"CD-ROM included: easy-to-use screen resolution TIFF files of every image"
If I'm buying a $200+ book with an "easy to use" CD of the images - they'd better be highlighting very very clearly that I can't use these in projects.
If I'm buying something like this with the intention of redistributing the artifacts, I'm going to be scrutinizing the hell out of this and possibly choosing not to buy based on the ambiguity in the product description.
The blurb says "... ready to be used in your designs, presentations, or comps, as backgrounds or for general visual information."
Come on - this type of gotcha lawyering stuff is ridiculous.
Something says Copyright (c) Somebody Year. Don't copy it, particularly for commercial use, unless you also have one of those 6 page "I'm allowed to do this without paying anything more" agreements.
Every audio CD I own has "easy to use high resolution audio files" on it, I've never been under the misapprehension that I'm allowed to "use those in projects" without negotiating an appropriate license. I do know I'll "get away with" ripping those CDs to use on my iPod, or putting them in as background music to a limited viewership work presentation, but that if I "share" those files I'm risking a copyright lawsuit.
Why would images/textures be any different.
1) Don't normally come with a CD of the images in digital format
2) Don't include a blurb that says "... ready to be used in your designs, presentations, or comps, as backgrounds or for general visual information"!
It would take 10 seconds to put in similar size font - not to be used for commercial use of any sort (which is most use these days).
That's not their obligation. The obligation is on the person who intends to use the work in a commercial context, to ensure that they have license to use it.
In _any_ context, not just commercial context.
Copyright is "default deny". Unless you've been granted specific permission to copy a copyrighted work you cannot copy it for any reason apart from a few very tightly defined "fair use" exceptions - criticism, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and teaching. And keep in mind that "works" include pictures or photographs and are are by default copyrighted to their creator. You con't need to "register your copyright", although it's smart to as a way to help prove ownership it's not a requirement. Any photo you take or picture(/texture) you draw automatically is copyright to you.
Are you serious that this is like buying art? This really then feels like a TOTAL scam.
I should base my art on the photos without copying. If it's just for me to look at and not copy, why the CD? I can look at the printed picture to base my art on that.
Here is the amazon blurb "ready to be used in your designs, presentations, or comps, as backgrounds or for general visual information"
What absolute garbage.