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  4. Can two photographers copyright a one composite image?

Can two photographers copyright a one composite image?


4 years 8 months ago #652564 by Chester Foster
If two photographers have a hands on in the creation of a composite image, can both of them copyright it?

Just to spin this further, if each photographer contributed an image that was used to make this composite, then what?  
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4 years 8 months ago #652574 by garyrhook
A copyright is a thing that is owned. A thing may have more than one owner.

Sharing ownership of a created thing can lead to all sorts of problems if the asset could be transferred, or licensed, or used in some way.

You'll want the details of the arrangement on paper, and signed, to avoid complications in the future.
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4 years 8 months ago #652610 by Chester Foster
Thank you Gary.  Actually this is for a friend of mine who had contributed an image and helped work on a composite that now has a decent size paycheck to it and the other person is trying to keep all the $$.  
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4 years 8 months ago #652611 by Nikon Shooter
There are three objects that may be copyrighted in this
situation: the two originals and the composition made of
the same two images.

Prudence and wisdom will create an agreement between
the two photographers and the artist(s) who created the
said composition. Possibly, it should cover provisions for
the selling, using or renting of the final publication.
Light is free… capturing it is not!
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4 years 8 months ago #652620 by Chester Foster

Nikon Shooter wrote: There are three objects that may be copyrighted in this
situation: the two originals and the composition made of
the same two images.

Prudence and wisdom will create an agreement between
the two photographers and the artist(s) who created the
said composition. Possibly, it should cover provisions for
the selling, using or renting of the final publication.


Yep, I covered the contract talk with him right off the get go.  Apparently when the composite was created, it was just out of fun.  2 friends farting around with a couple images.  Then 9 months later the other photographer marketed the photo or was approached by a company (story get's hazy here) for exclusive rights to the photo for a very large book deal.  So that's where they are.  
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4 years 8 months ago #652634 by garyrhook

Chester Foster wrote: Thank you Gary.  Actually this is for a friend of mine who had contributed an image and helped work on a composite that now has a decent size paycheck to it and the other person is trying to keep all the $$.  


Not too surprising. Your friend will at least learn a painful lesson, but I hope he gets more out of this than that.

Your friend should talk to a lawyer. He should also register, correctly, the image in question with the copyright office. I don't know if a signature is required, or just a name.

As pointed out above, there's also the copyright of the original images. That matters, too.

Your friend's "friend" is a creep. IMNSHO.
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4 years 8 months ago #652743 by Steve Zahra
Damn that sucks, he friend gets greedy and will lose a friend.  Bad move. 
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4 years 8 months ago #652902 by icepics
I'm not sure what your friend can do; once you give someone your photo, it's gone and there's probably no getting it back. I think it would have been better to have something in writing if collaborating on a composite image. I'm sorry your friend had this happen and that the other person took it upon himself to market/sell/license usage of the composite image on his own.

Your friend could look on the US Copyright Office website and see what it says about works done in collaboration, I'm not sure how that works. He automatically owns copyright to any photos he takes, and I think he could register his image that went into the composite even after it may have been used/published. Supposedly registering a copyright can help in dealing with violations.

If your friend already received a payment I'm not clear on what else the other person is trying to do with the composite image. If the image was used there should have been a contract with a client that specified usage and a time frame and payment to each of the collaborators who created the composite.

Your friend could try looking at websites for pro photgraphers organizations like asmp.org and PPA and see if he can find anything about collaborative works.
Sharon
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4 years 8 months ago #652987 by Chester Foster
But how can it be proved that he 'gave' the photo to anyone?  It was just a project they both were working on together for fun and one person got $$ offered for the photo and tried to get sneaky with it. So my friend hasn't been paid a cent for the image. 

Gary - so are you saying though after the fact, he should still copyright the image?
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4 years 8 months ago #653029 by garyrhook

Chester Foster wrote: Gary - so are you saying though after the fact, he should still copyright the image?


I'm saying that he should attempt to register the copyright, correctly. The other party may not have attempted to do that yet. It could prove handy; I don't know.

What we don't know is how your friend found out about this situation.

We also don't know if your friend has attempted to intervene by contacting the buyer and letting them know what's going on. Which could screw the whole deal, of course, but some people need painful lessons.

Has your friend simply asked the other person, "either we come to an agreement, or money gets spent on legal fees. How would you like to proceed?"
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4 years 8 months ago #653089 by Glen Mosley
What a sh%tty friend.  
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4 years 8 months ago #654520 by Tristan R
Hey Chester, what happened with this? 
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4 years 8 months ago #654654 by icepics
I thought the friend had received an initial payment but apparently not... so I misunderstood that part of it. Gary's right I'm pretty sure, that the friend could still register the copyright.

What I meant by saying the friend gave the other guy the photo was that he provided it for the composite since they worked on it together. He could look into contacting the company who wants to use the image and issue a DMCA takedown notice regarding copyright violation. Then the company would know it was a collaboration and both photographers should be contracted with and paid for usage.
Sharon
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4 years 8 months ago #654661 by garyrhook

icepics wrote: What I meant by saying the friend gave the other guy the photo was that he provided it for the composite since they worked on it together. He could look into contacting the company who wants to use the image and issue a DMCA takedown notice regarding copyright violation. Then the company would know it was a collaboration and both photographers should be contracted with and paid for usage.


This. What the OP needs to understand is that he's not dead in the water. The composite contains copyrighted material: the original image created by each photographer (individual ownership), as well as the composite (joint ownership). If the "friend" misrepresents, no matter what, the OP can still go after the publisher. Then they'll go after the "friend".

The "friend" doesn't realize what kind of trouble he's bringing upon himself.
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