Legal

One of the most frustrating things a photographer has to deal with in today's market is having their work stolen or used for free. If you post images online, the chances of your work being used without your permission isn't just likely, but inevitable. How then can you as a photographer protect your images while at the same time publishing your work so you can promote your brand? In this free excerpt from our Making Real Money tutorial, Monte Isom shares the exact steps you need to take to both protect your work and recover damages caused by illegal infringements.

A staff photographer for the Department of Energy was recently fired and is now seeking whistle-blower protection after he leaked photos of Secretary of Energy Rick Perry meeting with a major coal mining CEO.

Fashion Model Sofia Richie, daughter of Singer Lionel Richie, is being sued for over $1 million by a celebrity photo agency after she posted photos of herself without permission, then refused to take all of them down.

A Houston photographer who had one of his images stolen and used without his permission has become part of a very unusual case, in which the alleged thief is claiming sovereign immunity and the photographer is in turn using a rather unusual legal strategy to combat their defense.

This week I wrote an article pointing out that Canon Italy (among other Canon EU pages and Instagram accounts) had posted a composite landscape that had a large amount of the image stolen from Elia Locardi. There was an enormous response to this and so I decided to dig for more information and between my research, the community, and Locardi himself, there's rather a lot more to unpack.

New Jersey lawmakers approved legislation on Monday to ban inebriated drone operation. With drone sales continuing to skyrocket in 2017, there are increased concerns of drone accidents, leading to increased regulation worldwide on the aerial gadgets. If the bill is signed into law by outgoing governor Chris Christie or governor-elect Phil Murphy, the message that the state of New Jersey will deliver is don't drink and drone.

In news that is almost no longer surprising, another photographer of note has been accused of sexual misconduct by several women.

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued its final report on a midair collision between a DJI Phantom drone and a Black Hawk helicopter in September of 2017 that damaged one of the rotor blades of the helicopter, becoming one of the first confirmed and fully investigated incidents between a drone and a manned aircraft.

Photographer Terry Richardson is being investigated by the New York Police Department's Special Victims Squad according to accounts from multiple women who have been contacted for interviews by detectives.

I won't hold it against you if you've never wondered where babies come from in movies. But, it's good to know the details to understand how it works and ease out the planning should you be commissioned to shoot a lifestyle brand's advertising campaign. The general aim is to keep the babies safe on the day, to let them get the rewards for the work they put in once they turn 18, and to give the production team options and solutions, like booking twins or triplets so you either have more time to shoot the baby scenes as you can literally swap out the infants. This video shows how it works in more detail.

The Calgary Herald reports that tip-offs from members of the public posted on social media have been instrumental in leading to arrests over $27,000 worth of stolen gear from The Camera Store on the weekend.

Andy Grimm, who was shot twice after having his camera and tripod mistaken as a weapon, had previously been quoted as saying he didn’t want Sheriff’s Deputy Jake Shaw to lose his job over the incident.

A wealthy neighborhood in Houston has tried and failed to ban photographers, after 40-50 photoshoots, often extravagant engagement or wedding shoots complete with props, were said to be taking place each weekend.

Over the last few years, there have been a number of significant burglaries. Sadly, another has occurred, this time at Calgary-based store The Camera Store, with over $27,000 of stock missing.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought my first drone: a DJI Mavic Pro. I’d been eyeing one for months, trying to decide if it was worth it and if I could justify its use for my business. I pulled the trigger right after Thanksgiving, have been trying to learn all of the rules about using it, and have been studying for the FAA Part 107 test ever since. And there are a lot of rules. And one of those rules is about to change — again— thanks to a bill President Trump signed yesterday that requires all drone flyers in the U.S., including hobbyists, to register with the FAA.

A Shutterstock photographer has posted shocking footage of the moment Queens of the Stone Age Frontman Josh Homme kicked her camera whilst she had it held to her face in the pit at their recent concert.

Given the power of the Internet, if you steal someone’s work it’s almost inevitable you’ll be outed for your crimes eventually. And that’s exactly what happened when one Canadian artist stole a series of images for a $15,000 commission.

As Instagram evolves, copyright violations don't seem to be an issue for this social media giant. More images mean more views which mean more ad revenue, and there is zero incentive for Instagram to take any serious action against reposters, lost as it is in this huge gray area of what constitutes a breach of intellectual property.

A Scottish photographer has become entangled in a bitter legal battle with The National Trust over “artistic nudes” he shot inside one of their castles.

Singer Bruno Mars is facing legal action from a photographer who took an image of him as a child in 1989.

In a rather strange set of events, Queen Guitarist Brian May lashed out at a photographer after she filed a takedown request when the musician posted one of her photos of him on his Instagram without credit.

At this point I have lost track how many times I have been given inaccurate counsel from other well-meaning people, such as, "Make sure you copyright that so nobody can steal it," or "If you put it online then you give up your rights and it becomes public property." Such advice will only ever come from people who don't actually understand copyright laws. When it comes to copyright issues and navigating them, the only advice worth following is advice that can be backed up by law. If you receive advice that can't be backed up by legitimate copyright law then the advice is simply someone's opinion.

The Italian town of Positano is one of the travel destinations adored by photographers and tourists because of its colorful and dynamic scenery. If you want to know how Landscape Photographer Elia Locardi photographed Positano and many other beautiful locations, check out Fstoppers' latest tutorial "Photographing the World 3." But before that, you need to be aware of the new taxes imposed by city council of the beautiful Italian town, regarding permits for photography and video.

In the last two months, at least 10 journalists have been arrested while covering protests in St. Louis, leading to multiple press advocacy groups to call on Mayor Lyda Krewson to launch an investigation into the conduct of the police department.

You may or may not know that I occasionally write satirical articles for Fstoppers. This is not one of those articles. An Internet "entrepreneur" was sued for using a copyrighted image, and he now claims the photographer who sued him was "malicious" for doing so.

The photographic community and visual artists may have a new piece of legislation that will protect them and their artwork from theft and infringement.

This week an eagle-eyed Reddit user discovered that Google has set a date in which it won't offer unlimited, lossless storage for Pixel 2 users. Just how much can we expect from them, and what's fair?

This one is for all you drone enthusiasts out there: you only have six days left to make that epic, viral video of the Statue of Liberty. New drone restrictions for the Statue of Liberty and other U.S. national landmarks go into effect October 5.

Getty images, one of the world’s largest stock photo agencies, has just announced a change to its submission rules concerning women’s beauty standards.

In what could be a seminal case for drone operators in the United States, a Massachusetts man has won a lawsuit that challenged the legality of a local ordinance that restricted the usage of drones and required a registration fee, both beyond the level already set forth by the FAA.

Let’s face it, in today’s world it is always better to be safe than sorry, especially for artists with demanding clients. I’m a huge believer in utilizing contracts to keep everyone on the same page, but contracts can be difficult when they are severely limiting.

The Australian photographer who found himself in hot water after photographing a model in the nude within an ancient Egyptian temple has defended his project.

Photographer Peter Cepeda is suing renowned model Gigi Hadid after she posted his shot of her on Instagram without his permission.

Securing your cameras and laptops for your business during storms is just the start of the preparations that need to be considered before a storm hits. Safe guarding the essentials is not the only issue when storms arise but also the thought of how can you keep your business running if you are not able to work?

The sudden convergence of consumer-level prices and professional-level capabilities has caused an explosion of drone usage in the last few years. Unfortunately, these devices are sometimes repurposed for nefarious endeavors, with this example being one of the most brazen yet.

As smartphones continue to become more ubiquitous and increasingly important repositories of anything from vital information to sensitive photos, the legal standing of police accessing the contents of a phone is becoming a more pivotal issue, one which Apple seems to be addressing.

The French president is officially taking legal action against a photographer who took holiday snaps of him and his wife against his will this week.

As a photographer, understanding the need and the process for copyrighting images can be overwhelming. Binded, the online company formerly known as Blockai, just released a tool that greatly simplifies the photography copyright process for no additional fee.

Citing a contractual agreement with a band multiple bands at a free concert series, Los Angeles recently banned photography at any of the upcoming concerts scheduled to be held at a public park. The order violates the Constitution, which protects any United States citizen's freedom of expression in the First Amendment.

If you fly your drone near United States military areas, you'll want to be even more careful than before: the Pentagon has approved and disseminated a new policy that allows military bases to shoot down drones that intrude upon their airspace.

Yesterday, the NCAA revoked the eligibility of UCF football player Donald De La Haye after determining he was profiting from his athletic endeavors because of his YouTube channel and after De La Haye refused to stop vlogging to the organization's satisfaction.

In an effort to improve the security of airline passengers and the nation’s airports, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is implementing new, stronger screening procedures for carry-on items that require travelers to place all electronics larger than a cell phone in bins for X-ray screening in standard lanes. These changes could affect photographers traveling with equipment on board by potentially requiring each camera body, some hard drives, speedlights, tablets, audio recorders, and other common electronic equipment to be removed from cases and placed separately in bins for X-ray, slowing the screening process.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has weighed in after several reports came from prominent news outlets that Capitol Police were blocking reporters and telling photojournalists not only to stop taking pictures, but to delete the photos.

Richard Prince, the well known and much maligned artist, famous for his works in which he reuses the photographs of others with minimal to no modification, has lost his attempt to have a copyright lawsuit against him thrown out of court.

Procter & Gamble is a household name with nearly 100 brands and associated products under its wings. Tide detergent, Pampers diapers, Bounty paper towels, and the skincare brand, Olay, are all owned by P&G. Marketing these brands has also earned P&G the title of the world's highest-spending marketer (the brand spent over $18 billion last year on promotions, nearly $10 billion of which went toward advertising). P&G certainly has the budget to pay for licensing photography, but apparently lacks the will to do so according to accusations brought by Cincinnati-based photographer, Annette Navarro, who is suing the company for $75 million.

A photographer has claimed he is ready to retire due to his dire financial situation after a multiple year-long legal battle over the copyright surrounding images taken by monkeys on his camera.

If you haven't been paying attention to the topic of Net Neutrality, now is the time to jump on the bandwagon. To save the long explanation, take a quick visit to Battle for the Net for more info on what exactly is going on and how to add your name to the growing list of independents everywhere in support of Net Neutrality. To see the long list of companies valiantly taking this stand in support of Net Neutrality, check out their post.

Consumer drones continue to grow both in capabilities and sheer numbers at a rate that seems to be outpacing the government's ability to find a way to properly integrate them into the national airspace. As the FAA works to catch up, their newest proposal could be a big step forward.

In a bizarre case, the Justice Department issued a complaint on June 15 alleging that "Dumb and Dumber To" and "Daddy's Home" were produced using funds diverted from the Malaysian government by international fraudsters.

In a story that's either a case of camera and computer technology taking a step forward or another nail in the coffin of privacy, the South Wales Police recently arrested a man using a mobile automatic facial recognition (AFR) system deployed in a van.