# Simple copyright question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-copyright-question/443409 "2008-03-31T17:25:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-copyright-question/443409/1 "2008-03-31T17:25:31Z")
If I were to use Google Maps to get a starter image and then using Photoshop or even Paint to mark it up for other purposes would I have any kind of copyright to the altered image? This question comes because on a fishing site that I post on someone has devised a way to do this to let paying members have a little something extra on the forums by way of user made local hot spot maps, but believe it or not there’s a bit of compitition when it comes to Northern Illinois fishing sites and they’re worried about some less than scrupulous folks stealing the images and hosting them as original content on their sites. If such things were to be made would the creator or host site have any leg to stand on if the images were to be stolen? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-copyright-question/443409/2 "2008-03-31T17:50:09Z")
The map data is clearly copyrighted by Google and NAVTEQ for the data. They would own the original copyright and I doubt you could copyright your changes without their permission. In effect, you and the other site would both be violating Google’s copyright and as such it’d be hard for you to make a claim of infringement. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-copyright-question/443409/3 "2008-03-31T17:51:41Z")
Damn, that’s what I was afraid of. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-copyright-question/443409/4 "2008-03-31T18:07:30Z")
If you pay whatever license fee Google charges to reproduce the image and _then_ mark it up, you might have a claim. (maybe?) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-copyright-question/443409/5 "2008-03-31T18:41:22Z")
Start with a government generated map. Many of them are in the public domain. (If not, they will certainly say so.) ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-copyright-question/443409/6 "2008-03-31T18:41:41Z")
Why not embed the Google Map itself on the website? Google [explicitly allows you](http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=72644&topic=10788) to do this. The even have an [API](http://code.google.com/apis/maps/index.html) to allow you to manipulate the image. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-copyright-question/443409/7 "2008-03-31T18:45:31Z")
The Google API thing is only allowed on free websites, and while this site is open to the public this idea was generated to give more content to subscribers as additional incentive to become a paying subscriber.