Who owns a digital image?

fred7777

dug123 wrote: »

Also just to confuse matters approx 10% of the pictures were taken after I left the company!

Actually this is probably the one thing everyone will agree on, the 10% taken after you left the company are your copyright.

neilwoods

Did you buy these products before taken the photo's. Did they give there permission for you to post the photo's of there product's. Can you prove they didn't ask you to do this.

On a side note, you say the domain name is in your name, but paid for by your ex-employer. Could that not be seen as theft, when you left the ownership should have been given to them.

DCodd

fred7777 wrote: »

Actually this is probably the one thing everyone will agree on, the 10% taken after you left the company are your copyright.

True, if the op was no longer an employee then the clause can no longer apply and as such the copyroight of those images are owned by the OP.

neilwoods

Why not just approach the company and tell them how you feel about the photo's. They may just say ok and then dump the photo's and get someone else to take some more or even pay you and ask for the ownership back of the domain name. After all it's not like it is of any use to you or the pics of there products.

DCodd

The problem you have dug123 is that the images were provided by you for the purposes of your employers business i.e. their website. Had you taken these images outside of working hours (as you did) but for your own personal use, then the copyright would be yours, but you didn't. You took these images for the business and to be used by the business. To retain copyright you would have needed to have an agreement that you were allowing them to use the images but that you retained copyright.

But as Neilwoods has said, talk to them.

dug123

neilwoods wrote: »

Why not just approach the company and tell them how you feel about the photo's. They may just say ok and then dump the photo's and get someone else to take some more or even pay you and ask for the ownership back of the domain name. After all it's not like it is of any use to you or the pics of there products.

Hi, Thanks again, I am going to approach them but I know that they will say "We will look at it" and as soon as I am gone they will phone their solicitors and ask for their opinion. They are not the type of owners who would consider paying if they do not absolutely have to do so and if they can wriggle out of it they will.
They have a 3 tier plastic filing basket of customer complaints and if you phone up with a complaint they put a copy of the order in the bottom tray, if you phone again they move it up, once it reaches the top then they discuss it!
So I just wanted an idea of where I am batting from and my chances of success.
Thank you all.

Sooler

The OP may or may not own copyright of the photos, the company does own copyright of the products. The OP could state he revokes his permission for the company to use his photos and see what happens. The company can revoke their permission for the OP to have their products in his photos