Re: Use of studio-taken photos in other media

From: <ArborLaw[_at_]aol.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 17:32:31 -0500 (EST)

I represent two professional portrait photography studios. The photographers own the copyrights in all the portraits they take and print, and they only allow reproduction or derivatives by any method at all, with a written release or payment for transfer of copyright. Whether the release is given for free, as a professional courtesy, or for a fee (to a value-added provider such as this one or an advertising agency) depends on the use being made and whether a photo credit is being given upon publication.

I can imagine some cases in which studio photographers might fall into a "work made for hire" category (ie, they are preparing something that fits within the laundry list of works "supplemental to a publication" in the definition of "work made for hire" in the Copyright Act).

In 99%-plus of cases, a studio portrait of an individual will not be a work for hire.

Carol Shepherd
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   Carol Ruth Shepherd                          arborlaw[_at_]aol.com
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Stan Diamond <sxd[_at_]psulias.psu.edu> wrote:
>
> Harold Federow <hfederow[_at_]u.washington.edu> wrote:
> >
> > On Thu, 06 Feb 1997, Terry Brainerd Chadwick <tbchad[_at_]juno.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > My sister has developed a personalized book for children that uses
> > > portions of photos (heads only), so that the character of the book
> > > looks like the child. She has the parents, or whomever, give her a
> > > photo which she then digitizes and cuts and puts onto the main
> > > character of the book. Sometimes the photo she is given has been
> > > taken at a professional studio.
> > >
> > > The questions arising from this include:
> > >
> > > Who owns the copyright to the photo? The studio, or the person
> > > who commissioned and bought the photo?
> >
> > I would think that this might be considered a work made for hire;
> > however, the contract the parents sign with the studio might also
> > have provisions.
>
> I had always thought that a work for hire implied or required that the
> worker used the employers facilities and equipment to create the work
> in addition to being employed for a period of time. This situation seems
> to fall more directly under the particular terms of the contract between
> the parties.
Received on Thu Feb 13 1997 - 22:33:34 GMT