Legal Question

Legal Question

 

I have a very simple legal question that I need some advice on how to

handle it. My current girlfriend was searching the Internet and found

a photography site run by her Ex-Boyfriend, the photographer.

 

She was looking at some of his work, and found that he is selling some

of the pictures from one of their previous vacations, with her in

them(Examples: her standing on top of a mountain, and her overlooking

a waterfall). She never knew that these pictures were going to be

sold or even put on the internet, she never signed a release, etc. She

was just doing what any tourist would do!! Letting her boyfriend take

pictures. She doesn?t want to be on the website, and she doesn?t want

people buying these pictures of her, especially without her

permission. He never notified her that he was going to sell them, or

post them on the internet as part of his collection for sale.

 

What are relevant laws in this situation? Does the ex-boyfriend have a

right to sell the pictures? Does he have a right to post them on the

internet? Does she have a right to have them removed because she never

granted permission in the first place? Did she need to sign a

release? If I ask him to remove them, and he refuses, what do you

recommend?

 

Thank you for all your help!

 

 

J

Could've been worse than "...standing on top of a mountain... overlooking a waterfall..."

 

Sorry, couldn't help:)

You need to formally consult with an attorney in your own state to learn of the appropriate statutes and their applicability, as well as recourse if desired. It is inappropriate to provide legal advice in the manner you have requested, due to various state laws on the practice of law.

Probably NOT such a simple question. The girl live in Germany; and be a Russian citizen ; the Ex-Boyfriend maybe in France; the website hosted In Texas. You should consult a lawyer versed in such mire.

Consult a lawyer.

 

If he's using them for purposes for which you normally would not need a model release, then she's out of luck.

 

The photographer has copyright on those images by default. He can use them in any legal way. The lawyer will tell you what's legal. The model has no rights to the images though. They belong to the photographer.

<i>If I ask him to remove them, and he refuses, what do you recommend?</i><P>

First, have your girlfriend politely ask that he remove the images of her. That will probably get a better reception than the new boyfriend stepping into a matter which doesn't directly involve him. Keep it as non-confrontational as possible. If that fails, then you can consult a lawyer about further actions she can take.

From a practical standpoint, I'd say just ignore it. The posted photos aren't hurting her any. That doesn't make it right, but it seems like a problem that isn't worth resolving, either.

John,

 

You wouldn't consult a automobile website for legal advice because an issue involved a car would you? This is photo.net not legal.net. The best advice to give you is to consult with someone who is licensed to give legal advice. An attorney.

this is not a simple legal question- consult a layer

 

if they were being used for editorial use such as a newspaper-

for news-- he does not need a release etc

 

he may own the copyright - but that doesn't mean he can sell them over the internet as art etc without a release

Post the photo on the net; YES. <br>

Sell the photo for editorial use; YES. <br>

Sell the photo for commercial use; NO. <br>

<br>

Why not just make some money off it & move on? Like Vladimir said, it coulda been a lot worse than pretty tourist pics. Tell him for a couple hundred dollars, she'll sign a model release so he can sell the photo for commercial use. Use the money & spend a couple nights at a Bed & Breakfast Inn. Or you can pay a lawyer a couple thousand dollars and basically be told the same thing I've said above...<br>

<br>

Gary Crabbe<br>

<a href="http://www.enlightphoto.com">Enlightened Images</a>

Yes, this is a legal question, and yes, John should probably consult a lawyer for a precise

legal opinion. But that doesn't mean he can't get some general information here. Sheesh.

 

In the USA, generally speaking, if the photos were taken in a public place (which sounds

like the case here), and the photos are not defamatory, then the photographer most likely

has the legal right to sell the photos in any non-commercial context, and can display them

on his website, without the need for a model release. Your question really is about

the need for a model release. Generally, a model release is needed only for

"commercial use". Commercial use does NOT

necessarily mean

he makes money. It generally means promoting a product or service, like being used in an

advertisement. So if he sells art prints, or sells them to a newspaper who prints them with

an article about hiking or waterfalls ("editorial use"), then he is most likely within his legal

rights to do so.

If he sells the photos to be used in an advertisement, you can probably sue the socks off

him.

 

So, given that what the ex-boyfriend photographer is doing is most likely perfectly legal,

even if it is upsetting to you and/or your girlfriend, then the a tactful approach will likely

get you farther than an aggressive threatening approach. Politely ask to have the photos

removed. If he is a decent guy, maybe he'll comply. If he refuses, you could talk to an

attorney and threaten to sue, etc., but you probably won't get very far.

 

The information I am giving is based on my general understanding of overall laws

regarding the need for model releases in the US, and should not be considered to be legal

advice for your specific situation. There may be local laws in your area that are different.

So if you know a local attorney that will give you some advice, then it may be worth

inquiring further.

I was researching on this subject over the past several days and here is my understanding of the issue. You could initiate legal action against him basically only in two major cases:

 

(1) If he is making photographs available to others for commercial use. In this case he would need a signed permission from the model to sell or give away to others (his profit is irrelevant here!) to reuse photographs for their commercial benefit (examples: a calendar for sale, CD cover art, advertisement, stills used in a TV commercial, product packaging design or similar). The good thing here is that no marketing department of any serious company would ever accept any photograph of people or private property without being presented with a signed model or property release form.

 

(2) If he is publicly showing her photographs in an inappropriate, insulting, offending or other displeasing way (most likely altered to imply something untruthful), or revealing (by showing photographs) private and sensitive facts about her life such as illness, family relationships, sexual preferences or similar.

 

I hope this helps.