posted
OK, my question has to do with copyright of photographs. I'm an amatuer photographer who is trying to cross the line into professional. I have started a business with my brother Kevin as a partner. The business, K & B Photography, consists right now of taking digital pictures and printing them on-site with a photo printer. The resulting prints are very good quality, without having to wait for them to be developed. OK, now that you have background, here's the problem:
Recently we set up our lights and equipment and took new family portraits. The problem came up when we were trying to get them printed at Walmart (it's cheaper than using our own printer.) Walmart recognized that the prints appeared to be from a professional studio, and refused to print them until I signed a copyright release form. This was pretty easy, since I was the one making the prints and I'm the copywright owner. However, I recognized the need to have some kind of legal copyright release form to give my family in the event that they want to make copies of our portraits and I'm not available. Any suggestions on how I could go about finding out what needs to be on the form?
Posts: 786 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
What you actually need is a copyright license for them. If your family just has prints but might want to make copies, its easy: write on the back that any person possessing a legally obtained print is free to make copies for personal use and distribution to friends and family at no charge.
If they're negatives, I'd print up a proof sheet of all the negatives and write on the back of that anyone possessing a legally obtained negative or copy of any print shown on the proof sheet is free to make copies for personal use and distribution to friends and family at no charge.
To make it extra clear, I'd specify a number of copies (something like "up to ten at one time"), and that cropping and other modification are acceptable.
Really, doctrine of first sale covers most of the uses one might be putting such copies, the printing places are just being overly cautious.
posted
You could bypass the whole issue by including a CD of the original images with every photo sheet you hand out. Of course, then you won't make any money on reprints, but that's clearly not a priority for you anyway.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Actually, I intend to make lots of money on reprints, but not of the pictures I take of my family--that would be a bit overly capitalistic, even for me.
So you're saying that if I give someone a jpeg, either on a CD or other digital media, then Walmart and other copy centers will print them without a copyright release?
Posts: 786 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
I've never had them EVER ask. It appears they only ask if the photos come in on professional paper.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Also, many of the stores around here have the machines that let you make your own prints off of your digital media and the employees don't even look at the pictures. Some have a scanner right there so that you could scan and print whatever you want.
Posts: 1336 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
That's the problem. I was at one of those do-it-yourself machines at Walmart when an employee approached me asked me if I was the copyright owner. Maybe I just had an overzealous employee . Not that I mind when an employee is determined to protect copyright, but it made me start thinking about how to avoid it happening in the future if one of my family members wanted to make copies of our pictures. In the future, I'll just used the CD method and hope that works.
Posts: 786 | Registered: Jun 2003
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