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What types of public art can I legally photograph without infringing on copyright laws, besides public statues?

As the photographer, you become the automatic copyright owner of the image, given by law, as soon as you take the photograph, regardless of whether you filed for copyright registration or not.

Public statues are just one example of public art that can be photographed without infringing copyright laws.

Other public art that can be photographed include murals, street art, mosaics, and more.

Photographs taken after 1988 enter the public domain 70 years after the death of the creator, while prior to 1988, copyrights expired 50 years after the creator's death.

All photographs belonging to the federal government are automatically in the public domain, making them free to use and share.

In the visual arts, fixation occurs when you create digital or traditional art, making these artworks eligible for copyright protection.

Photography can also be protected by copyright, which means that the photographer owns the rights to the image from the moment the shutter is released.

According to copyright law, you own the copyright throughout your life and 70 years after your death.

Even your online portfolio, hard drive, or website posts contain copyrighted works, making you the owner of the copyright.

Fair use images allow for limited use of copyrighted materials without prior authorization, but understanding restrictions is crucial.

A photograph is considered published when copies of that photograph are made available to a group of people for further distribution or public display.

Public display of a photograph does not, in itself, constitute publication, which means that displaying an image in an exhibition or publicly displaying it online does not automatically mean it's in the public domain.

Artists retain certain powers of attribution and disavowal under the Visual Artist Rights Act of 1990 even after the ownership of the artwork is transferred to a collector or institution.

Photographers retain first-use rights, which grant the right to use something before others, for a previously agreed-upon length of time.

As the photographer, you have the right to decide who can use your photographs, when, and how, under the United States' copyright law.

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