As an amateur photographer I often walk a fine line between sharing my work and protecting my copyrights. Services like flickr.com and facebook.com provide a great outlet for sharing photos, but at the same time they make it easy for individuals to ignore and violate copyright law. In most cases a copyright violation is unintentional and the result of not knowing the law.
A photograph is the intellectual property of the photographer. The photographer maintains the exclusive rights to copy, distribute, print, and/or post their own photos unless those rights are granted to someone else via a contract. It is illegal to copy or distribute a photo without the permission of the copyright owner (the photographer).
Here are some common misconceptions regarding copyright law.
“We hired a photographer to take pictures at our wedding. Since we paid for the pictures to be taken, I have the right to reprint them as I see fit.”
Unless otherwise indicated in writing – you do not have the right to print a photo taken by professional photographer. Most photographers will offer an hourly rate that doesn’t cover their time or expenses (keeping in mind that an hour of taking pictures may require two or more hours of processing and editing). The pricing is based on the assumption that you will buy prints (and reprints) from the studio. This gives the photographer complete control over the developing and printing process while giving the customer the option to not pay for prints if the photo didn’t turn out the way they wanted.
“We have a family portrait that was taken ten years ago. Since then we’ve moved to a new city. I can take that portrait to any local print shop and have them copy it...”
Possession of a print does not imply the right to copy it. Even if it is inconvenient, you must have permission from the photographer in order to make a copy. In fact, most printers will not copy or reprint a photo without written permission from the copyright owner.
“I found a cool picture online. There isn’t anything preventing me from saving it to my computer, and posting it on my webpage. I’m not making any money off of my webpage, and the picture wasn’t ‘for sale’ on the site where I found it – so I’m not really violating copyright law.”
This is one of the most significant violations of copyright law as it pertains to digital photography. The proper thing to do is to ask the copyright owner (photographer) for permission to use the photo. In many cases, the images that you find online are from stock photo services. The website designer pays the stock photo service for the right to use a photo on their website. The stock service then pays the photographer. By taking a stock photo from one website and placing it on your own – you are effectively stealing from the stock service and the photographer.
“I’m in this picture. So I have the right to post it on my website.”
Here again – the proper thing to do is to ask the photographer for permission. Being in a photo does not convey copyrights.
“The photographer gave me a disc of all our wedding photos. I can do whatever I want with it.”
Much like with movies and music, having a digital copy of a photo only conveys the right to view the photo. Unless expressed by the photographer (as part of the contract), you do not have the right to print or distribute (email) photos provided on a CD. In general, most photographers will provide a disc with permission to print and distribute the photos within limits. You may be allowed to print photos for personal use, but not for commercial or resale use. This is generally not an issue unless (for example) a celebrity attends your wedding. You would not have the right to sell the photographer’s photos to a tabloid.
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