Freedom of panorama, often abbreviated as
FOP, is a provision in the
copyright laws of various jurisdictions that permits taking photographs or video footage, or creating other images (such as paintings), of buildings and sometimes sculptures and other art which are permanently located in a
public place, without infringing any copyright that may otherwise subsist in such works, and to publish such images. Panorama freedom statutes and/or case law limit the right of the copyright owner to take action for breach of copyright against the creators and distributors of such images. It is an exception to the normal rule that the copyright owner has the exclusive right to authorize the creation and distribution of
derivative works. The phrase is derived from the
German term
Panoramafreiheit ("panorama freedom").