Use of competition images for lecture

[bill_burke1]

<p>I recently attended a lecture at a local photo meetup where a speaker presented "what judges look for in competition photos". Basically a run through of criteria and examples of what competition judges look for, how they increase/decrease scores based on various factors. The speaker was using images from a recent competition in the area in which he was a judge (he had received a CD of the images). The idea was that the audience would listen to what went through his mind (the actual pro's and con's) as it related to each image. At the end of the lecture, a very distraught and ornary member of the camera club protested his use of the images. My question is - was this copyright infrigement? I believe he was not paid for the talk and the images weren't used comercially.</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>Pay has nothing to do with it.</p>

<p>Since he was using the photos to illustrate a lecture about critiquing photos, it should fall under the "fair use" clause that allows copyrighted materials to be used in the course of critique, discussion, etc.</p>

<p>My $0.02 worth</p>

<p><Chas></p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>I'd agree that it's fair use, or close enough to it to get everyone to settle down.</p>

[john_macpherson]

<p>It would have been polite to ask permission.</p>

[mike_godwin1]

<p>It's usually printed in the contest rules that the photos may be used in this manner. The school I go to does this all the time. Mostly from projects students turn in from past classes. It is Fair use.</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use">Fair Use</a></p>

[Hector Javkin]

<p>I've used materials under "fair use" hundreds of times in the classroom and in lectures, and it can be difficult to stay within the doctrine. The use described by the OP is probably permitted, but one can't tell on the basis of the information given thus far. First, did the speaker attribute each photo he showed to its photographer? Not always necessary but it can make a difference. Second, how much of a photographer's work did he show? Some contests allow multiple submissions. If the speaker used all of the submissions from a single photographer when he could have picked from several photographers without diminishing his presentation, he is probably <strong>not covered</strong> under fair use. BTW, the thing most likely to enrage a photographer whose work was used, a negative or even demeaning assessment of the work, is clearly covered.</p>

<p> </p>

[Spearhead]

 

 

<blockquote>

<p>It would have been polite to ask permission.</p>

</blockquote>

 

 

<p>How do you know he didn't have it from the contest rules?</p>

<p>This is the problem with this question - aside from fair use, which it sounds like could be reasonably argued, nobody knows the terms under which the photographs were submitted. It may have been explicitly stated in the rules. As it is, the complainer in the class and anyone who makes an assumption about permission is just throwing darts in the dark, which is not a very safe thing to do.</p>

[tom_mann1]

<p>Even if such usage had been explicitly stated in the rules, my reasoning is that in similar situations, there often is very little cost to me / downside risk to asking, but lots of good vibes to be had by establishing a collegial / courteous relationship with the photographers / authors involved.</p>

<p>Of course, if there are a lot of images and it's hard to track down each photographer, or if it's difficult to find a similar example to use, then the cost to me is higher and I might, if questioned, fall back on the "it's in the rules", or "fair use" arguments, but my default SOP is to ask.</p>

<p>This issue is very familiar to me: I deal with it at least several times per semester when I want to use a report written by a former student as an example. Even though my students have absolutely no legal right to prohibit me from doing this (...they sign it away at the beginning of the course), I always try to contact the author before using their document, and if I am using it as a negative example, I'll always try to use only excerpts which make it impossible for other students to identify the original author.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>All of the above -- I'm not a lawyer, but this sounds to me like fair use regardless of whether he had permission or not. Second, he might very well have had permission as part of the competition rules. Third, he might very well have asked permission of the photographers, even if he didn't legally need to. Finally, the "onery" member of the club had no standing (as they would say in court) to protest what was done. If the images weren't his, it was none of his business.</p>

[robatkinson]

<p>Many, many photography competitions have clauses that give almost full rights to do whatever they want with the photograph over to the people running the competition as a condition of photo submission. There is no way to know whether this competition was one such, but if it was then he was most likely fully within his rights.</p>

<p>It also sounds like this comes under the fair use policy anyway..</p>

[john_bellenis]

<p>Some people delight in being ornery, confrontational and outraged. The media try to develop and encourage righteous indignation at every turn. It's never surprising to me to see the red faced, sanctimonious types finding something to be upset about in any situation.</p>

<p>This is clearly non commercial, fair use and as creatives we shouldn't be trying to regulate and control this kind of usage in lectures or educational settings.</p>