Who Owns the Copyright to Images Taken By a Monkey?

A very interesting case is developing that pits an online magazine against a wildlife photographer, David Slater, as to who owns the copyright to images taken by monkeys using Slaters camera.

It is pretty common knowledge that a photographer owns the copyright to an image they take once they click of the shutter. They are the creator of the works and under U.S. Copyright Laws that makes the holder of the copyright, unless of course there is something in writing stating otherwise, such as a work-for-hire agreement.

Photographer David Slater was in Indonesia photographing monkeys when he apparently left a camera out. It was picked up by a monkey who tripped the shutter. Slater states that the monkey was so intrigued by the sound that they kept clicking the shutter and the results, once Slater retrieved his camera, were some good shots. … Continue Reading

I Copied A David Muench Picture and it Never Sold!

Yes, I confess, I did it. This was back when I was a student at Brooks Institute of Photography in the 1970s. In my very first class, the instructor had us study many of the well-known photographers throughout the history of the medium, including David Muench. I quickly became a David Muench fan, and, in fact, he has been my hero since those early days. He is a ground breaker, capturing countless never-before-seen locations in new and innovative ways as many of the early landscape photographers did.

So many times I wished I had entered the business when David Muench had. It must have been easier. If you documented the landscape where nobody spent much time, then every image would be a new, never-before-seen image. There were fewer photographers then and less competition.

In reality, I’m sure it was not that easy. Most likely, many of the battles would have been the same as they are today: working hard to build name recognition; finding clients; creating unique imagery; and building a successful business. … Continue Reading

Who Owns The Rights To Assignment Photos? Jump Into This Debate.

Who owns the rights to assignment photos? Occasionally you have a client who asks you that. They want to know and understand what rights they have regarding the work you do for them and as we all know, you negotiate those terms prior to the assignment.

Beside my deep passion for nature photography, my career has encompassed a wide range of commercial photography assignments and last year I had a client ask who else could use the pictures I shot for them. She understood my position and it was all good and later I decided to post this exchange on another photography blog.

One person commented on that blog spewing a variety of inaccurate information and misguided assumptions. She recently came back out of the woodwork with more inaccurate opinions regarding Creative Commons, photographers copyright, implied contracts, and photographer rights. … Continue Reading

Property Releases Are Not Required In All Cases

As if the laws are not already confusing as to when you need a release for a person or private property, Carolyn Wright of PhotoAttorney.com writes an excellent article for WPPI on just when and where releases are needed, what constitutes commercial use, and general copyright issues.

Of particular interest is the point she makes regarding whether or not a Property Release is required when private property is photographed from public property. It has always been my understanding that you did need them for commercial use of the images. If I understand her points, this is not the case as no court has ever ruled as such. Read on:

5. You need a property release to use a photograph of a house for a commercial use.

“No court or state has established a law—either by statute or through court rulings—creating a right to protect or prevent property from being photographed from a public area, or from that photograph being used editorially or commercially. Thus, no legal reason exists for a “property release,” except perhaps when photographing other copyrighted works or trademarks. Note that some stock agencies require a property release for fear of being sued.”

She makes a good point, which most of us have known, that stock agencies have required releases for just about anything that consider private and could land them in court. This is all interesting and informative and you can read the entire article here at the WPPI Newsletter. … Continue Reading

Watermarks Are Valid Copyright Information: Says the Courts

Apparently a watermark on your photographs counts as “copyright management information” that is protected under the Digital Milenium Copyright Act. As you know it is easy to crop out or cover over a watermark and that is what happened in the case of McClatchey vs. Associated Press.

Years ago, The Associated Press allegedly cropped a ‘Ms. McClatchey’ photograph and then distributed it without her permission and she sued. The AP alleges that because the watermark is not digital, that cannot be considered as the “copyright management information” but the courts ruled otherwise.

As Carolyn Wright, publisher of Photo Attorney writes in this post: “Section 1202 of the U.S. Copyright Act makes it illegal for someone to remove the watermark from your photo so that it can disguise the infringement when used. The fines start at $2500 and go to $25,000 in addition to attorneys’ fees and any damages for the infringement.” … Continue Reading

Urgent COPYRIGHT Call to Action from NANPA

This email arrived from NANPA, the North American Nature Photographer Association and is a call to action for all photographers. Certainly you have heard about Orphan Works and Congress attempt to pass legislation that severely affects photographers rights regarding their copyright and control of their work.

The Obama Administration is fortunately inviting photographers to express their concerns and your opinions are needed. Please read the following and then take action. Voice your opinion, it is needed! Please read on…. … Continue Reading

Image Thieves and Non-Paying Clients

Beware of the image thief! Having your image swiped off your website or sending images to clients who then fail to pay is a pretty common event these days. Are there really that many people who will consiously rip off a photographer just because they can? Or it is more of an issue with an un-educated person who thinks anything on the net is free?  We are battling a mindset among the masses that photography has no value so why should it be paid for? Read on for more thoughts…. … Continue Reading