Photography Law & Legal

A grandmother has been ordered by a European court to remove pictures of her grandchildren from Facebook and Pinterest or face increasing fines. 

A man from New York City was arrested in Hawaii for violating the state's quarantine orders after he posted photos of himself on a beach on Instagram. 

You have probably read at least one story like this at some point. A celebrity is being sued for posting a picture of themselves on Instagram, and this time, it is Jennifer Hudson. 

It is unfortunately common practice nowadays for news organizations to source free content from photos and video posted on social media, but the AP's approach is coming under particular criticism for terms that have been deemed "abusive across the board." 

Activists are calling for all charges against a photographer to be dismissed after he was beaten by police multiple times after photographing them enforcing a coronavirus lockdown. 

A former McDonald’s worker has multiple year-long battle with Getty Images, in which she was attempting to have the renowned photo agency remove a stock image of her. The photo in question was taken without her consent, while she was working, and used within negative press articles.

A major international court ruling may force DJI to pull numerous drones off the shelves in the United States due to a patent violation. 

Video has surfaced showing a drone flying dangerously and illegally close to military jets over a major American city. 

Cincoro, the premium tequila company founded by Michael Jordan and a group of NBA owners, is being sued by a Los Angeles photographer for copyright infringement in a suit that alleges the company used her images in a variety of instances without her permission. 

It is a story we have heard many times at this point. Another celebrity is being sued for posting a picture of themselves on Instagram. This time, it is Jennifer Lopez. 

A New Jersey wedding photographer was charged with violating a coronavirus emergency order after police caught him photographing a ceremony, with a penalty of up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. 

An Illinois man has been charged with battery and criminal damage to property after he attacked a news photographer and smashed his camera while the photographer was filming unrelated footage for a story.  

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. 

One tool can provide you some protection against losses from cancellations and other adversities: a good contract.*

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 custome

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.

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.

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.

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.