Is Burning Photos of ex alright?

Question

My question...

Isn't It alright? TO burn a photo of an ex and post it on myspace? is that against the law? My counsler said to do it to burn my feelings away. today the police told me i cant do that either..Since I cant do anything anymore i thought it was freedom of speech. No body is aloud to do tht any of tht.

So my question is it is bad to burn an ex photo after finding out he cheateD? yes or no?


P.s Reasoning of the people was cause i got threated and my now ex is being an *** and crap

aka i took the picture with my cam and printed it on my computer it was my..and it was a break up! i got pregnant he left me and cheated on me for 8 months. There was no copy rights to it.

she said if i want to i could

Answer 1

Since your question is looking for legal answer and not a philosophical answer I am addressing only what I feel are the legal issues.

1.) Copyright has nothing to do with this case. A copyright is simply the legal proof of ownership of the original work. Legal briefs quote material from dozens of cases, which is why there are citations to the original work.
The copyrighted material here is the actual composition of the photograph and not the physical photograph itself.
You took the picture so the image layout belongs to you. Also the physical photo (paper, developer etc) belongs to you.
There is no expectation of privacy because the fact that a picture was taken implies that it will be seen, or there would be no reason to take the photo in the first place.
Since the photo itself belongs to you, and the material composition of the photo is your creation, you can do whatever you want with it.
Your actions are protected under The First Amendment. What wouldn't be protected, and hence a criminal act, would be if you while you were burning the picture, you said, "And this is what I am going to do to you while you are sleeping." Even that is questionable unless you could reasonably carry out your threat.
As for the police.....print and show them this answer, and ask them, "Specifically which statute, Title, Chapter and Section) am I violating?"

L....JD

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

You sound hurt. If burning the photo makes you feel like you've somehow put an end to the hurt - then do it! But, if you feel you need to post it on myspace, then you're being vengeful - the only person you're hurting is yourself by prolonging your pain. Burn the photo - put an end to the relationship - the burning can be a ritual of a new beginning. You said you got pregnant - did you keep the child? Is your ex a part of the child's life? This would make it more difficult to move on - but move on you must. Once you do and find a boyfriend you can trust you will be alot happier. Give yourself time, but be ONLY concerned with yourself and healing from the pain (not getting revenge). Be glad you didn't stay with the cheater and find someone better. I was married to a jerk cheater for years, finally I had the courage to dump him, even though it meant I would be alone - however, soon I wasn't alone and I've now been happily married for 20 years to my best friend. If I never dumped the cheater and just put up with him, I wouldn't be happy now. It'll all work out - I promise.

Answer 4

Is burning a photo that YOU OWN okay? Yes. Infact, my mom told me that she suggests when you end a relationship you should burn all the stuff that the ex gave you. Not out of anger, but because you don't want to have all that emotional baggage all the time?

Is it okay to put that photo up on the internet? Legally, I think so. Should you? No. No. No! If you want to "burn your feelings away' why in the world would you put a photo on the internet? Once it is uploaded there is no way of controlling that image and you can really never get it off the internet. It will shop up somewhere, even if you delete it from the place you put it up on. Even deleted webpages still show their old content when you search for it on the internet (I found that out a while ago from personal experience).

And, if you put it on the web I assume that means you want to show it to someone. Your ex? Well than your actions will be spiteful and you'll just be bringing up the bad feelings and being as bad as him (or worse). If you are showing it to someone else you are taking entertainment from your ex's embarrassment/pain because you have ruined a picture of him.

Burn the picture, get rid of it, don't show it to anyone and definitely don't post it on the internet.

Answer 5

Burn it if you want, but have you ever tried to burn anything before? I'm 15 too, and it is NOT as easy as it looks on TV soap dramas when they burn photos of their exs. The one time I burned one of my schoolbooks I had to do it in a sink and then freaked out and in case it set the house on fire. It's not safe to do it outside either with all that dry summer grass. Just rip the photo up. It lets you vent all the anger out and is a much safer option.

Answer 6

While I have never been in trouble with the law, I hate police because they do stuff like this. They are all useless and power-hungry. Yes, you can burn the photo. As long as you don't burn the house down, you are fine. As far as putting it on MySpace, that's okay too. Copyright doesn't really matter too much if you are not profiting.

Answer 7

Unless that picture was his property (that would mean you destroyed his possessions), you can do whatever you want with that picture as long as this is not considered as a threat to his person or an intention that you want to burn him alive for real. Whatever makes you feel better and helps you to move on...as long again as i said, you don't intend to do him bodily harm.
You can also post his name on the black list or burnt list of people that are not date worthy, i think there is such a website online. This is not meanness or revenge, i think it's a duty to warn women against slimebags.

Answer 8

In what context did the police tell you not to burn the photo?

Were you threatening your ex? That would be illegal.

I agree with you, it is freedom of expression to burn the photos, but don't do it in a way that implies he is going to be harmed.

Did you already post it on myspace?

How much are you willing to pay to defend yourself from the police just to have the freedom to burn the photos?

If you are willing to take the chance you might have to hire a lawyer and go to court to defend your freedom then go for it, in the US you would likely win in court. (Assuming you are not threatening your ex by burning his photo.)

Answer 9

Okay, I'm confused. How to you burn (set on fire) a picture and then post it on MySpace?

If you can post a picture will depend on who owns the copyright of the picture, who is in the picture and if the person in the picture had a reasonable expectation of privacy when the picture was taken.

If you took the picture without his knowledge and it was in a situation where privacy is to be expected (in the bedroom) then you could be in trouble.

Answer 10

I am with LJD on this except that the cops know what is going on with you being threatened, and they may be offering you solid life advice just like you therapist is.

She may have told you to burn the picture, but she didn't tell you to post the results online, did she?

The idea was to get rid of the picture, not preserve it forever :)

Maybe you should double check with her in light of what the cops told you before you do anything.