Copyright ?

yeman

I had my son doing some photo's which he edited etc for a company I used to work for.He only did it to help me with my work and not for the company its self. The company have recently started to use all the photography work for their website and ebay. They gave him a bit of cash for his time and effort in taking the photo,s and editing. Can the company use his photographs ? Thanks in advance for any advise

arcon5

Depends what agreement was in place. Generally copyright lies with whomever took the photo and then usually licensed out, but if your a company employee for example then the copyright remains with the employers.

But if they paid him money to do the work, isn't it obvious they will use the photos somehow :huh:

mo786uk

The person who takes the photo owns the copyright in it.

If the photo is edited (with permission) the person that did the editing owns the copyright in the edited version (assuming that was what was agreed with the photo taker).

The company that are using the photo (especially for businesses purposes) need the permission of the copyright holder (i.e the person who owns the right to the edited version) - this is usually done by licencing or buying the rights off them for a lump sum.

If photos are being used commercially without the consent of the copyright holder then they can sue the person using the photos. Whether that is worth it over 1 or 2 pictures is another matter.

yeman

Thank you for your reply.. he didn,t work for the company I his (mum) did... they paid him cash in hand, nothing official. He was the one who took all the photographs and edited them all...when i say all i mean 100 in total ...so even though they paid him a bit of cash who actully owns the work . Thanks again

sarahg1969

What did he think they were going to do with the photographs? Why would they pay him and not want to use them?

yeman

They were going to be used for in house customers ...not for ebay,websites,facebook etc

arcon5

They wasn't paying him for the fun of it though. So when they asked for the work/when the work was areed what was the arrangement? I imagine the arrangement was he would take & edit x photos for which they would be granted commercial/professional use.

fiddiwebb

yeman wrote: »

I had my son doing some photo's which he edited etc for a company I used to work for.He only did it to help me with my work and not for the company its self. The company have recently started to use all the photography work for their website and ebay. They gave him a bit of cash for his time and effort in taking the photo,s and editing. Can the company use his photographs ? Thanks in advance for any advise

Sorry did your son just edit the photo's or actually take the photo's

Was it done for you to help you at work?

Was any mention of copyright talked about when your son was paid for helping you?

The impression I get is that it was done on an informal basis, work asked if anyone knew someone who could help with editing/taking photo's for a possible website, the op volunteered with the help of her son who was paid a small amount for his help, the op wasn't paid? as she worked for the company.

ThumbRemote

It may be a different story however if the photos show individuals rather than objects. In this case don't the people photographed have further rights over the photos?

mo786uk

ThumbRemote wrote: »

It may be a different story however if the photos show individuals rather than objects. In this case don't the people photographed have further rights over the photos?

No, they don't.

It sounds like your son has sold the company the rights to use the photo - he probably doesn't have the rights to them now.

arcon5

They would however need permission from the person in the photo if being used for entertainment or commercial purposes. The rules are difference if for example you are recording in a public domain for prsonal use