So a court recently decided that anyone can use your public Instagram images for free without having to notify you, much less pay you. Lots of photographers out there are outraged, but should you care?
There’s been much confusion and many legal dramas in recent years surrounding the use of images in online articles, particularly the legality of a picture embedded from social media. Now, a New York federal court has sided with Mashable after they faced legal action from a photographer who was unhappy they embedded her Instagram post into their article.
Photography has always played an important role in raising awareness of social injustice issues, including poverty, homelessness, and famine. However, media reports from the Indian state of Rajasthan claim that its government has laid out a rule for photographers: no further documenting food distribution to the poor.
In what is becoming a familiar story, yet another celebrity is being sued for posting photos of themselves on Instagram. This time, the celebrity is actress Amy Schumer.
A portrait photographer based in New York has revealed how an anonymous email brought to light that his work was being stolen and used by a man claiming to be “Ireland’s most loved wedding photographer.” And that was just the tip of the iceberg.
In a ruling sure to irritate US-based photographers, the Supreme Court of the United States has now ruled to protect states against legal action relating to copyright, citing their “sovereign immunity” as the reason.
In a previous article I discussed how supermodel, Bella Hadid, was being sued for posting pictures of herself on Instagram. I also talked about how this is seemingly becoming quite a frequent occurrence. I believe this is mostly due to the fact that most people don't seem to understand how copyright laws work.
In the wake of what the World Health Organization has declared a pandemic, meetings of all sizes are being canceled left and right. Unfortunately for many of us photographers, these cancellations are delivering a big hit to our businesses.
Another day, another celebrity getting sued for posting pictures of themselves.
A Kentucky-based photographer who refuses to photograph same-sex weddings is being backed in her legal battle by the Department of Justice, which says requiring her to do so would be “violat[ing] her sincerely held religious beliefs,” and “invades her First Amendment rights.” She is fighting against a Louisville ordinance that bans local businesses from discriminating against homosexual customers.
How many photographers do you know who travel to different countries and photograph weddings in beautiful and exotic locations? The question is: are those wedding photographers legally allowed to work outside of their home country, or are they rolling the dice on having their equipment confiscated and them being blacklisted from entering that country again?
Back in 2017, a story emerged in which a Scottish photographer entered into a nasty legal battle with The National Trust over “artistic nudes” he shot inside one of their castles. Fast-forward a little over two years, and the photographer has now learned his defamation action has failed in seeking the £50,000 he says he’s owed after he claims the drama saw a 50% drop in bookings for the photography courses he runs.
Being a face of reality TV does not entitle you to take advantage of other artists and their intellectual property. "American Chopper" star Paul Teutul Sr. and his son Michael "Mikey" Teutul found that out in the hard way.
A Utah photographer is facing felony arson and criminal trespass charges after police say he set fire to a house on Valentine's day for a shoot, resulting in damage to the home and burning his eyebrows and facial hair off.
A Bay Area photographer is facing legal trouble for posting a composited picture of the Golden Gate Bridge with the blood moon, which was taken from an “illegal angle.” The Bridge District claims the angle shows that the photographer must have trespassed into a restricted area in order to get the shot and wants the photo removed from his website — something he refuses to do.
Deliveroo, a UK-based food delivery company of a similar caliber to Postmates and UberEats, is targeting users to use the hashtag #yesDeliveroo as a means of gaining the rights to use peoples photos for their commercial gain. The contract that the copyright owner commits to by using the hashtag sees them surrender their image(s) to Deliveroo “for any purpose” and “royalty free,” and by doing so, they “have no right to withdraw at any time.”
A disabled Oregon photographer is suing a Portland police officer and the Portland Police Bureau after a 2018 incident in which he alleges the officer knocked him unconscious while he was photographing a protest, causing a traumatic brain injury and PTSD.
Popular singer Ariana Grande is no stranger to legal run-ins with photographers, and the latest involves her using an image without permission to promote her clothing line, leading to another lawsuit.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge recently announced a $200,000 judgment against a photographer who failed to deliver images to clients.
Posting a paparazzi photo and being sued for it is becoming quite the trend in Hollywood. In what appears to be an increasingly common scenario, Kim Kardashian is the latest celebrity to be facing legal action after she posted the photo, with the photographer now suing for “any profits she made off the Instagram post.”
A photographer is warning others after an encounter with a Hilton-owned hotel recently, which saw the company try to deceptively obtain the rights to use his images freely, including to sell. The company tried to entice him to allow them to "share" the image, but the fine print revealed it would allow the hotel to use the images for profit any way they wished.
California is being sued by industry group NPPA on behalf of independent journalists over Assembly Bill 5. It’s claimed the bill will also affect freelance photographers, potentially meaning they have to “become employees of their clients.”
Last year a New York federal judge agreed that a case of embedding tweets that were in themselves breach of copyright was a further breach awarding in favor of the photographer. Now he's going after more publications.
A photographer has filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement against the late Prince’s estate. After working with the musician for the last few years of his life, she believes those associated with his estate have been exploiting her work without the correct license.
Florida District Court rules that a dentist's photos of his patient's teeth are not protectable by copyright laws because they lack creative spark. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturns the case.
At some point in our lives, we all have found ourselves looking for or selling gear on eBay. But, how much can you place your trust into this online marketplace when parting with your expensive equipment?
RED currently holds the main patent relating to raw video – something which Apple has recently attempted to get thrown out. However, a US court has now dismissed Apple’s efforts to have RED’s patent undone, meaning RED has some power over Apple’s ProRes RAW codec.
The cameras in question were banned by the US Federal Government because of hacking concerns. They were capturing highly sensitive data and relaying that information back to China, thus, they were outlawed. Pittsburgh is still using them.
In the latest update in the shocking story that saw a photographer killed as she shot senior portraits, the two 16-year-olds responsible are due to be tried as adults. The pair are charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, and reckless homicide, after they pushed a large log over a cliff, while she was taking pictures below.
A mobile app developer may just have made a costly mistake. After using a photo of Kim Kardashian to promote their “selfie beauty” app without her permission, the reality star is seeking more than $10 million in damages in what her legal team say is “a calculated, unlawful scheme to usurp, use, and exploit [her] image, celebrity, and universal recognition in a world-wide marketing campaign.”
Have you ever had the feeling that something in your hotel room wasn't quite right? Or that someone, somehow was watching you? This will help guide you through the process of finding hidden cameras if they've been planted in your room.
Carlsbad photographer Robert Koester has been sentenced to 25 years in jail for heinous acts carried out on teen models he was paid to photograph. There is evidence that some of the teens were drugged by Koester.
Photographer Aubrey Peebles of Macon, Georgia and her newlywed clients were devastated to catch a stranger fleeing the scene after allegedly stealing camera equipment during their wedding reception. The camera's memory card was full of images from their special day, and the thief got away with those photos as well as the photographer's gear.
Model and actress Emily Ratajowski is being sued for $150,000 by a paparazzi photographer after she shared one of his images on her Instagram Story without permission.
An Iranian music streaming site is causing public uproar after it emerged they erase all evidence of women from the front of their own album artwork. A handful of notable new releases from the likes of Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift have had their covers altered to remove the women.
Justin Bieber is currently being sued over posting a photograph of himself with Rich Wilkerson.
The recent mystery of a photographer’s death appears to have been solved after two Ohio teenagers were arrested when one sent text messages to a friend admitting he had “done something serious.” It has also emerged that the photographer died as a result of being struck by a 75-pound log, which hit her as she shot senior portraits in a public park.
The popularity of drones is soaring as the idea of creating unique images and original content continues to attract photographers and videographers. But drones are also causing a lot of problems for users, sometimes landing them in prison. Here's what you need to know.
A photographer’s Grinch-themed Christmas photoshoots have been going viral this week, making appearances on news outlets such as People and the Today Show. However, things have since taken a sour turn after the photographer received an email from Dr. Seuss Enterprises threatening legal action for using their character for commercial gain.
A ray of hope for the future for those who record public events and news materials, as "federal appeals court has rejected a qualified immunity claim by a Dallas transit cop, who arrested a freelance photographer for criminal trespass in 2016 because he was taking pictures at a train station."
A couple who quit their jobs to go travel blogging have had their dream trip descend into a nightmare, after being detained in an Iranian jail. They are now facing up to ten years in prison after they flew a drone in Tehran without the correct license, but claim to have been unaware of the country’s strict drone operating policies.
A huge new lawsuit has been lodged against a number of the world’s biggest social media sites, including Facebook and Reddit, by a newsreader in Philadelphia. It was filed after she spotted a security camera photo of herself being used for dating and erectile dysfunction adverts on the platforms.
Last month, model Gigi Hadid found herself part of a lawsuit in which she claimed her use of a paparazzi image was fair as she “contributed to it by smiling.” It seemed ridiculous and as if she didn’t have a chance, but her legal team have managed to swing the trial in her favor, getting the case dismissed. Here’s how they did it.
A photographer has landed himself in legal trouble after using a photo from free licensing site Unsplash. He was hit with a copyright infringement notice, demanding a fee. Upon trying to find the image again on Unsplash, he discovered it had been removed from the site.
The app swings into virality every now and again, but do people know what they’re signing up for?
A photographer locked in a legal battle against the Andy Warhol estate has lost her legal battle. After only recently finding out Warhol had “repurposed” her photo of Prince back in 1984, the photographer tried to take action but was denied after Warhol’s works were deemed to be in “stark contrast” to the original photograph.
Amateur photographer James Wheeler was looking through Shutterstock, one of the world’s largest stock photo sites, when its “similar images” algorithm began suggesting his own photos to him. It was then he realized his work had been stolen and uploaded by fraudsters.
In an all too common occurrence, another photographer has been arrested for filming in a public place, catching the sad event on film.
A groundbreaking court ruling has been overturned in Texas, and the ramifications could affect thousands of Texas creatives and their copyrighted property.
Anyone intending to apply for a US visa will now face the additional step of surrendering their social media handles, after it was announced the State Department will require such information before agreeing to proceed. The move is a “vast expansion of the Trump administration’s enhanced screening of potential immigrants and visitors,” with the options listed ranging from Facebook, to photo platforms such as Instagram and Flickr.