On the night of April 10, the first picture of a black hole came out. This photo also swiped the screen instantly on the Internet, but some netizens said that visual China has won the copyright of this black hole image in China, and noted that if this image is used for commercial purposes, please call or consult the customer representative. And this leads to a series of problems. Vision China has closed down its website and started to rectify. So who does the copyright of black hole photos belong to?
Visual China: we have copyright here, and now the image itself can only be used for editing purposes. If it's commercial, we can't do authorization here.
Editors usually use news reports from the media.
Reporter: if the media want to use your photo, they have to pay for it, right?
Visual China: Yes, you have to wait for you to buy it and then use it. But if it's commercial, there will be some brand information on it, so it can't be used.
Reporter: where did you get the authorization?
Visual China: provided by European Southern Observatory.
Another visual China staff member replied to the reporter that the copyright of the photo belongs to the European Southern Observatory, and visual China obtained the image license through the Agence France Presse. However, it is only for editing. If commercial use is required, the European Southern Observatory must be contacted.
At present, there are all kinds of black hole P maps on the Internet. The reporter asked the staff whether they infringed the law. The staff replied that the personal name was released on the public platform. In addition to malicious slander and distortion of facts, they do not need to be authorized. In addition, we media's use of this map has the risk of being pursued for legal liability.
The first black hole image of mankind was observed by eight event horizon telescopes (EHT) around the world. It is a scientific research achievement of a team composed of more than 200 researchers. Will this black hole photo have copyright? Wu Xiangping, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: once it is released, it can be used all over the world, and can be seen in the media, as long as the label is where it comes from.