Legalities of Printing Photographs

I am a photographer, and I have a large format printer (the largest inkjet available) that I got for my own needs, and decided to offer the service to other photographers, to print their photographs on canvas or photo paper to virtually any size.

Who is responsible for verifying copyright? Who is liable in the case of copyright infringement? Me as the one who printed the photo, or the person who advised me that they either owned the image or had a release?

If someone says they own the copyright because they took the photo, is there any way to verify that? If not, who is liable if that turns out to be incorrect (either by misinformation or misrepresentation)?

I've checked various sites online that print photos professionally, and the only indication I see is that their "Order" page has a checkbox saying something to the effect that the customer either owns the copyright or has a copyright release to reprint the photos. I do not see anything mentioning that they have to provide said release or proof of ownership.

What about if I'm requested by someone other than the photographer to print their photos, do I need to have a release on file before printing? Or does the responsibility fall on the buyer to make sure they have the release in their possession?

Thank you!
~Jayne

Essentially, you are asking whether or not you can be sued for aiding copyright infringement.

First, you need to ask a lawyer about the details and how to protect yourself.

Second, you had better understand that we live in a litigious society and a ham sandwich can be sued for anti-semitism!

You can also be sued for defamation if you REFUSE to print a suspect photo!

Having said all of that, my suggestion would be to retain the services of a lawyer and do what he, she or it says.

The best lawyer is the one that you would not want included in your family.

Hope this helps.

Pete is absolutely right, you should ask a lawyer. I think the liability lies with your customer unless you attempt to capitalize on the image. Many of us upload copyrighted images (our own work) to printers like nations, walmart, ect. and they have no way of knowing if we are the original artist. They all print tons of copyrighted material every day without knowing if thier customers have rights to the images they are printing.

Thanks, all!

Yup, I guess that answered my question of whether I need an attorney on retainer (or, at least know of a good one to call for basic questions such as these.)

(Sorry for the delay; I got sick, then had to prepare for a hurricane that didn't end up anywhere near us, and had to choose between falling behind in work or going to forums , and am just now able to get to respond!)

~Jayne

jayne said:

Thanks, all!

Yup, I guess that answered my question of whether I need an attorney on retainer (or, at least know of a good one to call for basic questions such as these.)

(Sorry for the delay; I got sick, then had to prepare for a hurricane that didn't end up anywhere near us, and had to choose between falling behind in work or going to forums , and am just now able to get to respond!)

~Jayne

Click to expand...

Welcome back!

Two words: due diligence.When you go into business for yourself, you must subscribe to a new way of thinking. We call it the CYA Theory: Cover Your Ass.

I despise handling prints. It's a pain in the butt, and 95% of the time, I give my clients digital media copies of their photos so they can have them printed themselves. Always included is a photo release form, custom made with their information:

• Customer name/address/etc
• Description of the photos
• Date(s) of the photos
• My contact information

If I have photographed a client's children, I go so far as to include their names, ages, a brief physical description (blonde hair/blue eyes) and description of what they're wearing in the photos. Why do I do all that?

Even if my clients opt to have their photos printed at Wal Wart or Walgreens, those companies will not release prints of professional photographs without a photo release form. It protects my work and helps protect the printing company from releasing prints that aren't authorized.

On the flipside of that, you need to have something similar to protect yourself. A disclaimer that says the person(s) requesting prints from you either own the copyright or are authorized to do so by the person(s) who do own the copyright. There is a lot of information on this type of thing online. There are also simple do-it-yourself forms you can find at your local Staples or office store.

Ideally, hire a lawyer as previously stated. But often times small business start-ups simply can't afford to have something custom drawn up, because I guarantee it will be expensive. This is very straightforward and simple, and something you can easily do yourself.

I would be happy to email you the form I use and you can tailor it for your own needs. Just sent me a PM here if you're interested.

Good luck!

I despise handling prints. It's a pain in the butt, and 95% of the time, I give my clients digital media copies of their photos so they can have them printed themselves.

Click to expand...

I used to do that but have gone the other way because I DO love handling prints, especially with some of the new baryta papers that have come out. I just finished printing a $200 job of prints for an event I photographed -- my profit on this (less cost of paper and ink) is about $150. I don't count my time spent, because I'm usually multi-tasking while the printing is going on.

I do offer free medium res downloads on the zenfolio site that they can print on their home printer. Most people who are savvy enough to download off the site, have consumer printers. I no longer give them CD's because I don't want my work printed by Walmart or Walgreen. Here's an example: as a favor, I shot some photos of some sculptures for this "poor" artist so that he could send them to a gallery. He took the CD to Walmart and was unhappy with the blue tint to the photos. To show him it was not the fault of the photo (or the photographer), I printed a couple for him and now he's paying me for more prints for his portfolio.

When you give them a CD, you're throwing away any possibility of future sales for prints. A hundred bucks here and there is certainly helpful.

You know, this is the 3rd forum that has mentioned "due diligence" (I asked this same question on another photography forum, as well as a business forum, as they all have difference audiences, thus different viewpoints). Although, one person mentioned that "due diligence" means to take a "less is more" standpoint, that the more you try to CYA, the more in will come back and bite you as it is showing the other side that you "knew what I was doing was wrong" (paraphrased as I cannot find the post right now).

And yes, my research is due to the fact that right now, while the corporation I work under has an attorney, it is a *corporate* attorney, not a copyright attorney, and I cannot yet afford to hire an attorney in specific, and want to do the right thing to begin with, instead of having to -fix- what I'm doing because someone gets (financially) hurt, which in turn (financially) hurts me.

I actually love printing my own photos, as, like Helene said, I can control exactly what the end result looks like, and in the long run, people like "perfect" photos better than "cheap" photos.

I would love to pick your brain on prints, Helene. You're still miles ahead of me in this game, and right now prints are just an extra headache that I don't need.