copyright law - what is it!
TRANSCRIPT
COPYRIGHT LAW - WHAT IS IT
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU PUBLISH YOUR WORK, YOU STILL OWN IT
SOME PHOTOGRAPHERS FEAR PEOPLE STEALING
THEIR WORK
WORK POSTED OR USED BY OTHERS WITHOUT CREDIT IS FRUSTRATING AND IS THEFT
THE COPYRIGHT ACT
THE PERSON WHO CREATES THE IMAGE I.E. THE PHOTOGRAPHER IS
THE OWNER OF THE ORIGINAL COPYRIGHT
HOWEVER!
IF THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN AS PART OF YOUR JOB, YOUR
EMPLOYER OWNS THE COPYRIGHT.
ONCE CONTENT IS PUBLISHED ONLINE, YOU ARE COVERED BY COPYRIGHT LAW.
HOWEVER PEOPLE CAN STILL LEGALLY USE YOUR CONTENT UNDER THE “FAIR
USE” CLAUSE.
MOREL VS
AFP & GETTY IMAGES
PHOTOJOURNALIST DANIEL MOREL TOOK OUT A LAWSUIT
AGAINST AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE (AFP) AND GETTY IMAGES.
THE TWO MEDIA GIANTS VIOLATED THE COPYRIGHT ACT WILFULLY STEALING 8
OF MOREL’S IMAGES TAKEN DURING THE HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE.
AFT & GETTY IMAGES THEN LICENSED THE IMAGES
UNDER THEIR OWN ACCORD.
AFTER A 3 AND A HALF YEAR BATTLE, THE JURY AWARDED
$1.2 MILLION TO DANIEL MOREL.
DESPITE WINNING THE LAWSUIT, MOREL STATED THAT MEDIA
OUTLETS STILL USE THE IMAGES ON T-SHIRTS AND COFFEE CUPS.
‘IGNORANT PEOPLE STEAL FROM THE
INTERNET BECAUSE THEY ASSUME IT IS FREE
BECAUSE IT IS SO EASY TO DO, PEOPLE SEE
IT, THEY GRAB IT. IT’S NO DIFFERENT FROM
STEALING MUSIC FROM THE RADIO.’
- DANIEL MOREL
SHOULD I FIGHT BACK?
1. CAN IT HELP MY BRAND EXPOSURE?
2. DOES THE COPYCAT HAVE ANY RELATIONSHIP WITH ME?
3. WILL I GAIN TRAFFIC FROM THE COPYCAT?
AS LONG AS THESE 3 QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED ‘NO’, YOU CAN
TAKE LEGAL ACTION:
HOW CAN I PROTECT MY CONTENT?
ONE WAY TO PROTECT YOUR CONTENT BY LICENSING IT SO YOU ARE RIGHTFULLY PAID ROYALTIES
FOR YOUR STUFF
THERE ARE MANY SITES THAT ALLOW YOU TO LICENSE YOUR IMAGES.
HOWEVER, THE RATE THAT YOU GET PAID CAN VARY FROM SITE TO SITE
FOR EXAMPLE, SOME SITES ONLY OFFER 15%OF THE ROYALTIES BACK
TO THE ACTUAL CONTRIBUTORS SO ALWAYS OUTWEIGH WHICH
SITE IS RIGHT FOR YOUR CONTENT.