Copyright FAQs

Copyright FAQs

On what basis am I able to sell my images as stock?

Theimagefile.com Ltd offers a variety of licence types:

Model Releases - Getting Consent to Photograph People and Use their Image

Various laws may give a person rights to control the use of their image. In the UK these laws are relatively limited and include:

• Data Protection Act 1998

• The law protecting confidential information (e.g. the photograph is taken in private or in circumstances where it ought to be treated as private);

• Photographs taken for private and domestic purposes (see 2 below); and

• The law protecting business goodwill (e.g. where the person is a celebrity).

Where the photograph is to be used abroad other countries will have different and possibly more stringent laws (e.g. France).

To try to limit the risk of legal action it is commonplace for those photographing identifiable individuals to obtain a signed "model release" from the person concerned. This ensures the image can be lawfully used.

This may not be practicable in all circumstances (e.g. a crowd scene) but where possible, it should be made clear to those being photographed as part of a crowd scene or other group (i.e. where model releases cannot in practice be obtained) that those to be photographed have the option not to be included and that the photograph is for a specified purpose. A note should be made of this at the time.

Use of Events and Wedding Images

When photographing an event it is sensible to get the permission of the organisers of the event (and also see the comments above about group/crowd scenes) - this ought to help avoid a future argument about whether the event was "private" or that photography was restricted for some other reason (e.g. because of the terms of entry/access).

Specific rules apply to weddings, and also to other events where commissioned photographs are taken for "private and domestic purposes" (e.g. at a private party) (see section 85 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988). In such a case the person(s) commissioning the photograph (e.g. bride and groom) are entitled to restrict the issue of copies of the photograph to the public, the exhibition of the photograph in public, or the use of the photograph on the Internet. So consent is needed to exploit these sorts of photographs.

Taking Photographs of Buildings and Works of Art

Works of architecture, paintings, sculptures, collages, engravings, and other artistic works potentially all qualify for copyright protection. This means that taking a photograph of such a work potentially infringes copyright in the work. UK law (section 62 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988) recognizes that this is potentially a minefield so whilst the law is not fully clear here it is usually accepted that consent from the copyright owner is not required to photograph:

• Any building (i.e. any fixed structure or part of it)

• Any sculpture, model for a building or a "work of artistic craftsmanship" situated in a public place or in premises open to the public

Also, whilst taking a photograph of e.g. a painting (which is itself in copyright) requires the consent of the copyright owner, there is a defence where the inclusion of the artistic work is "incidental".

It should be noted that in some countries (e.g. France) the building owner may have clear rights to prevent the commercial exploitation of photographs of their building taken without their consent.

Further reading

Christina Michalos, The Law of Photography and Digital Images, Sweet & Maxwell 2004

Simon Stokes, Art and Copyright, Hart Publishing 2003; Digital Copyright, Hart Publishing 2005 (http://www.hartpub.co.uk)