Legal Issues In Photography

Legal Issues in Photography:Protect your bundle.

Katherine L. Sunstrom, Sunstrom LawChristine Tremoulet, Destination Wedding and Intimate Boudoir

Photographer

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The text of this work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Christine Tremoulet’s images are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivatives 3.0 Unite States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en

What is Copyrightable* Subject Matter?

• Original• Fixed in a tangible medium

*legal term, wrong meaning.

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What are my rights in my photograph?

• Copy• Distribute• Display• Make derivatives• Each is a stick in your

bundle of rights.

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It is your bundle.

• You can give away sticks from your bundle.• License people to copy and distribute.• Can hold back the right to make $ from

images.• Can require that you are the source of prints.

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Protect your bundle.

• Copyright provision in contracts• Useful licensing tools:

creativecommons.org• Registrations• Copyright notices on

distributed and digital images• Take-down notice

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Build in bundle protection, but share.

• Creative commons licenses• Attribution• Non-commercial• No derivatives• Share Alike

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Protect your bundle with a registration.

• Copyright.gov• Form VA (visual works) $45- snail mail• Form CO (all works) $35- electronic filing• Constructive Notice• More statutory protection• Within 3 months of “publication”

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Tell people how to treat your bundle.

• Copyright notice• Not required• Useful to avoid violation• Instructive as to what you can do with your

photograph• Enhanced damages- willfulness

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Awesome example from Derek Powazek.

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Derek has a great tutorial on how to size your images and put them on your page so that this shows up in the raw image if someone was to try and grab it. See his post at http://powazek.com/posts/867

Dispel the myths about copyright.• People will respect your bundle• Mail it to yourself• Copyright notices are offensive• Desire not to offend the public outweighs

protecting your rights• Photographing a painting or other visual work

circumvents copyright laws• Making a painting or drawing from a photo

circumvents copyright laws

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Stop digital thieves.

• DMCA takedown notices.• How to find and deal with infringers:– http://www.marketingdock.com/copyrights/deali

ng-with-copyright-infringement.php– http://www.copyscape.com/– http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/– Google image search.

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Resources.• Copyright.gov• Compfight.com- CC image search engine• Ccpics.com- collection of CC licensed images• Creativecommons.org• Photographers’ Rights:

– http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm• Legal Handbook for Photographers

– http://www.krages.com/lhp.htm• How to find and deal with infringers:

– http://www.marketingdock.com/copyrights/dealing-with-copyright-infringement.php

– http://www.marketingdock.com/copyrights/dealing-with-copyright-infringement.php

– http://www.copyscape.com/– http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/– Google image search.

• Derek Powazek’s copyright notice suggestions:– http://powazek.com/posts/867

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Questions?

Katherine L. SunstromSunstromlaw.com713-502-3049ksunstrom@sunstromlaw.com

Christine TremouletChristinetremoulet.comchristine@christinetremoulet.com

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*This presentation is available online at http://www.slideshare.net/sunstromlaw/legal-issues-in-photography-presentation