Image ownership (UK)

[Berto...]

Sorry, tirediron, but this advice is NOT really appropriate. Anyone posting for legal comments is looking for general legal concepts in this area from those that have photographic and legal experience, so that he/she can decide whether it is worthwhile going to a lawyer and taking action.

Exactly. Thankyou Skieur, and thanks to all who who had something useful and helpful to offer. I think I have all the info I need to help rid my pal of this parasite.

Berto

 

[skieur]

The Internet is definitely NOT public domain and by uploading the image to a site the poster has NOT given away his image to the administrator of the site, nor his rights to use the image as he sees fit. The administrator has NO rights to that image beyond displaying it on the site and even that right becomes questionable if the poster demands that it be removed.

skieur

Of course the net is in the public domain, the rest of what you say is correct but there are many sites you have to sign up agreeing to the T&C's which allow these sites usage freedoms. As I said over here the BBC and most magazine sites have similar terms, newspapers are always stealing imagery from the net and face no punishment or pay fees as they reckon uncopyrighted images they use are freely available and already in the public domain. This is the reason I rarely change my own site images or upload anything I wish to sell, either on here or anywhere else for that matter, presently our government are looking into what they call "orphan" works online being free for the taking, so basically without a copyright notice on the image and your details in the exif/meta they reckon its fair to take/use/display or whatever they wish to these "orphans", quality too matters little as newspapers lay off their staffers and publish garbage quality mobile phone "newsworthy" shots. H

I am aware of at least one substantial win by an american photographer against a British sports magazine that stole his images off the net. By the way a copyright notice on the image is not required and I also know sports photographers who routinely search the Internet for their images. If they find them, they invoice at several times their regular rate and if it is not paid, they sue. They have had considerable success.

skieur

 

[KmH]

So guys, before my pal goes wading in... this is cut and dried, black and white - the website/administrator definately has no right to claim copyright ownership of the image simply because the image was uploaded to his site?

No one can say for certain. There isn't even certainty once adjudicated by a court of UK law, because even then there is an appeals process that could net a different result.

Accepting online legal advice as, "cut and dried, black and white", could well cost your friend.

Were it me, I would worry over the contest rules. Many disqualify images that have previously been displayed online, and/or require the winner transfer copyright ownership to the entity that conducted the contest.

Does your pal have the financial means to defend a lawsuit, if need be?

 

[skieur]

So guys, before my pal goes wading in... this is cut and dried, black and white - the website/administrator definately has no right to claim copyright ownership of the image simply because the image was uploaded to his site?

No one can say for certain. There isn't even certainty once adjudicated by a court of UK law, because even then there is an appeals process that could net a different result.

Accepting online legal advice as, "cut and dried, black and white", could well cost your friend.

Were it me, I would worry over the contest rules. Many disqualify images that have previously been displayed online, and/or require the winner transfer copyright ownership to the entity that conducted the contest.

Does your pal have the financial means to defend a lawsuit, if need be?

Both KmH and I are correct. Unless he agreed to some contract or rules giving up his rights to the images, then they remain the photographers.

I should point out that many contest venues only ask for copyright of the image in order to legally display it as the winner of the particular contest on the net or in print.

If he agreed to some contract or rules, then it might depend on how strong a lawyer is in making the point that the terms/rules were unreasonable and whether a judge buys the argument or not.

Does the offer of a prize, give the contest organizer the copyright to all images entered, (if that is in the rules) or should the contest organizer be paying the photographer for any use that is not contest-related?

skieur

skieur.

 

[HeadshotLondon]

In UK if the photographer has taken an image - the rights for the image will belong to him unless he has signed a contract and / or sold the rights to another person. So noone - model, site admin, your pet, etc...could claim the right of ownership for the image. That is the law in the UK.

http://www.headshotlondon.co.uk

 

[snichols]

Totally agree - the photographer retains the copyright unless there has been a specific contract between the commissioner and the photographer to agree to the transfer and/or that all rights are being bought.

The fact that the web site didn't actually pay for the image probably doesn't help you much, but it is bl**dy cheeky.

See P-16: Photography and copyright

Steve

Author of "Better PR and Editorial Photography"- see Learn how to take editorial and PR images you can be proud of