A Little About Copyright Ownership and a Photographer's Rights

There is an online profusion of images, made possible as digital technology is embraced by the masses. Many snap-shooters, who might have otherwise been incapable of producing a decent picture from a film camera, have amazed themselves with their ability to produce works of art using digital cameras. The internet now allows snap-shooters to display their works for the world to see.

Professional photographers have recently been "feeling the heat" as many would-be clients have been attracted by the ready availability of cheap digital photographs from, essentially, anybody. Amateurs are easily flattered by the attention, and are even more flattered when someone will actually pay for their work. Sadly, many unscrupulous clients take advantage of this naivete.

We have had the recent experience of no less than 4 Trinidad companies/ government agencies who expressed interest in our photographs. In every case, the parties involved wanted ownership of the copyright to the images. Even worse, they operated in a fashion that attempted to imply that turning over copyright ownership was "a normal thing". One government agency wanted to pay us $150.TT for use of one of our 8"x10" transparencies, as well as a transfer of copyright. Another company wanted us to donate a picture so that they could "help" us get exposure for our work. Needless to say, we never heard from either one of them again when they were informed that the market value for the single use (in this case - large posters) of an 8x10 transparency is $20,000TT. 8x10 film and processing alone cost more than some digital cameras!

Trinidad Dreamscape has offered to donate transparencies to some organisations in Trinidad to help with raising funds, and to help foster ecological awareness. These organisations were initially eager, but then seemed taken aback by our terms. That is, we would retain our copyright ownership, and that our images could be sold to third-party advertisers only after effecting our express written permission. Our guess is that some people associate "donate" with copyright ownership of our property. We also got the feeling that some companies were of the opinion that they were doing US a favour. Yeah, we're really desperate for the extra exposure they could afford us. It also reflects the general burgeoning consensus, from many people who do not know better, that photography is a cheap, and possibly, contemptuous endeavour. The near universality of photography with the use of digital cameras encourages this view. While we will not attempt to debate the merits of photography, we wish to emphasize that taking pictures is certainly not cheap.

You own the copyright to an image as soon as you press the shutter release. Did you recently take a picture of your neighbour's house? Then you are the copyright owner of that photograph, not your neighbour. Did you take pictures of the Scarlet Ibis at the Point-a-Pierre Wild Fowl Trust? Although this is a privately owned reserve, they DO NOT own your photographs. You can sell one million copies of your photographs and be happy. One of the committee members of the Trust recently implied in an email to us that the Trust views photographers with suspicion. Apparently, photographers have taken pictures within the Trust, and then sold the images as stock-photographs. Huh? Those EVIL photographers!! We never heard from her again when we boldly replied that those photographers were well within their rights, by law.

What does "transfer of copyright" mean exactly? Quite simply, it means that ownership of an image is transferred from the photographer to the client. That means that you can never again use the image, or possess the image file or slide, as it does not belong to you anymore. The client, in turn, can use the image in any way he/she chooses. There was a recent case of a mother in the US releasing the copyright of a photograph of her teenage daughter to a client. The client sold the image to another buyer and, lo and behold, the image (and the unwitting daughter) found itself in an advertisement for condom use. In general, a client will never dare ask a professional photographer to relinquish his/her copyright except in special cases, and then, only at the discretion of the photographer.

Photographers can take an extra step to enforce their copyright ownership. Any photographer, from anywhere in the world, can register his/her photographs with the U.S. Copyright Office. There are very comprehensive guidelines for submitting photographs on their website. It's amazing the damages you can levy against someone for copyright theft - in some cases up to $400,000US per photograph!

Whether you wish to donate or sell an image, there really should be a written contract between both parties specifying terms of use. If you are presented with a contract, always have your lawyer look it through first before signing. Know your rights, as corporate entities will not hesitate to trample on them.