BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Photography Careers and Making Money

Kimberley Matheson		Who maintains copyright - freelance/work for hire? I was hired 3 years ago to take photos for a local concert. Yesterday I received a surprising email from the person who hired me to take these photos stating that she owns copyright. She wants all use of said photos stopped until all parties involved are made aware that she owns copyright and any further use of these photos will only be permitted by permission from her and renumeration to her. This is being brought up now since one of the photos was recently used as a CD cover. What I'm looking for is information regarding freelance versus work for hire, and who owns copyright in these situations. One lawyer is telling me it was a work for hire so I should hand over all negatives and a professional photographer is telling me I was hired as a freelance and I infact retain all copyrights. I'm in Canada and perhaps laws are different from the US, but any information at this point would be greatly appreciated. Kind Regards, Kim Matheson To love this question, log in above March 30, 2004

John Wright		My understanding is that the copyright belongs to the photographer unless that copyright is purchased or given away. Use of the photo may be subject to release(s). I wonder if anyone else will provide further info... Good Luck! To love this comment, log in above March 30, 2004

Kimberley Matheson		Well, I've found out some interesting information in the past 24 hours and not in my favor unfortunately. According to the Canadian Copyright Act: The Canadian Photographers Coalition, which includes a strong voice from CAPIC, has succeeded in convincing the federal government to make changes to the copyright law in regard to photographers. Last week(Oct.2, 2002) in the House of Commons, Industry Minister Allan Rock tabled the Government's Report on the Working of the Copyright Act. The current unjust copyright law states that clients who hire you for a specific photographic shoot will own the copyright in your work once they pay you. For the photographer to own the copyright, you must have a signed agreement, upfront, stating that you own the copyright of what you are about to shoot. The Government has identified three issues relating to copyright in photography that must be addressed: * Authorship of photography * Copyright in commissioned photographs, and * Terms of protection in photographs. The copyright of photographic works is on the short-term agenda for action, meaning it will be dealt with in the next two years. Also, Senator Joseph Day has agreed to sponsor a bill saying the law that refrains photographers from owning their copyright should be abolished. There will still be parliamentary commissions, lectures and debates in the House of Commons. This is a major step in the Copyright Reform process for photographers in Canada. CAPIC has been fighting for your copyrights for over 8 years. This last leg could take 2 more years. There is no guarantee that we'll get everything we're asking for but we will certainly continue to fight for what is rightfully ours! WOW...very useful information to Canadian photographers. I believe US laws quote that freelance photographers retain copyright, but hired photographers give up copyrights to photos taken while employeed. Please don't quote me on this, but this is what I've understood from what I've been reading on the internet. Kim To love this comment, log in above March 31, 2004

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