An individual has certain rights to control the use of their image. The specific details will vary from one country to another depending on national legislation, although the general rule seems to be to protect a person against defamatory or offensive use of their image.

If you intend to sell or distribute images that include people, then it is worth getting your subjects to sign a model release form as this will protect you against any comeback.

We do recommended that you mark your work with a copyright notice, as this makes it clear that copyright exists, and helps to deter infringement. For traditional prints, it is customary to use a stamp to mark the copyright notice and the copyright owners contact details on the back of the print. For electronic images, it is also possible to include the copyright/contact details in the file properties. Under Windows for example, right clicking on a image will allow you to bring up the properties dialogue where you may enter details about the file, (though this will only work with certain file types). More typically, your image software will provide a way to insert comments into the file; this is preferred as these are harder to remove.

The two primary reasons for marking your work are to ensure that those accessing your images are clear that copyright exists and that they know who to contact to obtain permission.

As with all copyright work, you should first obtain permission from the copyright owner before you use someone else?s work. You should also be prepared to pay a fee, as many photographers will charge you for using their work. Only the copyright owner can give permission, so you should contact the photographer, or his/her company, directly for consent. For images published on the Internet, it is typical to contact the webmaster of the site in the first instance, unless the site provides contact details of the owner of the images.

Note: The copyright owner has no obligation to allow you to use their work, and can refuse permission for any reason.

Under the law it‘s the person who takes the photo that owns the copyright, except for the following exceptions:

• If the photographer is the employee of a company and taking the photo as part of his\her jobs, or as an employee of a company they are instructed to take the photos. In this situation the photographer will be acting on behalf of his/her employer so the company the photographer works for owns the copyright.

• If there is an agreement that assigns copyright to another party.

In all other cases, the photographer retains the copyright. If the photographer has been paid for his work the payment will be for the photographer?s time and typically an allocated number of prints. The copyright to the photos will remain with the photographer and any reproduction without permission would be an infringement of copyright.

The copyright of photos to the photographer lasts throughout the photographer’s life and after their death.

Asia Pacific

• Australia:50 years from end of taking or publication.
• New Zealand:50 years from year end of taking.

Canada

• 50 years from year end of taking.

Europe

• France: 50 years after death of photographer and in some cases an additional 30 years foe serving France.
• Germany: 70 years after death of photographer from photographic work; 50 years from year end of publication, or time of taking if not published, for documentary photographs; 25 years from year end of publication, or time of taking if not published, for simple photography.
• Ireland: 50 years after death of photographer or 50 years from years from end of publication.
• Italy: 50 years from year end of taking from photographic work; 20 years from year end of taking for simple photographs.
• Spain: 60 years after death of photographer; 25 years after end of taking for simple photographs.
• UK: 50 years after death of photographer.

USA

• 50 years after death of photographer.

This information is provided for information purposes only, local country laws and regulations constantly change so we always recommend that you keep up-to-date with change in you local laws.

Photographing on Public Place

1. You can freely take pictures of anything you wish, when in a public place. This includes pictures of private property and people.
2. You are not allowed to harass people in the course of your photography – stalking someone, or repeatedly blocking their way to take a photograph of them could be construed as harassment.
3. Taking photographs of people in public is generally allowed – however, an exception is made where the subject would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
4. You,re perfectly entitled to take a photograph of someone walking down the street – but hiding in a tree to take a photo of them in their home may get you into trouble.
5. You are not allowed to obstruct movement on the highway (roads, footpaths, cycle paths etc), or the work of a police officer, while taking photographs.

Photographing on Private Property

1. On private property, you are allowed to take photographs, if you have permission by the property owner. However, the owner can impose conditions on your entry to the property, which may include a ban on photography of certain things, or a ban on certain types of photography (e.g., flash photography, etc).
2. If you enter a private property the owner is entitled to demand that you cease taking photographs, and that you leave the property. If you do not have permission to be on the property you are a trespasser so the owner has the right to use reasonable force to remove you if necessary, however the property owner should not threaten or attacked. The property owner does not have the right to confiscate or damage any of your equipment.
3. The occupier of a private property, where he is not the owner, has the same rights as the owner.
4. Security guards may also act for the owner or occupier in exercising these rights.
5. Violating the conditions under which you were admitted to a property voids your permission to be there, and you may be guilty of trespass. Trespass is a crime in some unusual cases but damages are more commonly sought in a civil case.
6. If you are taking photographs on private property with the aim of selling the images you should get written permission in the form or a “Property Release Agreement” document signed by the owner.

Legal Restrictions

1. You may be found in contempt of court if you photograph and publish a photo of a defendant, where the identity is in question.
2. You may also be found in contempt of court if you publish a photograph that might prejudice the defendant by insinuating his guilt or a photograph that might reveal prior convictions.

Your Subject’s Rights

1. When taking photos you should take into account the “right to privacy”, but in general at a public place or public event it is generally safe to presume that you can publish your photographs.
2. Your subject has the right to object to the publication of any photos they are in if, the photographs are untrue or violating the subject?s privacy.
3. As a general rule, the photographer owns the copyright of all photos they take have been commissioned and paid for the photograph or if they are working for a company and its part of their job to take photos.
4. As a general rule if you are taking a photo of a subject, and you intend to sell that photo it is recommended that you get the subject to sign a ?model release agreement?. A signed model release agreement means that a person is acknowledging that you have the right to use the photos you took of them on a given date.

This information is provided for information purposes only, local country laws and regulations constantly change so we always recommend that you keep up-to-date with change in you local laws.