A Virginia federal court sparked quite a controversy among photographers last month when it ruled that copying photos found on the Internet is fair use. Now a European Union court has just issued a landmark ruling that states you can't simply republish a photo because it's freely accessible online -- you need the photographer's permission first.
Back in 2010, the United States Postal Service (USPS) released a now-famous Statue of Liberty "forever" stamp. But it was soon discovered that the small stamp had a big problem: instead of showing the actual Statue of Liberty in New York, the selected photo shows the copyrighted replica that's found in Las Vegas. Now a federal court has ordered that the USPS must pay $3.5 million for its mistake.
A Virginia federal court has made a decision that photographers won't be happy to hear: the court ruled that finding a photo on the Internet and then using it without permission on a commercial website can be considered fair use.
Just this past week, the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs approved amendments to EU’s Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, which includes the infamous Article 13.
Daryl Aiden Yow is a Singapore-based photographer and social media influencer who has over 100,000 followers on Instagram. He's at the center of controversy today after it was found that many of his Instagram photos were actually uncredited images shot by others.
The most recent version of the Copyright Law of the United States (December 2016) weighs in at a whopping 354 pages. And while there are areas of ambiguity, the basics and benefits of copyright registration for photographers are well-documented. Unfortunately, well-documented doesn’t mean well-understood, so we asked attorney (and former photo rep) Leslie Burns to weigh in on a number of common copyright misconceptions that still persist, and why you should register your copyright.
Update: Fox News claims it licensed Robinson's images legally through another channel after being directly rejected by the photographer. See the network's statement below.
Over the weekend, Ellicott City, Maryland was pummeled by massive rainfall, which triggered devastating flash floods through the historic district of town. Resident Max Robinson was trapped in an apartment building near Main St and Maryland Ave when he started documenting what transpired on Twitter.
Photographers Tony and Chelsea Northrup were shocked when they discovered one of their photos being used on a product's packaging without their knowledge or permission. They then sued the photo thief and collected AU$60,000 (~$45,000) for the offense. Here's a 26-minute video in which they share the story of how it all happened.
Well-known British filmmaker Philip Bloom is accusing Google of using his work without permission or payment for an internal video that has since been leaked and published by major publications.
Photographer Sean R. Heavey was watching the hit series Stranger Things on Netflix when he spotted a storm cloud that looked strangely familiar. It turns out the show had apparently used one of Heavey's photos while creating the scene, and Heavey isn't happy about it.
Photographers commonly deal with photos being used without permission these days, but oftentimes infringements can be resolved in a friendly and agreeable way. Concert photographer Adrienne Row-Smith recently experienced the opposite: after asking nicely that her misused photos be taken down, Row-Smith received some angry words for a music label.
Photographer David Slater has won his legal battle over that monkey selfie. A US appeals court ruled Monday that US copyright law doesn't allow animals to file copyright infringement lawsuits.
Photographer David Slater's legal nightmare surrounding that monkey selfie snapped in 2011 isn't over. A US court has decided not to toss the copyright lawsuit filed against Slater by PETA on the monkey's behalf, despite Slater and PETA reaching a settlement last year.
A well-known insect photographer has filed a $2.7 million copyright infringement lawsuit against a pest-control company. He accuses the businesses of using his photos without permission on its website.
Notable American photographer Kalliope Amorphous has published a warning to other photographers who are considering protecting their copyright using ImageRights International. She accuses the company of an "egregious grab" that forces photographers to use the company's legal services.
Google has removed the "View Image" button from its Image Search results that had allowed anyone to quickly download the original image file while bypassing the host webpage. This is a step Google is taking to help protect photographers' copyrights.
Google Images is an epicenter of copyright infringements across the Web, as people, either knowingly or unwittingly, search for, download, and misuse copyrighted photos without permission. But for photographers, there's some good news: Google is going to roll out changes to the image search engine that are designed to help protect your copyright.
A few months ago, a girl came in to apply for a social media position at my last job. I was one of three photographers at the company and we had an opening for another photographer position. She mentioned to the HR recruiter that she also does photography.
Jessica Simpson recently shared a photo of herself leaving a hotel on Instagram and Twitter. Problem was, it was a paparazzi photo and she didn't have permission to use the photo. The 37-year-old singer is now being sued for copyright infringement.
The US Copyright Office has just announced new rules regarding the group registration of photographs. One of the biggest changes is the fact that only 750 unpublished photos can be registered at a time with each claim, when previously there was no limit. For photographers who regularly register extremely large batches of unpublished photos, copyright registration will soon be much more expensive.
Grumpy Cat, the Internet favorite feline whose photos have been widely used in memes, has been awarded $710,000 in a copyright infringement lawsuit.
A friend recently posted an X-ray of his ankle replacement on Facebook, which led me to wonder “who owns …
Imatag is a new service that uses invisible watermarks to protect photographs from copyright infringement. With the development of AI technology that can easily remove physical watermarks, more covert solutions could be a solution for photographers looking to identify and prove ownership of copied images online.
My name is Leila Boujnane, and I'm the CEO of TinEye, a reverse image search tool many photographers use to find copyright infringements on the Internet. This post is about how not even copyright infringement search tools are immune to copyright infringement.
Maybe you’re aware of Netflix. Maybe you even have a subscription for their services. You might have also heard of or watched a series called Stranger Things, produced by Netflix. But did you know that Netflix has been selling a Collector's Edition box set of Stranger Things that incorporates pictures from my webpage, The VHS Corner? I didn’t, until some kind netizens contacted me to tell me all about it.
Singer Bruno Mars is being sued by a photographer after he posted a childhood photo of himself on social media.
Queen lead guitarist Brian May is lashing out at a photographer after she reported his copyright infringement to Instagram and got his account temporarily disabled.
Want to know the origins of the concept of copyright? Here's a 25-minute video from Filmmaker IQ that looks at the history and philosophy behind modern-day copyright.
There's a strange legal battle going on right now between a photographer and a giant online media company. After being sued by the photographer for infringing on his photo copyrights, CBS has responded by filing its own copyright infringement lawsuit against the photographer... for sharing 59-year-old TV show still frames on social media.
Here's a basic fact everyone should know: just because a photo appears in a Google search doesn't mean it's a free photo that you can use for any purpose. If it's copyrighted, you could be sued if you use it without permission. That's what the guy in this 13-minute video found out the hard way.
You can almost never find videos or photos of the Eiffel Tower at night on stock sites. Why is this? Because the Eiffel Tower is copyrighted when those lights are twinkling in the night sky. This 4-minute video from Half as Interesting explains why.
Photographers in the United States are now one step closer toward seeing a copyright small claims system for pursuing infringements on a smaller scale. A new bipartisan House bill has introduced the CASE Act, which stands for the "Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2017."
Photographer David Slater has finally settled his two-year legal battle over the monkey selfie photos that went viral back in 2011.
The blockchain-based copyright platform Binded (formerly known as Blockai) just launched a new service that may be a godsend for copyright-conscious photographers: one click U.S. copyright registration that makes the process 10x simpler with no extra fee.
China is the country that ranks highest in the world for copyright infringement of digital photos. That's according to a new study by image theft detection platform Copytrack. France and the United States follow in second and third place, respectively.
In 2014, controversial artist Richard Prince had an exhibit of reappropriated Instagram images at the Gagosian Gallery in NYC, selling the prints for up to $100k each. He sought no permission for the Instagram images used, which led to photographer Donald Graham suing for copyright infringement. A judge has now ruled the suit can proceed.
A photographer is suing consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, accusing the corporation and the world's largest advertiser of not paying her for photos that have appeared on Olay packaging and marketing materials used around the world. An expert on the photographer's side estimates that P&G could owe more than $75 million.
Photographer Max Dubler struck a nerve last week with an article documenting the theft of one of his downhill skateboarding images. After finding a skateboard brand using one of his photos without authorization, he did as he always does: he contacted the offending party and requested a payment of $25 for social media usage.
Remember David Slater, the photographer whose camera was hijacked by a monkey and used for a series of selfies that went viral on the Internet? The photographer has spent years fighting a copyright battle in court over the photos, and now he's broke.
My name is Max Dubler, and I am a professional photographer who has been working full time in downhill skateboarding for the last several years. I am a well-known person within this little niche: I started an influential website with my friends, was on staff for the only downhill magazine since its first issue, have written extensively about downhill skate safety, and have been hired by almost every major downhill skate brand to shoot photos.