I was wondering is it allowed to post photos of paper money and coins? I mean they have someone else visual elements (design, drawings etc)  that are surely copyrighted, yet there are lots of photos of money and coins, any ideas how is it with these copyrights?

http://www.rulesforuse.org/pub/index.php?lang=en

Quote from: jm73 on July 11, 2011, 22:05
http://www.rulesforuse.org/pub/index.php?lang=en

Soo by giving this link you want to say it depends on the country? Beside is counterfeit something different then stock images? And anyway there are no Polish zlotys and tbh I'm most concern about these. :/

It is a mess, some sites won't take any, some take some. I think British royalty is not allowed, and full scans (that could be used for counterfeit) are not allowed at most places. Presumably old enough stuff should be allowed, but your experience may differ. I think in general sites are tightening up on this sort of thing, so even though there may be a lot of images in their database, yours might be rejected.

some will take them other not.. another stock thing that will never end

The other day I included a US paper money in one shot and when I attempted to open it up via CS5 Photoshop the program stopped completed and told me to contact the US Treasury department. As a general rule to myself I usually only include less than a one third of the money showing- no stamps, and no modern coins (artists own the newer designs especially on the back of the coins)...


Tom

Quote from: tab62 on July 12, 2011, 19:04
The other day I included a US paper money in one shot and when I attempted to open it up via CS5 Photoshop the program stopped completed and told me to contact the US Treasury department. As a general rule to myself I usually only include less than a one third of the money showing- no stamps, and no modern coins (artists own the newer designs especially on the back of the coins)...


Tom

got the same for some pound bills.. GIMP worked out for them

Here is some info on the pound note:

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/current/current_10.htm

Most of the restrictions are, I believe, the fear of counterfeit notes. I ahve several images with banknotes, cropped or in an angle with shallow DOF (therefore mostly blurred) and agencies always accepted them.

I think someone had mentioned at some point that the issue with the UK pound is the figure of the Queen, isn't that so?

Quote from: madelaide on July 13, 2011, 01:40
Most of the restrictions are, I believe, the fear of counterfeit notes. I ahve several images with banknotes, cropped or in an angle with shallow DOF (therefore mostly blurred) and agencies always accepted them.

I think someone had mentioned at some point that the issue with the UK pound is the figure of the Queen, isn't that so?

Yeah I have an issue with that, she never gets older.
I have a limited edition $10 millennium note (New Zealand), I think only online with BS. It might be worth me re uploading to the others and explaining that the note is not likely to be counterfeited, as it is out of date and relatively rare.

Quote from: Microstock Posts on July 13, 2011, 07:36
Yeah I have an issue with that, she never gets older.

I wrote to the BoE some time ago on the question of copyright, and concluded that it's just not worth the risk.  However, a veteran RM photographer argued the point in here and said that (IIRC) the BoE was misusing the notion of 'reproduction' when applying such restrictions to stock photography.  

He or she may have been right, but I prefer to keep my own back covered by going straight to the source.  I'd suggest that anyone concerned should keep their own information and documentation straight and email the BoE (or whichever national authority applies) and get their own response, then act in accordance with the advice given.    At least then you know you have a strong defence, should you ever need one.

Quote from: jm73 on July 11, 2011, 22:05
http://www.rulesforuse.org/pub/index.php?lang=en

Nice one!

It's all situational, depending on the photo composition, the country of origin, reviewer personal opinion and different stock sites (who make up their own rules as they go along).

Legal and what a site will take, or NOT take, as with many subjects, is not always the same.

Sometime it depends on who looks at the image. One month they are fine, the next, not suitable, and in another month later, they are acceptable again.

There is no solid answer to the original question. As far as just shooting currency or coins, it's not a great idea. As part of a composition or a prop, it should be fine.

Thanks everyone for the answers!