Authors, beware! The next time you post your work on social media, you may lose significant ownership rights. A core principle of U.S. copyright law is that the author controls how their work is used, and can earn money from that use if they wish. But what happens when a photographer posts her work on […]
Tag Archives: Photography
Dear Doc: I heard that it may not be legal to take a photo of a city skyline, and to use that photo. Or maybe it is. Can you help me to understand what’s going on in the law? Signed, Insel IdimsDear Mr. Idims:You are correct. Two recent cases involving photographs of the Philadelphia and […]
A few years ago, at the behest of some photographers, we wrote about whether uploading images to Flickr.com or Instagram was equivalent to “publication” under the Copyright Act. We concluded that it is. Another “photographic” issue has arisen in our practice, whether thumbnail images posted on a website or on an e-mail, could be construed as permissible “fair use” […]
During a recent presentation on copyright law to the Lehigh Valley Photography Club, several members expressed an interest in knowing whether posting images to a photo sharing site such as Flickr.com was “publication” for purposes of copyright registration. I expressed my opinion that it is publication. I thought it would be useful to take a […]
In our last newsletter we wrote about Taylor Swift’s open letter to Apple, Inc. and the ensuing kerfuffle over Taylor Swift’s hypocrisy for the way she treated photographers covering her concerts. Just to recap, Swift’s letter to Apple scolded the company for not compensating artists during its customers’ 3-month free Apple Music trial. Apple, you […]
On the subject of interesting IP spats, here’s one that’s worth smiling (or frowning) over. You may know that Taylor Swift recently complained in an open letter to Apple about its using musicians’ work without compensation during the 3-month trial period of its new music streaming service (which, by the way, debuts today). Swift wrote: […]
Ask Dr. Copyright … Dear Doc: What can you tell me about “Panoramafreiheit”?Signed, An American in Paris Dear Mr. Mulligan: Gesundheit! But seriously…you must be referring to the European Union’s 2001 Information Society Directive that states that photos of architectural projects in public spaces (monuments, buildings, etc.) may be taken and published free of copyright […]
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