Situations where copyright of a photo is legally taken from you?

5 years 6 months ago #601471 by Miss Polly
Random question, so nothing happening here other than curious about this.  


Are there any situations where a photo that you have taken, you own it, and have copyright over it, can legally be taken away from you?


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5 years 6 months ago #601474 by Nikon Shooter
Taken? Legally? NEVER!

One may give or sell it but it is right of property… by law.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
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5 years 6 months ago #601476 by effron
Yeah, nobody can "take" your copyright legally.

Why so serious?
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5 years 6 months ago - 5 years 6 months ago #601482 by Aeros
The copyright act provides protection to the original author in two forms. Intellectual and moral. Intellectual copyright may be assigned to another party via a contract for use and a signed agreement must be retained by both parties.

Moral copyright, protects the interests of the original author for the life of the original author and in Canada for fifty years beyond the original author’s death. Moral copyright is incontrovertible, a party who has acquired rights to the work via agreement by contract under the rules of Intellectual Copyright, is bound by the doctrine of Moral copyright. To give you an example; a sculptor in Toronto sold a bronze of some flying geese to a very large Canadian retailer. The retailer had the work hung from the ceiling in a downtown Toronto store. One Christmas, the store management decided to wrap red bows around the necks of the sculpture of the Canada Geese.

The sculptor got wind of it and directed the store management to remove the bows to which they refused. There was a suit by the sculptor and he won his legal action on the claim that tying the red bows on the sculpture he created (and was still protected by Moral Copyright), was a copyright infringement by conversion. One can buy an original painting, if it is copyright protected by the original author, the purchaser is bound by the copyright act, not to alter any part of the painting, is prohibited from selling reproductions, the list goes on.

I hope this provides more insight to the Copyright Act as instituted by the Berne Treaty to which most western governments are signatories. I would strongly recommend anyone producing works that qualify for Copyright protection, to read the act. It’s very easy reading, clear and concise.


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5 years 6 months ago #601483 by Miss Polly
Well you never know these days.  And honestly, it was just a curious thing for this morning.  I wasn't sure if government could take if sensitive government official was in photo, etc.  


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5 years 6 months ago #601484 by Aeros
Not if the sensitive government official was photographed in a public place were there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. This in itself is not a copyright issue. It's more about how the photo is used and if there is financial gain to the photographer without permission from the subject.


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5 years 6 months ago #601487 by Miss Polly
Gotcha, OK, well that was just a random example that stemmed one of my thoughts on this.  


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5 years 6 months ago - 5 years 6 months ago #601513 by Troponin
Here is what I know, but it doesn’t really relate to
your situation

Copyright laws kinda suck. Although they do
protect you, it’s only
protection in theory. there are also loopholes and the courts have proven they known nothing about the art of photography. 

The law states that if any “reasonable” alteration has been made to a photo, it can be stolen and considered their own work. For instance, a photo can be simply
cropped and now that “art” belongs to someone else. I could also draw a
smiley face on your photos and they are now mine and I can make money from them.

Basically, it cant be used to make money if you don’t have rights to the photo. 

All that being said, the system is broken. It costs
thousands to fight and it most likely won’t be worth it.  


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5 years 6 months ago #601977 by garyrhook

Troponin wrote: Here is what I know, but it doesn’t really relate to
your situation

Copyright laws kinda suck.


No, they don't. They are helpful and good.

Although they do protect you, it’s only protection in theory.


No, it's not. Please provide concrete examples supporting your statement.

 there are also loopholes and the courts have proven they known nothing about the art of photography. 


Courts make mistakes. That's why there's an appeals process. Things often get worked out. Again, concrete examples?

The law states that if any “reasonable” alteration has been made to a photo, it can be stolen and considered their own work.


No, it can't. Reasonable courts call that "derivative work", which is covered by copyright. Again, any concrete examples to the contrary?

 For instance, a photo can be simply cropped and now that “art” belongs to someone else. I could also draw a smiley face on your photos and they are now mine and I can make money from them.

Basically, it cant be used to make money if you don’t have rights to the photo. 

All that being said, the system is broken. It costs
thousands to fight and it most likely won’t be worth it.  


Your "examples" (statements, really) are unsupported opinions, without basis in fact. Please cite specific examples, and let's discuss. As for fighting,  please don't conflate. Dealing with the legal system under the current US copyright law is a challenge, yes, which is beginning to become apparent to all. Join the Copyright Alliance and help change the laws.

But that has nothing to do with whether copyright law is useful, valued, and effective. I'll stop there.


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5 years 6 months ago #602128 by Francis
What make copyright laws the big evil monster is they intimidate people because the don't understand  them.  Not saying that I do 100%, but there is much to know about them and now to protect yourself/images.  

There are also services out there that you can subscribe too that will safe guard your interests.  


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5 years 6 months ago #602392 by icepics
I was thinking that if a person who was some sort of official was in a sensitive situation you probably wouldn't have access to be able to take photos anyway - unless you were a working photojournalist or a photographer hired to cover that person. If an official was out in public I think there's an expectation that you could talk to the person, take a picture, etc. (as Aeros talked about).

If somehow there was a situation that you got a photo of a person who was in a sensitive job of some sort, I don't even know if copyright would be affected as much as usage. You wouldn't be able to use a photo to make money from it without a signed release anyway, at least not for retail or commercial/business use. For editorial use like a newspaper or media outlet typically a release wouldn't be needed (but may be requested).

Anyone can get on the US Copyright Office website and look up how to register copyright. You automatically own the copyright on photos you take, but if you'd be using the photos and want to protect your work, it supposedly can help in dealing with any copyright violations.

Sharon
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5 years 6 months ago - 5 years 6 months ago #602393 by Troponin

garyrhook wrote:

Troponin wrote: Here is what I know, but it doesn’t really relate to
your situation

Copyright laws kinda suck.


No, they don't. They are helpful and good.

Although they do protect you, it’s only protection in theory.


No, it's not. Please provide concrete examples supporting your statement.

 there are also loopholes and the courts have proven they known nothing about the art of photography. 


Courts make mistakes. That's why there's an appeals process. Things often get worked out. Again, concrete examples?

The law states that if any “reasonable” alteration has been made to a photo, it can be stolen and considered their own work.


No, it can't. Reasonable courts call that "derivative work", which is covered by copyright. Again, any concrete examples to the contrary?

 For instance, a photo can be simply cropped and now that “art” belongs to someone else. I could also draw a smiley face on your photos and they are now mine and I can make money from them.

Basically, it cant be used to make money if you don’t have rights to the photo. 

All that being said, the system is broken. It costs
thousands to fight and it most likely won’t be worth it.  


Your "examples" (statements, really) are unsupported opinions, without basis in fact. Please cite specific examples, and let's discuss. As for fighting,  please don't conflate. Dealing with the legal system under the current US copyright law is a challenge, yes, which is beginning to become apparent to all. Join the Copyright Alliance and help change the laws.

But that has nothing to do with whether copyright law is useful, valued, and effective. I'll stop there.


Cariou v Prince and look at how much they spent on that case. Overturned or not, it was stupid expensive and the laws are still not fantastic. How can a majority of photographers afford this? 


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5 years 6 months ago #602414 by garyrhook

Troponin wrote: Cariou v Prince and look at how much they spent on that case. Overturned or not, it was stupid expensive and the laws are still not fantastic. How can a majority of photographers afford this? 


I don't think any photographer sees that outcome of that one as reasonable in any way. We already know that there are idiot judges on benches (Virginia) and it's going to take time to sort things out. And yes, a big part of the problem is the cost of litigation.

I also don't think we can draw conclusions about copyright based on bad judicial decisions. That case you site is problematic, but it doesn't mean the laws are the problem. Dumb judges are a problem. As is electing them, IMO, FWIW.

Affordability is an issue. That's why we need to support organizations like the Copyright Alliance, where work can be carried out to try to rectify these problems, and educate the public on the value of copyright (and oppose the tech companies that promulgate lies and misinformation in order to abuse creators for their own ends).

I remain hopeful.


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