Photographing peoples property as landcapes

[RTaylor]

I was wondering if I ever decide to publish or sell any of my photos, do I have to get permission of the few photos I have i.e. houses on the lake, local farms.
I'm dieing to just show a couple of the photos to 3 places in particular that I thought the families who live there would enjoy them.. but afraid they might be upset.

[autumnsky]

Originally posted by rct4905
I was wondering if I ever decide to publish or sell any of my photos, do I have to get permission of the few photos I have i.e. houses on the lake, local farms.
I'm dieing to just show a couple of the photos to 3 places in particular that I thought the families who live there would enjoy them.. but afraid they might be upset.

Given the location you have listed in your profile, I'm assuming the buildings are on U.S. soil. You may want to refer to this article: http://www.aepronet.org/pn/vol5-no2.html .

In a nutshell - yes buildings are copyright protected, but the Act also states the following:

"Congress inserted two limitations on the exclusive rights of owners of copyrights in architectural works. The "public place" limitation permits the unauthorized publication of pictures or other pictorial representations of buildings located in or visible from a public place"

Here is another reference:
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#120

U.S. Copyright Law - Title 17, Circular 92, Chapter 1
’…’‚‚§ 120. Scope of exclusive rights in architectural works
(a) Pictorial Representations Permitted.-The copyright in an architectural work that has been constructed does not include the right to prevent the making, distributing, or public display of pictures, paintings, photographs, or other pictorial representations of the work, if the building in which the work is embodied is located in or ordinarily visible from a public place.

Basically if you can see it from a public space, you can take a picture of it. The copyright protection is designed to prevent another architect / designer from designing a building that is a copy of another existing building. It does not do anything to protect the building from being photographed, given that you do it from a public place. If it is an older building, created before 12-1-1990, then it is not an issue (of course I'm certain there are always exceptions).

I should also state that each country has its own laws governing this.

[RTaylor]

Thanks so much autumn for taking the time to show me those sites. I bookmarked them so I can refer to them.
The home I was worried about is the one I put up for POTW "Lake Nockamixon" which I took by pulling over on the side of the road that crossed the lake. So I was on a state road