Meysha
still being picky Vicky
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This is just a bit of info for everyone on legal rights.
Ok, the never ending question... is it legal to take photos in public of people, buildings?
I've collected a few sites that have lots of info. What's even better - they're all written in plain english! (for the most part)
http://www.photopermit.org USA and international section as well.
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=002kze US discussion
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BwDn&unified_p=1 US more recent discussion
http://critics.4020.net Australia
http://www.ac-grenoble.fr/crt/national/Dtimage.htm French Law (en français)
I'll quickly summarise what I've read.
In the US you can take a photo of whoever you want so long as they are in a public place (ie not in their living room) and you can do whatever you want with it so long as it doesn't degrade the person or you don't make money from it. You are allowed to take photos of any building so long as there is no "Photography not permitted" (or equivalent) sign. If it is a private building, and a staff member does come up to you and tells you it's legally forbidden, you must stop, but they can't force you to delete the photos you've already taken.
In Australia, we don't really have a right to privacy act like the americans do. So, as long as you don't degrade anyone in your pics then you're fine. Same conditions apply to the buildings as the americans have I think.
For the UK, I haven't actually found the law itself yet, but reading the web, it seems you're similar to US and Australia. Although you might have more pressure to get people to sign releases.
In France, they're just a pain. You, legally aren't allowed to take a photo of most of the buildings in Paris (lit-up eiffel tower, the louvre pyramid) because they are all copyrighted. The laws relating to people are really really confusing. Journalists can basically show whoever they want on TV if it's of significant importance to the country, or if the person is in public and cleary not wanting to not be photographed. But normal photographers, can't even take pics of people in public without their permission. There's a whole nother law about diffusing the pics. But that brings me to wonder, what distinguishes a journalist from another photographer? Am I a journalist because I take photos and put them on my blog (which is a source of news)? Does that mean the journalist rules apply to me?
I think Germany is similar to France by what LaFoto has been saying.
And I'm purely guessing that New Zealand laws are going to be pretty similar to Aus and US laws.
I couldn't find any information on taking photos in one country and then publishing them (say on the net, no profit) in another country.
Oh and just to cover my own butt now. I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Always talk to a qualified lawyer before making any decision!
Ok, the never ending question... is it legal to take photos in public of people, buildings?
I've collected a few sites that have lots of info. What's even better - they're all written in plain english! (for the most part)
http://www.photopermit.org USA and international section as well.
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=002kze US discussion
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BwDn&unified_p=1 US more recent discussion
http://critics.4020.net Australia
http://www.ac-grenoble.fr/crt/national/Dtimage.htm French Law (en français)
I'll quickly summarise what I've read.
In the US you can take a photo of whoever you want so long as they are in a public place (ie not in their living room) and you can do whatever you want with it so long as it doesn't degrade the person or you don't make money from it. You are allowed to take photos of any building so long as there is no "Photography not permitted" (or equivalent) sign. If it is a private building, and a staff member does come up to you and tells you it's legally forbidden, you must stop, but they can't force you to delete the photos you've already taken.
In Australia, we don't really have a right to privacy act like the americans do. So, as long as you don't degrade anyone in your pics then you're fine. Same conditions apply to the buildings as the americans have I think.
For the UK, I haven't actually found the law itself yet, but reading the web, it seems you're similar to US and Australia. Although you might have more pressure to get people to sign releases.
In France, they're just a pain. You, legally aren't allowed to take a photo of most of the buildings in Paris (lit-up eiffel tower, the louvre pyramid) because they are all copyrighted. The laws relating to people are really really confusing. Journalists can basically show whoever they want on TV if it's of significant importance to the country, or if the person is in public and cleary not wanting to not be photographed. But normal photographers, can't even take pics of people in public without their permission. There's a whole nother law about diffusing the pics. But that brings me to wonder, what distinguishes a journalist from another photographer? Am I a journalist because I take photos and put them on my blog (which is a source of news)? Does that mean the journalist rules apply to me?
I think Germany is similar to France by what LaFoto has been saying.
And I'm purely guessing that New Zealand laws are going to be pretty similar to Aus and US laws.
I couldn't find any information on taking photos in one country and then publishing them (say on the net, no profit) in another country.
Oh and just to cover my own butt now. I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Always talk to a qualified lawyer before making any decision!