I'm new here, so this might have been covered before, but I didn't see it. If I missed it, sorry. I'm going to self-publish a book that hopefully will be sold in bookstores. Is it legal for me to use a photograph that I take of several (10-12) baseball cards (that include photos on the cards that are likely copyrighted) from various trading card companies and use that as the cover of the book? Also, if I use a single card, say with a prop (a catcher's mitt) on home plate, and take my own photo of that, can I use my unique image as a chapter lead-in photo without any problems? I guess my question in a nutshell is: When is the photo I take "art" that I can use as I want in a book, and when am I infringing on the trading card company's copyright (or photographer's rights, but he probably sold those rights to the trading card company). I assume that if the logo of a Yankees player is visible in the card's photo, that I'm not stepping on the Yankees' rights. If I'll be running into problems with photos of trading cards, is taking a photo of a Yankees cap on home plate and using that going to be a problem with Major League Baseball or the Yankees? Thanks for any advice or suggestions!
Put simply if your showing any logos or Trademarked material you must get permission in the first place. This is to stop the Yankees for example getting into trouble from your book(not that they would) but you could also be using their logo to appeal to a certain group of sports fans. Just to be on the safe side contact the artists / Trademark Owners and ask their permission beforehand. That will protect you from any legal disputes that may come your way. On the other hand if you do not your publisher may refuse to publish the book simply because they are protecting themselves and you from such legal disputes.
I would strongly recommend that you get permission before displaying any card or any trademarked images in any photo. With respect to copyright, there is "fair use" that may come into play. In the case of trademarks, you are only infringing the mark when there is a likelihood of confusion. But there are many overlapping claims and some that don't fall squarely within either trademark or copyright (such as unfair competition, or right of publicity). Professional publishers go to great lengths to secure and document the rights to use intellectual property. I've had a publisher's permissions specialist contact me for written permission to reprint a photograph in a book where I had unequivocally stated on a website that I was licensing the photo under a Creative Commons license that permitted commercial use with appropriate attribution. I told her that there was no need for me to sign anything but she wanted something in writing from me anyway. Better safe than sorry. Pulling the books to reprint the cover or to remove offending photos on the inside is a lot bigger hassle than getting the permission up front.