dave_angel Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 <p>I worked for a company doing internal building work. I took photos of the work I did over the time I worked there (using my camera). I have since left the company and setup on my own. Am I legally allowed to use these photos for use on my new personal website as work I have done? OR do the photos belong to the old company as I took them whilst I worked there whilst doing work for them.<br> <br />Thank you.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kahn Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 <p>It can be a slippery slope, and you should consider these things:</p> <p>What kind of employment rules did you have - straight, punch-the-time clock schedule, or something more flexible?<br /> Were your photos of work sites or unrelated subjects?<br /> What kind of relationship did you have with the company, both then and now? Are you in competition with them now?</p> <p>If the company owned he camera and the photos you took were on the company's time, I'm pretty sure the company would own the photos. Using your own gear, having some flexibility in your work schedule and shooting non-work related subjects would be a plus for your side. God forbid that any lawyers should get involved here.</p> <p>The key may be your present relationship with the company. If it's friendly, you can probably work something out with them. If not, there's a problem...</p> <p>Oh, and despite my previous comment, if it looks like it's going to turn to doo-doo, lawyer up.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 <p>It looks like you are in England. You need to make sure people know that before they respond, as laws are probably not the same in other countries.</p> Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Lots of questions buried in your question: We're you photographing just the work you were doing or the overall job? Is your intent to present the work as work you have done for clients? Are the clients okay with you showcasing their premises? Were you taking the photos as part of your job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Lots of ethical questions buried in your question: We're you photographing just the work you were doing or the overall job? Is your intent to present the work as work you have done for clients? Are the clients okay with you showcasing their premises? Were you taking the photos as part of your job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_wheatland Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 <p>My opinion is that your work belongs to your former employer and using it now may constitute using company property that you have no right to show, use or sell.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 <p>Paul, is that based on a knowledge of UK law? </p> Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_shearman1 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 <p>Here in the United States, it would come down to whether taking the pictures was part of your job, or something you did on your own. If taking pictures was part of your job and you did it on company time, the rights to the images most likely belong to the company. Who owned the camera would not necessarily matter, but if they provided the equipment that would be further evidence that the photography was part of your job. If your employer did not require you to take pictures and you just shot them for yourself, then the images are most likely yours. But if the work you did is considered the intellectual property of your employer, you might not have the right to show it to others even if you own the images per se.<br /><br />It sounds to me like your day job is something other than photography and these photos are documentation of your work, not creative images and a product unto themselves. In that sense, there is probably little likeliehood of there being any problem in you using them. Could come down to what you do for a living -- if you're a carpenter, and here is a picture of the house you helped build, or the framing you put up before the drywall went on, or the bookshelves you built, who's going to object. But if you design nuclear weapons for a living, it might be a different story. :)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_amos Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 <p>Dave, I too am curious about the answers you get, and I don't know the answer. A similar question would be if a person is an architect but works for another firm, and he designs a building and then takes photographs of it because he takes pride in his work, can he later show those pictures on his own company site one day and say he designed those buildings?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_angel Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 <p>Hi all. Thanks for all you replies, they are a great starting point. To answer questions: <br> - I am in the UK<br />- The photos were of very specific type of building work which was done as part of the job which I suspect means "they are representing the company"<br />- Yes, I was taking photos of the work as part of my job and taken in company time. Some photos I sent to my boss for their portfolio, others I kept for myself (these are the ones I wanted to use)<br />- I would like to use these photos on my new website showing the work I have done previously.<br />- My new job is exactly the same as my old job but I will be working alone.<br />- I have a bad relationship with my former employee ;-(<br> I suspect that <a href="/photodb/user?user_id=5373843">paul wheatland</a>'s post is 100% correct and that I have no right to use these images for my new business, but I wanted to check ;-)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_angel Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 <p>Out of interest, what would happen if I were to revisit some of these places where I did the work and re-take some photos? Would this be usable? Would I be able to say I did the work, or would I still have to say I did the work whilst at another company perhaps?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_gillette Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 <p>The devil is in the details. You probably should get competent local legal advice. The issues may be in copyright ownership and also may be in using the work for promotional purposes. So while you might be able to reproduce the shots in some ways and avoid copyright issues (if any), there may still be problems in using the property to promote your business. Laws vary from country to country. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Michael Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 <blockquote> <p>- I have a bad relationship with my former employee ;-(</p> </blockquote> <p>That is the fact which answers your question.</p> <p>IRRESPECTIVE of your legal rights - it would be an extremely poor business choice for you to use any photos where your previous employer could even begin to contemplate placing an injunction or other legal action upon your <strong><em>fledgling</em> </strong>business.</p> <p>BTW: It was probably not the best business choice using your full name (if you did) when asking that question and thereby disclosing possibly sensitive business information, on the world wide web, either.</p> <p>WW</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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