Apr 02, 2019 06:00:00

Actually, it is illegal to publish night view photos of the Eiffel Tower on SNS etc. without permission.

The Eiffel Tower is a tower that can be said to be a symbol of Paris, France, and many people know what it looks like by visiting the site or seeing photos and videos. However, it seems that it is a violation of the law to publish night photos of the Eiffel Tower on the Internet without permission.

Why Photos of the Eiffel Tower at Night are Illegal


There are several sites on the Internet where people freely upload photos and movies they have taken.

However, in fact, it may be illegal to publish photos and movies of the Eiffel Tower's night view on the Internet without permission.

It is legal to release the Eiffel Tower during the day as a movie.

However, if you want to publish the Eiffel Tower at night as a movie, you will need to create a mosaic.

The reason for this strange situation seems to be related to copyright law in France.

Copyright exists in art, music, literature, etc. created by people. Copyright is basically granted to the creator of a work, and is guaranteed for the duration of the creator's lifetime as well as a certain period after his or her death.

The number of years after death a copyright is guaranteed varies by country, but in many countries it is 70 years after death. This 70-year period is also common in

the EU , to which France belongs.

In the EU, there is an exception to copyright law called 'freedom of landscape.' This means that copyright does not apply to the scenery in the town, and photos and movies taken of the scenery can be used legally.

As a copyright classification, buildings are works of art...

If someone were to create an exact replica of

the London Eye , a Ferris wheel that opened in 1999, it would be a building in violation of copyright.

However, most of the EU guarantees the freedom of landscapes, so copyright basically does not apply to landscapes that can be viewed in public places. It is not illegal to sell a photo of a building whose copyright has not expired on social media or as a postcard.

On the other hand, the EU recognizes the ``right not to apply freedom of landscape,'' and some countries do not recognize freedom of landscape.

France, for example, does not allow freedom of scenery.

In France, there is no problem with photographing landscapes of buildings whose copyright has not expired for personal use, but...

Use for commercial purposes may constitute copyright infringement.

Therefore, movies uploaded to YouTube etc. must be mosaiced if the copyright of the building is not expired.

If the architect who owns the copyright feels like it, he or she can file a lawsuit.

However, many people must have seen the Eiffel Tower in photos or movies.

The reason why photos and movies depicting the Eiffel Tower are not regulated is simply that the Eiffel Tower was built so long ago that the copyright has already expired.

Gustave Eiffel , who holds the copyright to the Eiffel Tower, died in 1923.

Seventy years later, in 1993, the copyright on the Eiffel Tower expired, so at the time of writing the article, everything including the appearance and design of the Eiffel Tower is in

the public domain .

Surprisingly, the suspicious replicas being sold around the Eiffel Tower are not illegal.

However, the Eiffel Tower's nighttime illumination was not installed until 1985, so the Eiffel Tower is considered to be a work of art whose copyright has not expired.

Therefore, if a photo of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night is used for commercial purposes, or if it is viewed by an unspecified number of people on social media or blogs, and it is determined that it exceeds private use, it is a copyright violation. It will become.

In fact, this rule is not limited to the night illumination of the Eiffel Tower, but also

the Louvre Pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum ...

The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen is actually protected by copyright.

In fact, there is no precedent for a court case arising from a night view photo of the Eiffel Tower.

However, there is no telling when the Eiffel Tower's governing body will change its policy. Therefore, it may be wise to take night photos of the Eiffel Tower only as a personal memento and avoid publishing them widely.