Vance Dubberly

Is now wondering what the law is regarding projected images. I know as a photographer it is legal for me to collect the light emitted from any surface so long as I am standing on public property when I do it. ( I can take a picture of you or your building and there is nothing legally you can do about it unless I make money ). Does it apply to projection? Can I legally project light onto a surface in the same way? So for instance, could, let’s say, the tea party groups legally project a non-copyrighted image onto the the white house in protest of Obama?

In the world of augmented reality can I augment you or your private property without legal repercussions? ( For those who don’t know what augmented reality is go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality. ) So let’s say I created an iphone application that colored building according to their carbon foot print (btw this application exists), is my alteration of that building in virtual space infringement on the owners private property or is it the property of application developer?

What if instead of an iphone application I projected the colors onto the real buildings? Let’s say by driving around town on a schedule and using a projector to color the building for 1 minute at at time ( yes I know it’s unfeasible but artists are crazy so maybe one will do it someday ). Would it matter if it was a private residence or a business?

And this one should matter a great deal since I just saw a commercial last night that offered to let me do a background check on you for a nominal fee. What if I looked up your record and then followed you around with a projector and projected colors onto you that signified whether you had a criminal record or not? What if I created a website that made it possible for to look up your next door neighbor and find out if they had a criminal history? How about an iPhone application with facial recognition software that show’d your criminal record to me simply by my pointing my phone camera at you? What if that application told me if you are a sexual predator ( fyi a website already exists which tells me this )?

In short, how much of you is private property, how much is public property, and how much is in the commons ( yes get that word back in your mind “commons” )?