EOC Week 8: Legal Questions

1.       What are the basics to start a photography business?

2.       What do I do if I suspect someone is breaking my copyright?

3.       After working with a large company, is the copyright still belong to me even though I have been paid for the gig or do I lose all my rights over my work?

4.       Is the title of my work included in the copyright?

5.       Once it’s online, do I still completely own all copyright over my work or is it legal for other to display it on their website?

6.       Can two or more people own the copyright of a single work?

7.       I’m gathering images in Public Street but a private building happens to be in the background, am I infringing the copyright of the architect or am I violating privet property?

8.       When is a model release necessary? Are there any situations where I don’t need one?

9.       When doing a project for an overseas company, which laws should I follow, and how do I protect myself from any situation that could occur?

10.   How long do I have to copyright my work after it has been created?

EOC Week 4: Edward Snowden

The world's most famous spy, whistle blower and fugitive are few of the many names Edward Snowden has been called since he reviled highly classified information about the American government. Surprisingly there are mixed feelings of what Snowden did. "Snowden hasn't done any real damage to the NSA's ability to keep the nation safe. The agency, for example, can still go to court to get a wiretap or search warrant, even if Congress stops phone companies "from acting as information-gathering subsidiaries."" (http://www.newser.com/story/169332/edward-snowden-hero-or-traitor.html) The information did not brutally affect the government, it just allowed the public to know what was going thou, but even with that knowledge the government wont stop and they still will go as if nothing happened. "Snowden revealed very highly classified programs, alerting our enemies about our most sophisticated intelligence-collection capabilities."(http://www.newser.com/story/169332/edward-snowden-hero-or-traitor.html) He did defenetly left America in a great disadvantage since now the rest of the world now a great part of how the country operates jeopardizing the safety of many is some kind of way since enemies are more aware of what's going on. "Snowden realized that our very humanity was being compromised by the blind implementation of machines in the name of making us safe. He stepped back from technology long enough to be human and to consider the impact of what he was helping build." (www.newser.com/story/169332/edward-snowden-hero-or-traitor.html) He gave us the citizens the knowledge that we are not as free as we think we are and that we are constantly being watched by the government. In my opinion, I'm in a grey area, I don't think Snowden committed major treason against his own country but I don't think that the way he approached the situation was correct ether.

EOC Week 3: Rolling Stones Cover

On the august issue of the Rolling Stones Magazine, a very controversial cover appeared. It was a “selfie” picture of Dzhokhar ‘Jahar’ Tsarnaev also known as the Boston Bomber. Though the cover of the magazine might be offensive and extremely controversial to many, I personally believe that the five page article that followed the cover should be what everyone should be talking about. The article, written by Janet Reitman, in my opinion, was bias about Jahar not making him look like a monster like most people see him, it didn’t made him look insolent ether. Most of Reitman’s article as based on interviews done to the people close to Jahar, friends, family, neighbors, teachers, etc. but did Reitman broke any laws by writing such a controversial article? “We expect our government to let people speak and hear whatever they choose. The Framers believed democracy would work only if the members of the electorate were free to talk, argue, listen, and exchange viewpoints in any way they wanted.” (pg. 61 Cengage Advantage Books: Introduction to Business Law). Reitman is protected by law to say whatever she wants, under certain guidelines, guidelines that she never broke. “Intrusion into someone's private life is a tort if a reasonable person would find it offensive. Peeping through someone's windows or wiretapping his telephone are obvious examples of intrusion.” (Pg. 85 Cengage Advantage Books: Introduction to Business Law). Reitman did looked around for as much information about Jahar as she could, taking her to the point where she discloses him as a big pot smoker and many other things that many people would find offensive. “Defamation involves a defamatory statement that is false, uttered to a third person, and causes an injury.” (Pg. 78 Cengage Advantage Books: Introduction to Business Law). Reitman got most if not all of her information from other people. Could they be lying about the information they gave her about Jahar? Only they know but it is very possible due to them being close to Jahar. In conclution I do believe Reitman broke a few laws writing this article, but it was definitely a good read.

EOC Week 2: Stand Your Ground.

A “Stand your ground” law states that a person may use deadly force in self-defense without the duty to retreat when faced with a reasonable perceived threat. This Law becomes even more specific with the “Castle doctrine,” which says that a person is protected under the law to use deadly force in self-defense when his or her property or home is being invaded.  More than half of the states have “Stand your ground” and “Castle doctrine” written in their book, states such as:

·         Alabama

·         Arizona

·         Florida

·         Georgia

·         Indiana

·         Kentucky

·         Louisiana

·         Mississippi

·         Montana

·         Nevada

·         New Hampshire

·         Oklahoma

·         Pennsylvania

·         Tennessee

·         Texas

·         Utah

“Other states may have adopted a stand your ground doctrine through judicial interpretation of their self-defense laws” (http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/states-that-have-stand-your-ground-laws.html) This law is of great relevance of me since I am one of the residents of one of the states that put “Stand your ground” law in practice. This law came to the attention to the general public recently thanks to the Zimmerman Trial. “Zimmerman claimed he killed Martin in self-defense, and under Florida’s “Stand your ground” law he was not arrested on the night of Martin’s death.” (http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/are-stand-your-ground-laws-a-good-idea).   I have looked over and read the entire law and still I’m in a bias position. "This bill actually encourages people to shoot their way out of situations and that's not how we live in a civilized society," (Florida Senate Democratic leader Chris Smith http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/19/us-usa-florida-shooting-lawmakers-idUSBRE96I05020130719) On one hand the bill suggest that one just has to think it’s under attack in order to defend oneself, when one is under a stressful situation one thinks the entire world is trying to attack them.  “Bad People are armed and stand their ground, and good people must be able to do so as well.” (Rich Morthland, member of the Illinois House of Representative http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/are-stand-your-ground-laws-a-good-idea) When one is truly under attack, that person should be able to defend themselves from whatever is attacking them since their lives could depend on it. So are “stand your ground” laws a good idea?

EOC Week 1: Voice

Be remembered by your good work, not by your bad actions. My name is Geovanny Sorto, but I prefer to be called Geo, I’m 20 year old and I live in sin city, Las Vegas. Art is my passion, creativity my motivation and a camera my weapon of choice. I have always tried to express myself, but growing up that was never easy. I’m originally from Honduras, where art is not always encouraged since the main goal is to get money and to get it fast. That never stopped me from doing what my heart told me to do, I self thought myself how to paint, sketch and write. Yet something was always missing, later on my life I move to America where I discovered a whole new world of empowerment where people believed in my goals and dreams. With so many people trying to pursuit the same objective that I had it was even easier to find inspiration everywhere I looked. More than just describe scenery I wanted to turn it into an actual image that one could appreciate visually and not just mentally, then is where I started to experiment photography, and there is where the journey began.