Commons:De minimis

Shortcut: COM:DM

This photograph is acceptable as the copyrighted images appearing on the screens are de minimis.

De minimis is a Latin expression meaning about minimal things, normally in the locution de minimis non curat lex ("The law does not concern itself with trifles"). De minimis use of a copyrighted work is such a trivial use that the consent of the copyright owner is not required.

In some cases Commons files with copyrighted content considered acceptable as de minimis may be identified with the template {{de minimis}}. (However, the vast majority of such files are not identified in this way.)

What is "de minimis"?

The Common Law concept known as de minimis is derived from the maxim de minimis non curat lex, often translated as "the law does not concern itself with trifles". Some technical breaches of the law are considered to be so trivial and inconsequential that a court may decide that they should not be treated as breaches at all. The concept applies to many branches of the law, but here we consider its application specifically to copyright law.

If proved in court, de minimis can be a complete defence to a copyright infringement action. It is not simply that an infringer can get away with some things without much chance of being sued due to the high cost of litigation; rather, that if the copying is de minimis the copier is not in fact breaking the law at all.

An example

A copyright-protected movie poster in the background (promoting "The Dark Knight") as part of a street-scene.

Assume we have a photograph with a copyright-protected poster in the background. There are two copyrights involved: that of the photographer and that of the poster-designer, and both may subsist independently. In taking the photograph and uploading it to Commons, the photographer will of course be making a copy of the poster design, and without consent that will generally be an infringement and hence not allowed. The fact that the photographer has created a new copyright of his/her own does not prevent the poster copyright from being infringed, and that is so even if the photograph displays a high level of originality itself.

However, if the poster is entirely incidental to the overall subject-matter of the photograph, the copying may be considered de minimis (perhaps the poster takes up a small, insignificant part of the image, is entirely out of focus compared with the main subject, or is largely hidden in the background). In other words, a court would not be quick to uphold a claim of copyright infringement just because a photographer happened to include accidentally and incidentally a copyright-protected poster.

In determining whether the copying was sufficiently trivial, the court will consider all the circumstances. So, for example, if the poster forms an essential part of the overall photographic composition, or if the photograph was taken deliberately to include the poster, there is likely to be copyright infringement, and it is no defence to say that the poster was 'just in the background'. If the existence of the poster was the reason the photograph was taken in the first place, copyright infringement cannot be avoided by additionally including within the frame more of the setting or the surrounding area.

If the existence of the poster makes the image more attractive, more usable, or liable to cause more than insignificant economic damage to the copyright owner, then a de minimis defence to a copyright-infringement action will probably fail.

It may be relevant how the image is described or classified: it will be difficult to argue de minimis if the photograph is described as illustrating "an advertising poster" and is placed within the category Advertising posters.

A useful test may be to ask whether the photograph would be as good or as useful if the poster were to be masked out. If no, then it is difficult to argue that the poster is actually de minimis, even if the poster is small and is "in the background".

Guidelines

Variations in laws and in uses of works mean that firm rules are not possible. As a general guideline, however, a file containing copyrighted work X is less likely to satisfy de minimis the more of these it meets:

• the file is in use to illustrate X
• the file is categorised in relation to X
• X is referenced in the filename
• X is referenced in the description
• X cannot be removed from the file without making the file useless
• from other contextual clues (eg by comparison with a series of uploads by the same uploader) X is the reason for the creation of the file.

Note: de minimis consideration applies to a specific image composition. Significant cropping to focus on the copyrighted work can very easily turn a "probably OK" into a "probably not OK".

#	Case can be considered de minimis	Description
1	OK Yes, definitely	Copyrighted work X is visible, but not identifiable
2	OK Very likely	Copyrighted work X is identifiable, but is an unwanted intrusion to the image subject which unfortunately cannot easily be removed. X is billboard in background at top right
3	OK Very likely	Copyrighted work X is identifiable, but is a small part of a larger work, so that the larger work cannot easily be shown without showing X. X is a part of the larger work, and its inclusion is unavoidable. X is the Louvre Pyramid. X is the Escher painting. X is the team logo.
4	OK Very likely	Copyrighted work X is identifiable and an unavoidable part of the image subject, but is not essential to the subject (blacking it out would not make the file useless) X is Seat screens in an aircraft X is two characters in the right center
5	Maybe	Copyrighted work X is identifiable and an unavoidable part of the subject, and is essential to the subject (e.g. blacking it out would make the file useless) but the work is shown in insufficient detail and/or with insufficient clarity, so de minimis may apply. X=Banners hanging from ceiling (DR) X=Photographs hanging in museum (DR)
6	Very unlikely	Copyrighted work X is a key part of the subject (eg it is the reason for taking the photo). Removing it would make the derivative work radically different, but potentially still useful. Example: File:Carla del Ponte Mladic 1.jpg, showing en:Carla Del Ponte with a copyrighted photo of en:Ratko Mladić, was used to illustrate en:Ratko Mladić (this version). The cropped version, File:Carla del Ponte.jpg, excludes the copyrighted work, but is radically different. (DR). Example: File:Mario Bros with Cube - Graffiti.JPG, with graffiti on an Ecuadorean sculpture showing a copyrighted game character (Mario), was used to illustrate de:Super Mario Bros. 3. Removal of the graffiti was possible, leaving the sculpture (File:Quito sculpture - Avenida Brazil at corner with Avenida America.jpg).
7	Definitely not	Copyrighted work X is the central part of the subject (eg it is the reason for taking the photo). Removing it would make the derivative work useless. Example: File:Cover Austria 1938-650px.jpg was used in this version of en:Mixed franking. The stamps were just a small part of the area of the image, but central to its significance. (DR) Example: File:Swmovies.jpg - photo of a collection of Star Wars DVDs

Country-specific laws

Belgium

Art. XI.190 of the Code on Economic Law (Wetboek van economisch recht/Code de droit économique) states:

Once a work has been lawfully published, its author may not prohibit: [...] 2°. reproduction and communication to the public of a work shown in a place accessible to the public where the aim of reproduction or communication to the public is not the work itself [...].

Canada

Subsection 30.7 of the Canadian Copyright Act, 1985 states:

It is not an infringement of copyright to incidentally and not deliberately

(a) include a work or other subject-matter in another work or other subject-matter; or

(b) do any act in relation to a work or other subject-matter that is incidentally and not deliberately included in another work or other subject-matter.

Czech Republic

§38c of Czech Copyright Act says:

§ 38c Nepodstatné vedlejší užití díla

Do práva autorského nezasahuje ten, kdo náhodně užije dílo v souvislosti se zamýšleným hlavním užitím jiného díla nebo prvku.

English translation:

§ 38c Incidental Use of a Work

Copyright is not infringed by anybody who uses a work incidentally, in connection with an intended primary use of another work or element.

European Union

The Copyright Directive (Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society; text of the directive) allows for de minimis exception in Art. 5(3)(i):

Member States may provide for exceptions or limitations to the rights provided for in Articles 2 and 3 in the following cases: […] incidental inclusion of a work or other subject-matter in other material

under the generic conditions of Art. 5(5):

The exceptions and limitations provided for in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 shall only be applied in certain special cases which do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work or other subject-matter and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the rightholder.

Finland

§25 of the Finnish copyright act in Finnish (Tekijänoikeuslaki 8.7.1961/404):

Taideteosten käyttäminen (14.10.2005/821)

Julkistetuista taideteoksista saa ottaa tekstiin liittyviä kuvia:

1) arvostelevaan tai tieteelliseen esitykseen; sekä

2) sanomalehteen tai aikakauskirjaan selostettaessa päiväntapahtumaa, edellyttäen ettei teosta ole valmistettu sanomalehdessä tai aikakauskirjassa toisinnettavaksi. (24.3.1995/446)

Kun taideteoksen kappale on tekijän suostumuksella myyty tai muutoin pysyvästi luovutettu, taideteoksen saa sisällyttää valokuvaan, elokuvaan tai televisio-ohjelmaan, jos toisintamisella on valokuvassa, elokuvassa tai televisio-ohjelmassa toisarvoinen merkitys. (14.10.2005/821)

§25 of the Finnish copyright act in Swedish (Upphovsrättslag 8.7.1961/404):

Användning av konstverk (14.10.2005/821)

Av offentliggjorda konstverk får bilder återges i anslutning till texten i
1) kritiska eller vetenskapliga framställningar, och i
2) tidningar eller tidskrifter vid redogörelse för dagshändelser, under förutsättning att verket inte har framställts för återgivning i tidningar eller tidskrifter. (24.3.1995/446)

När exemplar av ett konstverk med upphovsmannens samtycke har sålts eller på annat sätt varaktigt överlåtits får konstverket innefattas i fotografier, filmer eller televisionsprogram, om återgivningen är av underordnad betydelse i fotografiet, filmen eller televisionsprogrammet. (14.10.2005/821)

Unofficial Translations in English by Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland, of section 25 of the Finnish copyright act (Act No. 404, of July 8, 1961), amendments up to 31.10.2008/663 included (linking page, PDF):

Use of works of art (14.10.2005/821)

(1) Works of art made public may be reproduced in pictorial form in material connection with the text:

1. in a critical or scientific presentation; and

2. in a newspaper or a periodical when reporting on a current event, provided that the work has not been created in order to be reproduced in a newspaper or a periodical. (24.3.1995/446)

(2) When a copy of a work of art has, with the consent of the author, been sold or otherwise permanently transferred, the work of art may be incorporated into a photograph, a film, or a television programme if the reproduction is of a subordinate nature in the photograph, film or programme. (14.10.2005/821)

France

See #France - Freedom of Panorama "de minimis" exception below.

Germany

§ 57 UrhG says:

§ 57 Unwesentliches Beiwerk
Zulässig ist die Vervielfältigung, Verbreitung und öffentliche Wiedergabe von Werken, wenn sie als unwesentliches Beiwerk neben dem eigentlichen Gegenstand der Vervielfältigung, Verbreitung oder öffentlichen Wiedergabe anzusehen sind.

Rough (linguistic, not legal) translation:

§ 57 Marginal accessories

Copying, propagation, and public rendition of works is permitted if they are to be considered insignificant to the actual object of copying, propagation, or public rendition.

---

The central requirement for the application of § 57 UrhG follows directly from the text of the provision: the presence of an “actual object” which neither has to be protected by way of copyright (Urheberrecht) nor ancillary copyright laws (Leistungsschutzrechte). Compared to this primary object, the element in question—according to the predominant opinion among courts and legal scholars alike—“(1) may not even have the slightest contextual relationship and (2) has to be without any importance for it due to its randomness and arbitrariness” (emphasis and numbering ours). (A more restrictive minority view notably employed by Wilhelm Nordemann helds that the presence of the work in question has to be entirely inevitable and, on top, negligible to such a degree that it could easily be removed without even the slightest impact on the appearance of the actual object to the average viewer.) This implies, in particular, that the actual object needs to be so dominant in comparison that the work in question can be replaced without altering its overall impression. As soon as the work is integrated into a scene or a picture—irrespective of whether its appearance was accidental in first place or not—, § 57 UrhG can no longer apply.

Whether a work constitutes a marginal accessory in this sense is determined from the perspective of an “objective observer”; it is hence irrelevant what e.g. a photographer or film maker intended to show; what matters is only the result as perceived from an objective stance.

Examples: A popular example in the literature is the appearance of a painting during a movie. The example is taken from the official reasoning for § 57 UrhG where it is stated that as long as the protected painting is not the main subject of the scene, this constitutes an example of a marginal accessory. However, this notion is rejected by both case law and the literature; it is held instead that oftentimes, such paintings will have an influence on the atmosphere and can thus be characteristic for the scene. In that spirit, the Munich High Court decided that the publisher of a furniture catalogue cannot invoke § 57 UrhG in order to justify that protected artwork was visible in the background to some of his pictures of interior landscapes. On the other hand, it was also held by the same court that a T-shirt designer could not take steps against the publication of a magazine cover photo the subject of which was wearing a T-shirt created by the designer because it was argued that the motive on the T-shirt had no relation to the person and the topic he was supposed to illustrate. (A copy of the cover can be found in the decision by the previous court, see for instance here.) Another common example from the literature is the television coverage of a speech of an MP whose copyright-protected jewelry is visible; this is considered a classical case of a marginal accessory. Gunda Dreyer points out that a photographer may not invoke to § 57 UrhG with respect to copyright-protected exhibits that appear in the background of a museum director who speaks on the inauguration festivities of his museum, while arguing that the appearance of a painting in the background of a politician speaking in the parliament is regularly covered by the exception clause due to its lacking relation to the main object. A musical work can be unwesentliches Beiwerk in a documentary if it just accidentally can be heard through an open window; however, as soon as it is technically edited afterwards and thereby made part of the documentary, § 57 UrhG cannot apply anymore.

Iceland

“10. gr. a. Einkaréttur höfundar skv. 3. gr., sbr. 2. gr., gildir ekki um gerð eintaka sem

1. eru til skamms tíma eða tilfallandi,

[...]

Ákvæði 1. mgr. gilda ekki um tölvuforrit og gagnagrunna.”

An unofficial translation of Article 10 of the Icelandic copyright act reads:

"Authors’ exclusive rights under Article 3 (cf. Article 2), shall not apply to the making of reproductions (copies) that are transient or incidental."

In regard to the freedom of panorama, the unofficial translation of Article 16 reads:

"Photographs may be taken and presented of buildings, as well as works of art, which have been situated permanently out-of-doors in a public location. Should a building, which enjoys protection under the rules concerning works of architecture, or a work of art as previously referred to, comprise the principal motif in a photograph which is exploited for marketing purposes, the author shall be entitled to remuneration, unless the pictures are intended for use by a newspaper or in television broadcasting."

Ireland

Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000: Chapter 6, section 52:

“The copyright in a work is not infringed by its inclusion in an incidental manner in another work.”

The Irish legislation is seen as similar to the legislation in the United Kingdom from 1988, see Pascal Kamina, Film Copyright in the European Union, Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Israel

An unofficial translation of the 2007 Copyright Act says:

22 Incidental Use of a Work

An incidental use of a work by way of including it in a photographic work, in a cinematographic work or in a sound recording, as well as the use of a such work in which the work was thus incidentally contained, is permitted; In this matter the deliberate inclusion of a musical work, including its accompanying lyrics, or of a sound recording embodying such musical work, in another work, shall not be deemed to be an incidental use.

Japan

Copyright Act Article 30-2, amended in 2012, states:

第三十条の二 写真の撮影、録音又は録画（以下この項において「写真の撮影等」という。）の方法によつて著作物を創作するに当たつて、当該著作物（以下この条において「写真等著作物」という。）に係る写真の撮影等の対象とする事物又は音から分離することが困難であるため付随して対象となる事物又は音に係る他の著作物（当該写真等著作物における軽微な構成部分となるものに限る。以下この条において「付随対象著作物」という。）は、当該創作に伴つて複製又は翻案することができる。ただし、当該付随対象著作物の種類及び用途並びに当該複製又は翻案の態様に照らし著作権者の利益を不当に害することとなる場合は、この限りでない。

Unofficial English translation:

Article 30-2: When creating a copyrighted work of photography, sound recording or video recording, other copyrighted items that are incidental subjects of the work because they are hard to be separated from the item that is a subject of the work may be copied or translated along the work being created (only if they are minor components of the work being created). However, if, considering the kinds of the incidentally included works and the manner of the copying or translation, it unfairly is prejudical to the interest of the copyright holders of the incidentally included works, they may not.

Morocco

"Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 10 above, it shall be permitted, without the author’s authorization or payment of a fee, to republish, broadcast or communicate to the public by cable an image of a work of architecture, a work of fine art, a photographic work, or a work of applied art which is permanently located in a place open to the public, unless the image of the work is the main subject of such a reproduction, broadcast or communication and if it is used for commercial purposes."

Singapore

Under section 10(1) of the Copyright Act (Cap. 63, 2006 Rev. Ed.) of Singapore, unless a contrary intention appears:

• a reference to the doing of an act in relation to a work or other subject-matter shall be read as including a reference to the doing of that act in relation to a substantial part of the work or other subject-matter; and
• a reference to a reproduction, adaptation or copy of a work shall be read as including a reference to a reproduction, adaptation or copy of a substantial part of the work, as the case may be.

Therefore, acts done in relation to insubstantial parts of a work or other subject-matter do not breach copyright.

Slovenia

Article 52 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act (Zakon o avtorskih in sorodnih pravicah):

• English: "Such disclosed works that may be regarded as accessory works of secondary importance with regard to the actual purpose of some material object, may be used freely while exploiting such object."[1]
• Slovene (original): "Tista objavljena dela, ki so nebistvena pritiklina glede na siceršnjo namembnost nekega predmeta, so pri izkoriščanju tega predmeta v prosti uporabi."[2]

Article 52 has been interpreted by the copyright expert Miha Trampuž in his book Copyright and Related Rights Act with Commentary (COBISS 67538432). He has highlighted the following aspects: the work must have been disclosed, it must have been incidental with another object or work, it could be at will replaced with another work, and it is inessential in the copyright sense to the object or work.[3]

Sweden

Article 20 a of the copyright law:

• Var och en får genom film eller televisionsprogram framställa och sprida exemplar av konstverk, framföra konstverk offentligt och överföra konstverk till allmänheten, om förfogandet är av underordnad betydelse med hänsyn till filmens eller televisionsprogrammets innehåll. Motsvarande förfoganden får göras vad gäller konstverk som förekommer i bakgrunden av eller annars ingår som en oväsentlig del av en bild.
• Förfoganden enligt första stycket får dock endast ske om förlagan till det exemplar som framställs när konstverket tas in i filmen, televisionsprogrammet eller bilden är ett exemplar som omfattas av en utgivning av konstverket eller ett exemplar som överlåtits av upphovsmannen. Om någon exemplarframställning inte sker, gäller motsvarande det exemplar som direkt överförs till allmänheten genom televisionsprogrammet.

These are  Not OK:

• Thumbnail-sized photos on a screenshot - copyvio of two of the thumbnail-sized photos (NJA 2010 p. 135[4])
• People on a scene with decorations in the background - copyvio of the background (NJA 1981 p. 313)

United Kingdom

Section 31 of the UK Copyright, Designs and patents Act 1988, as subsequently amended in 2003, states that:

Copyright in a work is not infringed by its incidental inclusion in an artistic work, sound recording, film, or broadcast.

"Artistic work", as defined within the act, includes photographs.

United States

The United States courts interpret the de minimis defence in three distinct ways:

1. Where a technical violation is so trivial that the law will not impose legal consequences;
2. Where the extent of copying falls below the threshold of substantial similarity (always a required element of actionable copying); and
3. In connection with fair use (not relevant here, since Commons does not allow fair use images).

It is the first of these that is often of particular concern on Commons.

An example under Civil Law

France - Freedom of Panorama "de minimis" exception

This photograph was taken in France, but is not a copyright violation since it is of the entire plaza, and not just the Louvre Pyramid.

The white triangle in this derivative work covers the copyright protected region of the top image.

Civil Law countries may not apply the de minimis principle as set out above, but often have some alternative legal mechanism whereby similar trivial infringements can be ignored. For photographs taken in public places this may be done as part of the rules relating to Freedom of panorama. For example, French case law admits an exception if the copyrighted artwork is "accessory compared to the main represented or handled subject" (CA Paris, 27 octobre 1992, Antenne 2 c/ société Spadem, « la représentation d'une œuvre située dans un lieu public n'est licite que lorsqu'elle est accessoire par rapport au sujet principal représenté ou traité »). Thus, ruling #567 of March 15, 2005 of the Court of Cassation denied the right of producers of works of arts installed in a public plaza over photographs of the whole plaza:

Because the Court has noticed that, as it was shown in the incriminated images, the works of Mr X... and Z... blended into the architectural ensemble of the Terreaux plaza, of which it was a mere element, the appeals court correctly deduced that this presentation of the litigious work was accessory to the topic depicted, which was the representation of the plaza, so that the image did not constitute a communication of the litigious work to the public
(...)Attendu qu’ayant relevé que, telle que figurant dans les vues en cause, l’oeuvre de MM. X... et Z... se fondait dans l’ensemble architectural de la place des Terreaux dont elle constituait un simple élément, la cour d’appel en a exactement déduit qu’une telle présentation de l’oeuvre litigieuse était accessoire au sujet traité, résidant dans la représentation de la place, de sorte qu’elle ne réalisait pas la communication de cette oeuvre au public (...)

French case law states that the said artwork must not be intentionally included as an element of the setting: its presence in the picture must be unavoidable (CA Versailles, 26 janvier 1998, Sté Movie box c/ Spadem et a.):

Can be considered as an illicit representation of a statue by Maillol, the broadcasting of a commercial in which it appears, as it was not included in a film sequence shot in a natural setting—which would explain the brief, and non-essential to the main subject, appearance of the sculpture, which is set in the Tuileries gardens—but used as an element of the setting (« Constitue une représentation illicite d'une statue de Maillol la diffusion d'un film publicitaire dans laquelle elle figure, alors qu'elle a été utilisée, non pas dans une séquence tournée en décor naturel, ce qui justifierait une apparition fugace de la sculpture, placée dans le jardin des Tuileries, totalement accessoire au sujet traité, mais comme un élément du décor. »).

Crops of de minimis images

Since an image which is allowable under the de minimis principle must of necessity include some copyright material, it follows that such images cannot be cropped at will. For the case of a photograph which includes a poster, even if the photographer has a defence against infringement on the de minimis principle, that does not negate the original poster-designer's copyright. If someone takes the photograph and crops it so that only the poster remains, the de minimis defence is no longer available, as the poster design then becomes an essential part of the crop. So, the cropped version infringes and cannot be allowed on Commons.

Note that the mere fact that an image allowable under de minimis may be cropped to create one which is not allowable does not imply that the original work is not de minimis after all. Even very high resolution images, in which incidental details can be reliably recovered and magnified, should be viewed as a whole from a normal viewing distance when considering whether de minimis applies.

Examples

See also: Commons:Threshold of originality‎

• 

  Downtown Burj Dubai and Business Bay (DR)

• 

  Burj Khalifa; "for being [a] panorama[…]" (DR)

• 

  maybe a series of photographs exhibited in a museum → de minimis (DR)

• 

  artwork by Escher in the center (DR)

• 

  North gate of the Expo 2005 Aichi Japan with copyrighted works on its wall

• 

  the artwork of a flying fish covering the aircraft is considered incidental (DR)

See also

• Commons:Freedom of panorama
• A discussion about de minimis in videos

External links

• Cromer, Julie, Harry Potter and the Three-Second Crime: Are We Vanishing the De Minimis Defense from Copyright Law?