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<blockquote data-quote="Browncoat" data-source="post: 206635" data-attributes="member: 1061"><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Part II - Licensing</strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong></strong></span></span>Above, we detailed how once you press the shutter button, you are magically granted ownership of your work and offered certain rights and protections by US Copyright law. It's your photo...you own it. And unless you expressly give up those ownership rights in writing, you control that ownership until 70 years after your death. You can also transfer your copyright to heirs in writing as part of your last will and testament. </p><p></p><p>Licensing is what allows someone else to use your photographs. This is how all of those photo contests and image uploading sites are able to display photos. What you need to know is exactly what you're giving them. </p><p></p><p><strong>Q: How can I license my photography to collect a fee?</strong> </p><p></p><p>I'm not going to touch on professional photography licensing here. It doesn't apply to 98% of the members of this community, and it's way too in-depth to go into in a forum post. Entire books have been written on this subject. If you're interested in learning more, check out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/ASMP-Professional-Business-Practices-Photography/dp/1581154976" target="_blank">ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Best-Business-Practices-Photographers-Second/dp/1435454294/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381415420&sr=1-1&keywords=john+harrington%27s+best+business+practices+for+photographers" target="_blank">Best Business Practices for Photographers</a>. </p><p></p><p><strong>Q: What is Creative Commons?</strong> </p><p></p><p><a href="http://creativecommons.org/" target="_blank">Creative Commons</a> allows for certain licensing provisions: </p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Attribution - others, even commercial (for-profit) can publish, distribute, and alter your work so long as you are credited</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Attribution NonCommercial - same as above, but excludes commercial use</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivs - excludes commercial use, and can not alter material</li> </ul><p>Creative Commons is essentially a non-profit "movement" to provide free images for use and distribution. Flickr is a huge contributor and supporter of CC. From a professional photographer's standpoint, Creative Commons licensing is a bad idea. </p><p></p><p>The entire purpose of CC is for copyright owners to give up a portion of their rights for the sake of image sharing. Who really benefits from this? Certainly not the photographer who would otherwise be paid for the licensing of their work. "Fair Use" is already interpreted very broadly, and online image "borrowing" or outright theft runs rampant on a daily basis. </p><p></p><p><strong>Q: What am I giving up when I join an online photo service like Flickr, or sign up for a photo contest?</strong> </p><p></p><p>Rule #1: <span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>READ THE FINE PRINT</strong></span> There should always be a Terms of Service when you sign up for this stuff. READ IT. If you've managed to get this far, you undoubtedly have a better grasp on the terminology used, which usually reads something like this:</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #696969"></span></p><p><span style="color: #696969"></span></p><p><span style="color: #696969"></span><span style="color: #000000">After everything you've read so far, the above seems pretty damning, doesn't it? The keywords above are "worldwide" and "perpetual"...which means all-encompassing and forever renewing.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">These contests and services can't claim ownership of your photograph(s), so they grant themselves an unlimited use license that allows them to do whatever they want with them, including: deny you any compensation, alter your work, re-license your work to someone else so THEY can make a profit on it, and even allow others use your photo(s) without your consent.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">In every sense of the word, they are staking claim on the exact same ownership rights you have as the original creator. Furthermore, and even more damaging, is that these services specifically EXCLUDE themselves from any liabilities that may arise from the use and distribution of your work.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Let that sink in for a moment or two. Then, read on:</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><strong>Q: Uhh...so what does that really mean?</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Let's say for example that you take a photograph of a pretty girl, a high school senior who is a friend of a friend. It's a good picture and you want to show it off, so you upload it to Flickr. You get a few comments and/or likes, maybe it's even good enough to be a featured image. Time goes by, and that photo probably gets tossed around the internet for a year or two. Possibly uploaded to a few other sites that you never know about.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Next thing you know, your photo winds up on a poster advocating a local neo-Nazi group. Now this girl's face is identified with being a white supremacist. Her mother is out shopping for new hats one day, sees the poster, and is outraged. The family decides to sue. Guess who is going to be left holding the bag here?</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Not the neo-Nazi group, their defense is that they just pulled the image off the internet. Certainly not Flickr, they just distributed the image, they don't actually own it. And they have a nifty and perfectly legal Terms of Service agreement created by high-priced lawyers that holds them harmless from such things. That's right, kids following at home. YOU are going to be responsible for this. YOU are the creator and owner of that image, and YOU are going to be in hot water, especially if you didn't manage to secure a <a href="http://nikonites.com/photography-business/16745-guide-model-releases.html#axzz2hKQcVmo1" target="_blank">Model Release</a> from this girl.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Also, read about and watch the video of <a href="http://www.thestolenscream.com/" target="_blank">The Stolen Scream</a>. Here is a kid whose simple photo project became a worldwide phenomenon and started appearing on merchandise.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">This stuff is real, it happens. Which is why it is very important that you retain control of your photography. "I didn't know" is not going to hold up in court, it's just not a valid excuse when you signed up for a service without reading about what you got yourself into. It just doesn't work that way.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Know your rights, know what you're giving up, and protect yourself.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Browncoat, post: 206635, member: 1061"] [COLOR=#ff0000][SIZE=4][B]Part II - Licensing [/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]Above, we detailed how once you press the shutter button, you are magically granted ownership of your work and offered certain rights and protections by US Copyright law. It's your photo...you own it. And unless you expressly give up those ownership rights in writing, you control that ownership until 70 years after your death. You can also transfer your copyright to heirs in writing as part of your last will and testament. Licensing is what allows someone else to use your photographs. This is how all of those photo contests and image uploading sites are able to display photos. What you need to know is exactly what you're giving them. [B]Q: How can I license my photography to collect a fee?[/B] I'm not going to touch on professional photography licensing here. It doesn't apply to 98% of the members of this community, and it's way too in-depth to go into in a forum post. Entire books have been written on this subject. If you're interested in learning more, check out [URL="http://www.amazon.com/ASMP-Professional-Business-Practices-Photography/dp/1581154976"]ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography[/URL] and [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Best-Business-Practices-Photographers-Second/dp/1435454294/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381415420&sr=1-1&keywords=john+harrington%27s+best+business+practices+for+photographers"]Best Business Practices for Photographers[/URL]. [B]Q: What is Creative Commons?[/B] [URL="http://creativecommons.org/"]Creative Commons[/URL] allows for certain licensing provisions: [LIST] [*]Attribution - others, even commercial (for-profit) can publish, distribute, and alter your work so long as you are credited [*]Attribution NonCommercial - same as above, but excludes commercial use [*]Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivs - excludes commercial use, and can not alter material [/LIST] Creative Commons is essentially a non-profit "movement" to provide free images for use and distribution. Flickr is a huge contributor and supporter of CC. From a professional photographer's standpoint, Creative Commons licensing is a bad idea. The entire purpose of CC is for copyright owners to give up a portion of their rights for the sake of image sharing. Who really benefits from this? Certainly not the photographer who would otherwise be paid for the licensing of their work. "Fair Use" is already interpreted very broadly, and online image "borrowing" or outright theft runs rampant on a daily basis. [B]Q: What am I giving up when I join an online photo service like Flickr, or sign up for a photo contest?[/B] Rule #1: [COLOR=#ff0000][B]READ THE FINE PRINT[/B][/COLOR] There should always be a Terms of Service when you sign up for this stuff. READ IT. If you've managed to get this far, you undoubtedly have a better grasp on the terminology used, which usually reads something like this: [COLOR=#696969] [/COLOR][COLOR=#000000]After everything you've read so far, the above seems pretty damning, doesn't it? The keywords above are "worldwide" and "perpetual"...which means all-encompassing and forever renewing. These contests and services can't claim ownership of your photograph(s), so they grant themselves an unlimited use license that allows them to do whatever they want with them, including: deny you any compensation, alter your work, re-license your work to someone else so THEY can make a profit on it, and even allow others use your photo(s) without your consent. In every sense of the word, they are staking claim on the exact same ownership rights you have as the original creator. Furthermore, and even more damaging, is that these services specifically EXCLUDE themselves from any liabilities that may arise from the use and distribution of your work. Let that sink in for a moment or two. Then, read on: [B]Q: Uhh...so what does that really mean?[/B] Let's say for example that you take a photograph of a pretty girl, a high school senior who is a friend of a friend. It's a good picture and you want to show it off, so you upload it to Flickr. You get a few comments and/or likes, maybe it's even good enough to be a featured image. Time goes by, and that photo probably gets tossed around the internet for a year or two. Possibly uploaded to a few other sites that you never know about. Next thing you know, your photo winds up on a poster advocating a local neo-Nazi group. Now this girl's face is identified with being a white supremacist. Her mother is out shopping for new hats one day, sees the poster, and is outraged. The family decides to sue. Guess who is going to be left holding the bag here? Not the neo-Nazi group, their defense is that they just pulled the image off the internet. Certainly not Flickr, they just distributed the image, they don't actually own it. And they have a nifty and perfectly legal Terms of Service agreement created by high-priced lawyers that holds them harmless from such things. That's right, kids following at home. YOU are going to be responsible for this. YOU are the creator and owner of that image, and YOU are going to be in hot water, especially if you didn't manage to secure a [URL="http://nikonites.com/photography-business/16745-guide-model-releases.html#axzz2hKQcVmo1"]Model Release[/URL] from this girl. Also, read about and watch the video of [URL="http://www.thestolenscream.com/"]The Stolen Scream[/URL]. Here is a kid whose simple photo project became a worldwide phenomenon and started appearing on merchandise. This stuff is real, it happens. Which is why it is very important that you retain control of your photography. "I didn't know" is not going to hold up in court, it's just not a valid excuse when you signed up for a service without reading about what you got yourself into. It just doesn't work that way. Know your rights, know what you're giving up, and protect yourself. [/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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