Photographic Copyright

When you commission a professional photographer to take some pictures you are entering a legally binding contract, with rights and responsibilities on both sides. One important but often misunderstood aspect of this contract concerns copyright of the images made. Many clients seem to be under the impression that all rights to the image belong to them but this is no longer the case, and hasn't been for many years.

In fact the law on copyright changed fundamentally with the passing of the 1988 Copyright, Designs & Patents Act, which reversed the situation granting photographers the same rights as had long been enjoyed by authors, painters and other creative individuals. The copyright in the photograph now belongs to the person who took it.

Copyright lasts for 70 years after the end of the year in which the author dies, and offers protection against unauthorised reproduction of the photographs and entitles the owner to economic benefit from it.

As well as these legal rights, the photographer also enjoys certain moral rights, which include the right not to have it falsely attributed, and the right to not have the work subjected to derogatory treatment.

What all this means in practice, is that clients may only use the photographs taken by a professional photographer in ways that have been agreed at the time they were commissioned. If further uses are later required, because the pictures have been so successful, then permission must be sought from the copyright holder at an additional fee agreed. It also means that you are not allowed to reproduce the image in any way without the photographer's agreement. This is why photographers produce reprints for you of say wedding photographs, because they hold the copyright.

For this reason it is essential that clients specify the uses to which images will be used, preferably in writing, when briefing the photographer and requesting a quotation. This agreement then forms part of the contract. It should cover how the work will be used, where (geographically) it will be used and for how long it will be used.