Copyright FYI

It seems like a large slice of people either don't know about copyright in terms of photography, or they simply just don't care. Perhaps in some cases it's a bit of both.
But in case you fall into the category of "don't know", here are a few things you need to know:

• Copyright is the exclusive right given to a photographer for an original piece of work.
• When a photographer takes a photo, copyright is automatic. Photographers don't have to register for copyright but it does help when trying to prove the images are indeed theirs.
• The photographer has the legal right to decided how their images are distributed, reproduced and copied.
• In the UK, photographs are protected abroad by the fact that the UK are a member of several international conventions.
• If you use a photographer's work without their permission first, they could seek legal advice. Criminal charges won't be brought against you as copyright infringement is not a criminal offence but is a civil offence.
• It seems odd, but even storing photographs on your computer amounts to copyright infringement. Even if you're just going to use it as your wallpaper on the desktop, it is still infringing copyright. 
• Copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the photographer.

So now you know the basics, what about editing photos that aren't yours? Are there rules about that? Well....

• Only the photographer, or those who own the copyright to the image or images, can edit or manipulate them.
• If you edit or manipulate a photograph and say it is your work, you've still infringed copyright law.
• You must get permission from the legal copyright owner of the photograph before making any changes to it.

There you have it. A basic run down of copyright law. So next time you save a photo to your hard drive and think about distributing it or manipulating it.....just think about this blog.





Twitter
Facebook