My mother in law went to her local Walgreens to pick up some photos....

[Overread]

A store not printing images is akin to your internet provider not streaming you a song because it can't verify if you are legally entitled to or not. Or Flickr/500px not allowing you to upload a file because it can't guarantee you aren't the proper owner of that file.

Professional photographers are not starving due to people printing their images at Walmart or Walgreens. I hate to say it, but it's the same basic argument the music/movie industry makes about piracy.

Actually there isn't any wrong in ensuring that you do own the rights to what you distribute. Sure internet generations have got used to the idea that anything digital "should be free" but its not different to any other kind of copyright theft.

SOPA and the rest wasn't targeted at this, in fact many people who are all for copyright protection were against the SOPA bill - because it was giving a far greater latitude for removal of content without verification (a big company just had to question your validity to have it pulled from the net). The laws which would have been introduced were more about allowing the policing and content removal of the internet by the few (ie those in power) as opposed to being there to protect content.

Ps if you don't think digital theft harms businesses just look at the Gaming industry which is greatly harmed by millions of copyright thefts of its software (which in turn puts extra, unsupporting, load on MP servers, helpdesk queries, support lines and suchlike)

 

[adversus]

Please don't confuse my post with endorsing the "everything should be free" argument. I don't believe in that. I work in the software industry, and my two main hobbies are photography and music, all three heavily pirated industries.

But I do not think that businesses like photo printing places that should be in the business of determining legality of artistic works. It sets a dangerous precedent. How would you feel if an office supply store demanded to know what you were burning to those CD's you just bought? Or your iTunes refusing to import an MP3 if you don't scan a receipt of it's purchase?

I'm adamantly against SOPA/PIPA. In short, if Walgreens is responsible for copy-write violations, then pencils are responsible for spelling errors.

 

[manaheim]

^^ what he said.

 

[usayit]

Yup... my feeling exactly. I am a Software engineer too.

Dont blame walgreens... blame the legal reprocussions they may face if they dont do their deligence. They dont care about the reprinted material, they just dont want to get sued.

Develope a rep with a good print service. Sign whatever paperwork they request to protect themselves. They get to know you. You get good prints. Everyone is happy.

 

[manaheim]

Yup... my feeling exactly. I am a Software engineer too.

Dont blame walgreens... blame the legal reprocussions they may face if they dont do their deligence. They dont care about the reprinted material, they just dont want to get sued.

Develope a rep with a good print service. Sign whatever paperwork they request to protect themselves. They get to know you. You get good prints. Everyone is happy.

But I do blame Walgreens.

I completely get that they're in a stupid situation due to stupid legislation, but they reacted stupidly.

Having you sign a waiver saying that you absolve Walgreens of any legal action because of whatever YOU ask them to print is a perfect solution. Having a bunch of people who could not POSSIBLY hope to determine, ENTIRELY by your looks and by the looks of the prints, that you have a legal right to print them... is absolutely stupid.

 

[vtf]

Whenever I do a shoot and give the person a cd of the images, I always include a card that states "Only the bearer of this card has the right to print off the cd, any questions call such and such", tape it to the inside of the cd case and it's good to go.
Walmart also has a release you can download. I just don't understand why they just don't have these things available at the counter at the store without having to download or why they can't have you sign electronically like you do prescriptions.