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Source: Fair Go -
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Reporter - Hannah Wallis
Copyright is something we probably don't think twice about when we're taking photos or having our photos taken by professional photographers - weddings, portrait photography, children's school pics - even photo competitions we enter into.
We asked our Fair Go production manager Emily-Jane to check out the contract she'd signed with her own wedding photographer - she'd never really read it - and she was very surprised. Her standard contract says her photographer has the right to use the pics in any manner at any time and in any part of the world. The photos can be entered in photographic competitions or awards and used in promos for those competitions or awards. They can be used in advertising or otherwise promoting the photographer's works and can also be displayed in art galleries or other premises.
EJ had no idea - she knew copyright meant she had to order any extra prints etc., from the photographer, but says couples would probably think that they would have control over what can be done with the pics. EJ's biggest fear would be seeing her wedding pics in a magazine, or on the web - as soon as those pics are on the internet she says its open season for anyone to take them.
Juanita Stulich also had a brush with copyright after she'd had her daughter's photos taken by Expressons Sessions - an Aussie-based photography outfit which does the rounds of Auckland's malls. Juanita ordered 8 pics of daughter Natalia - she was told 61 photos had actually been taken, and says if she wanted all the photos and ownership - the copyright - it'd cost $2000. Juanita says if she'd understood the copyright situation, she wouldn't have gone through with the photo session, and now can't afford to buy the copyright back.
She feels as if she has failed as a parent to protect her daughter, and has lost control over where and how the photos are going to be used.
Young Mum Angela Reid wanted other parents to be warned about entering their childrens' pics in photo competitions. She'd planned to enter photos of her children Caeser and Bonnie in a Pumpkin Patch competition until she checked the terms and conditions. Angela found she'd be signing over all the rights to her entry photos to Pumpkin Patch. Competition finalists also agreed that their photos could be used for "advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation in all media worldwide." Angela says a lot of people might not know that to use an image for a long period of time, and world wide is worth actually quite a lot. Plus, she says, you lose control of that image - over how, where, when and how often it was used. Angela decided that her two gorgeous, styley little dudes would not be taking part in the competition.
Matt Sumpter, copyright law expert says the kind of contracts and terms and conditions featured in our story aren't unusual - they're standard copyright rules.
But if your photographer doesn't show you T & Cs, or get you to sign a contract, then the default position is that you own the copyright, not the photographer.
Matt says you should definitely negotiate the terms of the deal
- say retaining
copyright/licence over the photos, or adding clauses which give you
more protection / control over when, for how long, and for what
purpose photos used, and ensure you get prior notification and
approval of any other use of the photos?
When entering competitions Matt says look out for how long, how often, where, and for what length of time the photos can be used - it's unlikely you can negotiate when entering a competition so - if you're not happy, just don't enter. And finally Matt says once your own pics are on the web, it's too late - make sure you either watermark them or date stamp them, to give yourself copyright.
Fair Go accepts that professional photographers have to protect
their work and make a living. It's fine they retain the rights to
supply copies of their photos, and charge for them. But surely the
rights for alternative use of your image should be, not with the
photographer, but with you. If they want to onsell that image to
someone else, or use it for advertising, or to win an award,
anything other than what it was taken for in the first place
...then the photographer should have to negotiate with you. That
should be written into the contract.
