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Data Security, Integrity and Ethics: Question 9

Syllabus 7.1

Multiple choice AS 1 mark

A developer downloads a photograph from a photo-sharing website to use as an image in a commercial mobile app, without checking the photograph's licence or asking the photographer for permission. The photograph was publicly viewable on the website for anyone to see.

Which of the following best explains why using this photograph in this way could still be a breach of copyright law?

Choose an answer to check it, then compare with the worked solution below.
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Worked solution

Why A is correct

Copyright protects an original creative work automatically, from the moment it is created, for the creator (or whoever they have assigned their rights to). No registration, payment or fee is needed for this protection to apply, and the work does not need to be kept private for the protection to continue.

Because the photograph was publicly viewable does not mean the photographer gave up their rights over it. It simply means people could look at it. Actually using someone else’s copyrighted work, such as incorporating it into a commercial app, requires the copyright owner’s explicit permission or a licence that allows that specific use. Since the developer neither checked for a licence nor asked permission, using the photograph in the app is likely to be a breach of copyright, regardless of it having been publicly visible online.

Why the other options are wrong

  • B is a common misconception: publishing a work publicly (for example, on a website) is not the same as releasing it into the public domain. A work only enters the public domain if the creator explicitly says so, or after copyright protection eventually expires. Simply being viewable online does not do this.
  • C is incorrect because copyright protects a wide range of original works, including photographs, images, music and video, not only text and computer programs.
  • D is incorrect because copyright protection does not depend on whether the creator has sold or charged for the work. An image given away for free viewing is still protected in the same way as one that is sold.

Final answer

A. Copyright protects original work automatically from creation, so the photograph remains protected unless the photographer has specifically granted permission or a licence for this use.