Legal

With the goal in mind to write up a reference for planning a week of photography in the wild, it's almost unthinkable to not include an article about gear an rules about sleeping in the great outdoors. Not on a campsite, not in a hotel or any form of modern comfort, but out in the backcountry, sleeping under the stars. This quickly grew out to be an article to bookmark, because I don't expect you to remember everything about this after a first read.

Last October, New York City became the place in the country to pass a law protecting the rights of freelance workers. Today the bill known as the Freelance Isn't Free Act, officially went into effect.

If you're looking to use your drone for commercial work, you're going to need a Part 107 certificate. This great set of videos will help you learn everything you need to know.

This week a British photographer was detained by police and subjected to searches of his camera after police suspected him of terrorism.

In what has the potential to be a landmark case in U.K. news history, a freelance photographer is taking legal action against the broadcaster for their usage of his photo, which they included by embedding a tweet.

Citing intelligence that terrorists are targeting commercial flights by "smuggling explosives in portable electronic devices," both the United States and Britain have banned such devices from being carried on aircraft from multiple countries and airlines, requiring that they be instead placed in checked baggage.

I’ve seen more than my fair share of articles regarding the joys and pitfalls of being paid on time. A very vital part of making a living in any profession is, after all, actually getting paid. But rather than rehash the terrific advice I’ve seen from other shooters about the best way to invoice, I thought I would offer you another perspective. That of the accounting department.

A North Carolina attorney got into a tense verbal altercation with police after they claimed a new law forbade him from recording them.

Photojournalist Mannie Garcia recently won a $45,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought forth over an incident in which he was arrested in 2011.

DJI recently issued a white paper expounding upon the relationship between the weight of drones and the risk posed by them, asserting that current FAA regulations are based on "poorly chosen data and deeply flawed assumptions."

In what may be the first case of a drone pilot receiving jail time for a crash, a Seattle man has been sentenced to 30 days for a 2015 crash that knocked a woman unconscious.

It’s that time of year again, and no, I don’t mean last night's Super Bowl. Tax season is upon us and for many creative professionals it can either be a joyous occasion or one filled with dread.

A photographer faces a legal battle with her local child safety department after uploading a photo of her husband cradling their sick son in the shower.

How would you react if you found yourself in the unfortunate predicament of Supermodel Tyra Banks posting several of your images to her legions of followers without credit or permission?

A renowned photojournalist has spoken out after she was forced to cancel her planned attendance at the World Press Photo event in Amsterdam due to complications from Trump’s travel ban.

Don't worry. They're using crash test dummies. By using biomechanics and crash test science, Virginia Tech is hoping to help develop regulations that would allow drones to be flown over people in the future.

From the "this is why we have rules" department comes news that a drone pilot has been been convicted of reckless endangerment in a 2015 crash that knocked a Seattle woman unconscious.

File this one under things not to do with your drone. A Seattle drone pilot is facing possible charges after crashing their device on top of the iconic Space Needle.

News came yesterday that the Lily drone would not be released and preorders would be refunded. The company indicated an inability to secure the funds needed for a production run, despite having raised $34 million. However, Lily Robotics failed to mention that they are also being sued by the San Francisco district attorney for false advertising and unfair business practices.

A car review channel on YouTube has recently been caught using Philip Bloom’s footage without a license. What’s worse? They used it often enough that they racked up a potential copyright claim for £80,000.

I'll admit, I was a little shocked when I came across Henri Kack's Reddit post last week. That's right, the band notorious for taking down Napster in the Northern California Lawsuit filed in December of 1999, is now being accused of using an image from a concert photographer/fan without permission. Released on the band's official Metallica YouTube page on November 17, 2016, in the latest video for their song "Murder One" you can see at 5:33 the image in question. Although altered and animated, it's clear that this is indeed the same image that can be found on Kack's DeviantArt page.

Remember artist Richard Prince? If you don’t know him by name, you’ll know him by scandal. Two years ago, Prince launched a series of photos titled, "New Portraits," which by-and-large consisted of stealing photographers’ work and uploading it to his own Instagram profile, after which he screen-shot the results and printed them out, calling it his own art. Unsurprisingly, his controversial series led to four lawsuits against him. Now, he’s facing a fifth lawsuit involving a photograph of Sonic Youth musician Kim Gordon.

Those of us working within the creative industry are often held captive to an unwritten rule: working for free. No other field suffers the same stigma; we don’t expect our laywers, our handymen, or our child-minders to work without payment. So, why is it so often expected that we will?

A prominent civil rights attorney and Arkansas state representative who sponsored the passage of a 2015 bill protecting the right of citizens to film events in public places was arrested along with another attorney today while filming police.

Last year I reported on Pixsy​ a start-up which was aiming to tackle copyright infringement for photographers. It looked promising but after giving it a test run I was left a bit under whelmed. Copyright issues plague our industry and many folks are desperately seeking a solution. A new and totally free service, Blockai, might just be the closest thing we have right now.

Photographer Carol Highsmith has filed a suit against Getty Images seeking damages of $1 billion, alleging "gross misuse" of her photographs and copyright infringement.

You might remember a recent story in which an athletic sponsor was forbidden from referencing the Olympics when reporting on one of their athletes. It seems the US Olympic Committee is now clamping down all the more, issuing very stringent restrictions.

After Oiselle, sponsor of runner Kate Grace, posted photos congratulating the athlete on qualifying for the Olympics, they received word from the U.S. Olympic Committee telling them to remove the images.

The ACLU recently released a list of the rights of photographers, but of course, these apply specifically to those in the United States. Here's a great video for those of you who reside in the UK.

Two days after a heated and scary exchange in which a man almost ran over a photographer with his vehicle, there's good news: the person involved has been arrested and charged with multiple offenses.

Knowing your rights as a photographer is important, particularly if you spend a lot of time working outside or in public places. The American Civil Liberties Union has released a list of rights that any photographer should be aware of.

The DJI Geospatial Environment Online (GEO) is the company's built-in system for helping drone operators abide by airspace rules and regulations. Today, DJI has released a major update for the system that should go a long way in augmenting responsible flying and preventing incidents.

Be careful what you sign. Recently, a photographer was given a copy of the Vice Media Photographer Agreement and was very taken aback by what it contained.

Today brings great news for commercial drone operators. The FAA has finalized the Part 107 rules, which bring with them relaxed requirements. Experts estimate the new rules could generate $82 billion and 100,000 jobs for the U.S. economy in the next 10 years.

Nearly 300 years ago, the infamous Pirate Blackbeard's flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge (QAR), sank off the coast of North Carolina near Beaufort Inlet. A private salvage firm, Intersal, found a cluster of cannons and other artifacts in late 1996 on the seabed near the inlet. State archeologists later confirmed it was the wreckage of the QAR. What appears to be an unprecedented legal battle over who owns the copyright to a treasure trove of video footage and photographs documenting the recovery of the QAR over nearly 20 years is underway.

Paris-based Photojournalist Maya Vidon-White on Saturday called it "good news for photojournalism." But in a New York Times article, she is quoted as saying: "I don't feel a total sense of relief." Vidon-White was facing criminal charges in France for a photo she took of a victim of the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, which was then sold to United Press International (UPI), a news agency, which in turn sold it to a French news agency. The image was ultimately published in a French magazine. The victim's family pressed charges under the nation's privacy laws, which are much stricter than U.S. laws.

Despite being the largest Native American tribe in the United States, the Navajo Nation lost part of a lawsuit against Urban Outfitters because they could not prove that they were famous enough to own the rights to the aesthetic.

One of the biggest concerns about drones is their usage around airports. Several recent close calls have left the government scrambling to continue to catch up to the quickly evolving capabilities and usages of the flying cameras. The FAA is now testing a new system for detecting unauthorized drones near airports.

Despite the explosion of interest in drones with cameras, one place you're not likely to see them used in the near future is commercial television newsrooms. A just released annual survey by the Radio Television Digital News Association and Hoftsra University reveals most stations have not used drones with cameras and don't plan on using them. Why you ask? That makes no sense. From a photographer or producer or reporter's perspective, it doesn't. These Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), as the FAA refers to them, are far cheaper than a news helicopter to acquire and operate and can get closer to the action.

It seems like at least once a week I find myself having a conversation with a filmmaker or photographer who is struggling to understand the current state of rules, with regard to the commercial use of drones. And who can blame them? Digging through the FAA's website to get clear information is a painful exercise, and things continue to change every few months. This video features Chris Newman, a professional drone pilot, to break the current policies down in a clear language, and he tells us what to expect next from the FAA.

Having your images stolen at one point or another is virtually a formality when it comes to being a photographer. It’s frustrating, not least when it happens through one of your customers. One new website claims to have the solution to make sure you never get ripped off again.

The French government is warning parents to think twice about posting photos of their children online, as doing so could carry harsh penalties, including a year in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Just in time for 2016, the FAA released a registration system and will require anyone currently operating unmanned aerial systems (UAS), otherwise known as "drones," to register by February 19 of this year. Although the FAA's legal authority over this issue is questionable and although this applies to anyone flying drones only within certain weight guidelines for hobby or recreational use outdoors, there are a number of reasons you should register in the next 10 days, even if these particular circumstances do not apply to you.

The legalization of marijuana is a major issue in the United States currently. As the social landscape continues to evolve, one photographer noticed that its pictorial representation was lagging behind and took it upon herself to update its image.

In a move that places it in line with many other European countries, France has instituted a law that bans underweight fashion models. Those that violate the new law face strict penalties for doing so.

The Verge reported Tuesday that British hydrogen fuel cell technology company Intelligent Energy has been successfully testing a miniaturized version of a hydrogen fuel cell as part of a drone system with the intent to increase flight times. Through such hydrogen fuel cell technology, drones could start flying for up to and over two hours, which would be a six-fold increase over the current industry-standard 20-minute flight time for many drones.

When the terrorist organization, ISIS, isn't busy terrorizing people, they are apparently busy stealing photographer's artwork. In this day and age, it's not uncommon to have your work stolen. Heck, it's pretty common. But having the bane of the earth stealing your work has to be a new experience. That's not the end of the story though. It gets worse.

The FAA has been working on establishing rules and regulations for drone owners for several months, and today they have announced a mandatory registration law for drone operators that goes into effect on December 21 of this year. Starting on December 21, you will be to apply at the new FAA registration website.

Have you been trying to think of creative ways to use your skills with a camera for the good of your community? Well look no further! In Jacksonville, FL a vigilante photography group calling themselves, "Photography Is Not a Crime" is doing just that.

As the legal situation involving drones continues to evolve and registration becomes an inevitability, many "drone registration" firms have begun to spring up. The FAA has made it a point to note that drone owners do not need to jump the gun, as registration is likely to be a simple and straightforward process, easily completable without outside assistance.