Celebrity Photographers Must Understand Their Rights Under Copyright Law
If you are a photographer who makes a living by photographing actors, models, and other
celebrities, you must understand your rights. Too often, people are taking advantage of photographers, using their pictures without permission or compensation.
US copyright law exists to protect the creative work of artists and other creative professionals, like photographers. The minute you take a picture, it receives copyright protection. This means that using that image requires your permission, should you decide to give it.
The terms of that permission are usually contained in a license agreement. License agreements typically provide limits to how and for how long someone can use the image. License agreements also set the terms for compensation.
Your Copyrighted Pictures of Celebrities Do Not Belong to the Public
The public tends to believe that once a picture is on the Internet, it is free to use for any purpose. As a celebrity photographer, you know better.
As the photographer of a musician, actress, or movie star, you can do what you choose with your copyrighted pictures. You can post it on Instagram and Facebook. You can grant a license to a website, a magazine, or your best friend who wants to sell t-shirts. You can give people permission to publish and use your pictures for free, with no restrictions, or you can require compensation and limit the terms of use.
No matter what you choose to do, you still hold your copyright, and others are not allowed to take your celebrity photographs and republish them.
Do Not Let Publishers Get Away with Using Your Photographs Without Compensation
If you are a celebrity photographer, you know how difficult it is to get a valuable picture. You might spend hours waiting for a glimpse of a celebrity so you can try to capture his face. You might take hundreds of pictures of someone on the street or leaving a restaurant before capturing “the right one.”
Make sure you get paid for your hard work. Don’t let publishers use those pictures without licenses that contain terms that, among other things, ensure you receive fair compensation.
Celebrity photographers need to beware of celebrities and businesses using pictures on social media.
We are finding more and more models, actors, and influencers, posting pictures on Instagram taken by photographers like you. These celebrities are posting pictures without your permission. Being the subject of a picture does not give anyone the right to use it without permission. It might be a violation of copyright law.
Photographers Call Sanders Law Group, To Protect Their Copyrights
If a celebrity or publisher has used your pictures without your permission, call our copyright lawyers at Sanders Law Group. Under copyright law, you might be entitled to monetary damages. Call us today at (800) 979-3707 for a free evaluation of your copyright infringement claim.
