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Old 12-04-2004, 06:03 AM   #4
Angie
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Prague
Home MUD: God Wars II
Posts: 134
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That's right. As a matter of fact, even just crediting the artist isn't enough (although it is better than giving no credit at all). Copyright is the right to make copies - and you don't have that right unless you get permission from the copyright holder.

Some artists will grant permission freely if it's for non-commercial purposes and you give them credit and/or display a link to their page. They often state so on their webpage - in that case, you don't need to contact them.

Other artists will grant permission on individual level. If you email them and explain the purpose of your gallery, you can agree on the terms under which you can use the image. Most often, the conditions will be the same as above, providing credit and linking back to their page. You do need to contact them, though.

Sometimes, artists will not give permission for particular images. This can be for various reasons - maybe they are not the copyright holder (often the case with card game art), maybe it was a commissioned RP portrait and they agreed with their client not to distribute the image freely, maybe they are limited by a publishing contract for a certain period of time (for book covers and similar).

And finally, some artists will not give permission at all. They may be worried about bad quality copies of their artwork floating around, they may have other reasons, but whatever their reason, they do have the right to deny permission, and their decision should be respected.
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