copyright and photography

[Phillip Ross]

I'm not sure about anyone else but the more I delve into photography and the copyright laws surrounding it the more baffled I become.

Is there anyone that can explain what you are allowed to photograph, what you require a license/release form to photograph and the laws on selling your work, I have tried to understand the "legal" jargon but can not get my head around it so if anyone can explain this in laymans terms i would be greatful

[David McCullough]

In the US the basic concept is that at the moment you create the photo, you automatically are the owner of the copyright. There exceptions, such as if you are employed by someone else (as an employee, not a photography assignment) and you take a photo while you are on the job, the photo belongs to your employer, not you.

A person also has the right to their own likeness and to control it's use. For example, you can not take a photo of the president of the United States (or anyone else for that matter) and use the photo to help sell soup (or any other product) without their approval. This is where model releases come in. So, with any photo of a person, there are two rights involved. The rights of the photographer (copyright) and the rights of the subject. This is handled by having the subject sign a model release, which states that the model is permiting their image to be used for commercial purposes and how they are being compensated.

Editorial use is governed by another set of rules that governs the use of photos by the newspapers, magazines, TV news, etc.

Buildings. Some buildings and landmarks are trademarked or copyrighted. So far there don't seem to be laws requiring that a photographer get a property release (a model release for buildings) but most do. The reason is that stock photo companies and many large clients require it so that there is no chance of being sued by the property owner.

There are lots of rules and court decisions that govern various aspects of all this. Plus laws and court decisions vary for commercial use, editorial use, fine art use, etc., etc and well as country to country.

The best thing to do is to decide what it is that you want to do and then research how the laws apply to that specific aspect of photography.

Best of luck to you.

-Dave

[Phillip Ross]

cheers dave that clears it up a little more for me one thing i would like you to clarify for me is for example i take a photograph in a public place which happens to have people in the picture do i need to get them all to sign a model release or is this an exception to the rule as it is a public place?

[André Untiedt]

Thanks Dave!

David McCullough said:

In the US the basic concept is that at the moment you create the photo, you automatically are the owner of the copyright. There exceptions, such as if you are employed by someone else (as an employee, not a photography assignment) and you take a photo while you are on the job, the photo belongs to your employer, not you.

A person also has the right to their own likeness and to control it's use. For example, you can not take a photo of the president of the United States (or anyone else for that matter) and use the photo to help sell soup (or any other product) without their approval. This is where model releases come in. So, with any photo of a person, there are two rights involved. The rights of the photographer (copyright) and the rights of the subject. This is handled by having the subject sign a model release, which states that the model is permiting their image to be used for commercial purposes and how they are being compensated.

Editorial use is governed by another set of rules that governs the use of photos by the newspapers, magazines, TV news, etc.

Buildings. Some buildings and landmarks are trademarked or copyrighted. So far there don't seem to be laws requiring that a photographer get a property release (a model release for buildings) but most do. The reason is that stock photo companies and many large clients require it so that there is no chance of being sued by the property owner.

There are lots of rules and court decisions that govern various aspects of all this. Plus laws and court decisions vary for commercial use, editorial use, fine art use, etc., etc and well as country to country.

The best thing to do is to decide what it is that you want to do and then research how the laws apply to that specific aspect of photography.

Best of luck to you.

-Dave