Re: Some advice requested for a minor

Marissa,

I had never heard that question before, but it strikes me as an amusing twist of law.

Copyrights are created by law, not by contract, so any copyright in your photographs belongs to you from the moment of creation.

There are two areas where contract law might come in. First, there is a work-for-hire provision in copyright law relied on by companies who hire others to create works for them. Someone who commissions you to create photographs might want to have a contract with you that specifies that you are creating them as a work-for-hire so that they own the copyrights. (The lawyers on this list could have fun with the question of what happens when a minor creates a work for hire and then wants to avoid the contract after the work is created.)

The second is in transfer, licensing or assignment of your rights as copyright owner. Someone asking you to take photographs may insist that they will buy them from you only if you transfer all of your copyright interest, or grant them an exclusive license to reproduce them, distribute them, or display them publicly. As a minor, you are free to enter into those contracts, but because you are a minor they may be voidable by you, if certain conditions are met, based on your state's laws. So while you can enter into contracts as a minor, many businesses will refuse to do so because hey fear the minor may void the contract. (again, for the lawyers, the question would be what happens when a minor licenses a copyright and later rescinds it after the licensee has begun exploiting the license.)

Since this list is not for legal advice, the best advice you will get is to have a chat with a lawyer familiar with copyright law and the laws of your state. That person will also advise you that just owning the copyright in your photographs of the bands may not be enough, as the subjects of your photographs may have some rights (such as a right of publicity) limiting the extent of how the photos can be used commercially.

Finally, Marissa, I urge you to take this seriously -- it is worth seeking legal advice as you develop your career because: You've got talent. Nice work! Years from now when you look back over your early work, you won't want to be reminded of some costly mistake that could have been avoided with a few minutes of proper guidance. This list does discuss legal issues, but it does not give legal advice. Sorry.

Good luck!

John

On 11/17/05 6:29 PM, "Marissa" <bumsrmyfriends[_at_]gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I am 17 years old and am starting my career as a photographer. A
> friend of mine asked me if I would take some pictures for him to help
> promote some bands. Now obviously I can't enter into a contract, so I
> have two questions.
>
> 1) How do I maintain my copyright and integrity of these pictures?
>
> 2) What are the downfalls of entering into this as a minor?
>
> Please, all opinions and advice are welcome.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Marissa
>
> www.photographyexposed.com
>
> #############################################################
> This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to
> the mailing list <CNI-COPYRIGHT[_at_]cni.org>.
> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <CNI-COPYRIGHT-off[_at_]cni.org>
> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <CNI-COPYRIGHT-digest[_at_]cni.org>
> To switch to the INDEX mode, E-mail to <CNI-COPYRIGHT-index[_at_]cni.org>
> To postpone your subscription, E-mail to <CNI-COPYRIGHT-null[_at_]cni.org>
> To resume mail list message delivery from postpone mode, E-mail to
> <CNI-COPYRIGHT-feed[_at_]cni.org>
> Send administrative queries to <CNI-COPYRIGHT-request[_at_]cni.org>
>
> Visit the CNI-COPYRIGHT e-mail list archive at
> <https://mail2.cni.org/Lists/CNI-COPYRIGHT/>.
>
>
Received on Sat Nov 19 2005 - 01:15:01 GMT