I finally figured out a way to get an unobscured view of the Eiffel Tower from the hills in Montmartre. Yesterday evening was relatively clear and I managed to get a few cool shots just after sunset. There was a small group of tourists that jostled me a little as they tried to get similar shots with their cell phones but my monopod and longish telephoto lens (55-250mm) almost certainly helped me to get better shots.
However, it turns out that the night lighting of the Eiffel Tower is covered under a copyright, so please don’t use my shot for commercial purposes. I have a friend who reviews photos of a stock company and she unsurprisingly was well aware of this reality. Copyrights in the European Union, including France, are good for the lifetime of the artist plus 70 years. So, in 1993, the Eiffel Tower entered into the public domain (and a legal replica was later made in Las Vegas).
Here is a link to an article from PetaPixel that explains this whole issue and includes an informative video. The bottom line is that the night lighting was installed in 1985 and is considered an artistic work, covered by a separate copyright law. As many of you know, I spend most of my time photographing wildlife, not buildings, so I have never really thought about problems like this.
In the end, though, I’ve decided to post these photos, because my blog is not a commercial endeavor. If at some time I were to decide to do this professionally, these photos, no matter how much I like them, would not be part of my portfolio.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Oh wow, these are excellent, Mike!
Thanks, Chris. It’s a challenge to get photos like this, though I suspect that you had the same learning curve when you first started to do underwater photography. You can only learn so much by reading about how to do it–there is no substitute, I think, for trying and failing, and trying again. 🙂
Agreed! Just have a go and learn from your attempts!
Very well done, Mike.
Pretty similar to our copyright laws regarding commercial use, I think. Artistic use is permitted, IOW, you could hang them in a gallery of your work (or in your blog) and someone could purchase it, but it cannot be used say on the cover of a magazine as it would then be seen as used to sell the magazine. However if it is used in an article with proper accreditation then fair use. All lawyerese and why I, like you, spend my time photographing, with a few exceptions like old barns, Nature without all the human complications whenever possible.
I somehow never thought much about buildings as being copyrighted. The world of intellectual property is complicated, it seems, and I am sure that it keeps a lot of lawyers in business. 🙂
It seems lawyers find a way to keep themselves busy. 🙂
Nice evening shots Mike. Really like the beams of light from the top!
Thanks. Timing the shots was the biggest issue. I could only see the beam of light for a limited time of its movement and I had to try to act quickly to get the shots without disturbing my monopod. I was shooting at a pretty slow shutter speed, which was an additional challenge.
I’m with you; I never thought much about buildings as being copyrighted. Thanks for the link.
Copyright rules seem simple, but can quickly get super complex. I think the internet has made things much more of challenge, since it is so easy to copy someone else’s work and pass it off as your own. I personally don’t have an issue, but have heard of some real horror stories.
C’est très bien! It looks nice at night!
Thanks, Dennis. I am hoping to be able to get some more night shots during this trip. Paris is indeed beautiful at night and beautiful during the day, though in a different way.
They are beautiful photos, Mike. I understand the legal issues but the do get complicated.
Understood, but glad you posted them for our enjoyment. Tres belle!
Thanks, Eliza. It is not at all surprising that the letter of the copyright law would be essentially impossible to enforce for non-commercial usage. I agree with you, though, that the Eiffel Tower looks exceptionally cool when lit up at night.
Wow, very nice captures, Mike! Do they leave that on all night?
I bristled about you getting jostled by tourists — it’s an experience I know that detracts from your enjoyment.
I’m not unfamiliar with the copyright issue, there are some photographers here who have had legal doings over commercial use of a tree.
Thanks, Ellen. I had to check to find an answer to your question. The Eiffel Tower is lit up from sunset until 1:00 a.m. (until 2:00 a.m. in the summer) and the beaming lighthouse is on during the same periods. Copyrights are definitely tricky, but I must confess that I never considered there to be intellectual rights to something like a tree.
Thanks for checking into the light, Mike. That’s enough for any tourist or local, I would think. I was wondering about the light’s effect on wildlife movement, birds in particular, of course. That has been on my mind with so much recent discussion in the US on man’s effects on our bird losses.
Me neither, and I hope never to get personally involved in any such case!