has its own specificity. That is to say, it is part of the modern creative expressions of man without being confused with any artistic manifestation temporarily prior to it such as painting or sculpture.

Photography is a technique for capturing images but its important aesthetic character cannot be ignored. However, “for a long time the status of photography” (Lipszyc, 1993Lipszyc, D. (1993). Derecho de Autor y derechos conexos. Buenos Aires: Cerlalc.) as a work of art was discussed. Photographic techniques have fundamentally changed since the invention of the daguerreotype, which turns 184 years old this year in 2023.

Today it is possible to capture images using cell phones, tablets or cameras. The digital era only represents a different way of photographing using new technologies. All of these expressions find their protection in legal regulations. For WIPO, photography means a fixed image produced on a surface sensitive to light or other radiation, regardless of the technical nature of the procedure (chemical, electronic, etc.) used to make the image (Lipszyc, 1993Lipszyc, D. (1993). Derecho de Autor y derechos conexos. Buenos Aires: Cerlalc.).

Personal image and Copyright

There are four possible protection systems for photographic works, namely:

The Copyright regulations, being Law No. 154/2022 published in the Gazette of CubaGaceta de Cuba. Número 122. Ordinaria. GOC-2022-1103-0122 “On the Rights of the Author and the Artist Performer”, protects both the moral rights and the patrimonial or economic rights of the photographer who is the author of the photograph. In relation to the first, moral rights, the photographer has the right to decide whether or not to make his work known (right of disclosure), to have his paternity recognized (right of attribution) and to have it not altered (right of integrity). It is common in the case of photography that the right of attribution is violated, particularly in the virtual sphere, by not mentioning the author of the image by name or pseudonym.

In the same way, the right to integrity is violated in sectors such as the press, advertising or fashion through the use of image retouching with and without the consent of the photographer. In these cases, computer programs are used that range from very simple to highly sophisticated.

Perhaps the best known with a software license is Adobe ® Photoshop ® which allows the creation and editing of digital images, although this is not the only program that exists and even cell phones offer, among others, the possibilities of altering the brightness or focus among other forms of digital editing.

Copyright in Cuban Photography

Cuba enjoys having a very rich cultural heritage, mainly in the arts, hence the immediate need for the authors and creators of the works to protect them and register them in the corresponding association that protects said need. For this purpose, the Visual Authors Agency (ADAVIS) was created in 2001, with the mission of managing in the national and international territory the rights generated in favor of the owners by the use that a visual work may be subject to. It is the fundamental purpose of the institution to ensure that the greatest number of Cuban plastic artists become part of the repertoire of the Agency of Visual Authors, and to continue legitimizing their work in the international arena. ADAVIS is not only a possibility for artists, but also an alternative for those who need to use images and make use of the works of creators within a framework of legality.

ADAVIS is responsible for protecting, through the Law, the images of the creators of the visual arts. As an agency, it negotiates, controls and manages with those interested in purchasing its products, the possibilities of using the images of the visual works, in addition to dedicating itself to the distribution of the proceeds that come from this use to the owners of the owners of the work, in addition to offering guaranteed institutional, commercial and legal security, signing reciprocal representation agreements with similar institutions around the world.

Located in the building of the Center for the Development of the Visual Arts, in the Plaza Vieja of Old Havana, ADAVIS issues various contracts such as the General Transfer of Rights, the Transfer of Public Communication Rights (direct or indirect), the Transfer of Reproduction and Distribution Rights and the Contract for the Transfer of Transformation Rights.

It also offers among its services, the Image Bank in which authors register the works they wish to protect; the Contract System to which clients interested in reproducing a work can access, the Claims System in cases in which the integrity of that heritage is damaged or copyright is violated, the Advisory Council which is made up of important plastic artists who guide and help in decision making and a financial system that operates in the two currencies that circulate within the Island.