Copyright Law only deals with reproducition of works and not the legalities of sales. I agree with your example of the coffee can since that is clearly used to promote trade or commerce.
Permission for commerical use would apply in the case of using the building to promote trade or commerce (advertising). If I took a nice image of the building and wanted to sell it say in limited quantities then that would be considered art and generally speaking a release would not be required. How many images of the New York skyline have you seen on calanders, wall hangings, web sites, etc.? There is no way a release for every building in the skyline and that includes the Empire State Building.
Famous photographer, Charles Gentile took some beautiful night time images of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and sold them as posters for $40 to $50 each. Knowing they (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) could not nail him for copyright since that is legal they filed suit on the grounds of trademark violation. Basically in the end the United States Court of Appealss ruled in favor of Gentile since the image on the poster was not being used to "distinguish any goods" that Gentile was marketing or manufacturing that may cause confusion as to the true trademark owner.
Many photographers are confused and mistakenly assume that the exchange of money means "commercial use". Money or not, commercial use applies to using the image to promote trade or commerce, in other words, advertising. This would be using a person's likeness (which includes property) to promote or endorse trade and that requires a release.
A great site to check some of this out in more detail is
PhotoAttorney
Ray