Back in June I covered Fortarock, a fantastic metal festival in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. I had the opportunity to shoot bands like Dragonforce, Watain, Týr, Alestorm and Arch Enemy, all of whom are not only really fun to photograph, but also extremely talented musicians.
With the explosion of social media and photo sharing, personal pictures commonly go viral and make their way onto major news websites, sometimes without the photographers' permission. But a judge has just ruled that media companies can't simply steal social media photos whenever they see fit.
A real estate photographer has filed a lawsuit against Zillow, accusing the popular online real estate database of using his photos without permission.
A few days ago, I awoke to a text message from a friend who lives halfway around the world telling me that he had unexpectedly seen one of my images on a FOX News story. The image was from a photoshoot that I had done of Richard “Old Man” Harrison from the television show Pawn Stars, which airs on the History Channel. However, after looking it up and seeing what photo he was talking about, I was surprised. The photo I was met with wasn’t even one I remembered taking.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Grumpy Cat, the Internet favorite feline whose photos have been widely used in memes, has been awarded $710,000 in a copyright infringement lawsuit.
The Internet is becoming a hectic and volatile place for photographers to share their work. Social media enables photos to be put in the hands of tens, thousands, and even millions in a matter of minutes. However, one small break in this sharing frenzy can lead to massive loss and frustration for the creators that dedicate themselves to doing their passion well.
Canon generated some controversy this week by widely sharing a photo that contained portions taken without permission from a shot by photographer Elia Locardi using a Fujifilm camera. The company has now responded, but instead of issuing an apology, it's clear Canon can't tell that the infringement occurred.
Canon recently shared a beautiful Golden Hour landscape photograph on social media in Italy and Spain. Problem was, it was a composite photo in which a large portion of the image was taken without permission (and without giving credit) from a photo by well-known landscape photographer Elia Locardi.
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.
The camera accessory brand Tether Tools just earned a great deal of goodwill from photographers by taking a copyright infringement mistake seriously. After discovering that they had accidentally used a photographer's image without permission, the company posted a lengthy apology and explanation on its website and social media.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
A Montana-based photographer has filed a lawsuit against the Republican National Committee, accusing the RNC of willfully infringing upon her copyright by using one of her photos on a political mailer without permission.
ME: I don’t want to be a dick but could you please stop using my image on your website?
THE INTERNET: Why?
Is it copyright infringement if someone embeds your tweeted photo into a news article? One UK photographer says "yes," and he's taking news company Sky News to court over it in a case photographers should be watching closely.
If you're posting your images online with any sort of regularity, they're probably being stolen from time to time—it's an unfortunate reality of the digital age. And so, photographer Anthony Morganti decided to create this video and share 3 basic ways to search for and find your stolen photos online.
The estate of legendary artist Andy Warhol has filed a lawsuit against New York City photographer Lynn Goldsmith. The reason? Goldsmith believes Warhol violated her copyright by turning one of her portraits of Prince into a painting.
Photographer Jana Romanova is suing VICE Media for using a photo from her series Waiting without permission... again. This is Romanova's second copyright infringement lawsuit agains VICE over the same photo series.
A French court has ruled that American appropriation artist Jeff Koons infringed the copyright of French photographer Jean-François Bauret in creating one of his celebrated sculptures, Naked (1988).
The New York Times just reported an incredible story of how a 23-year old recent college graduate created a fake news story about fraudulent Clinton votes in Ohio and netted $22,000 on a fake news website from ads.
A Georgia photographer was harassed by hundreds of cyberbullies this past week after she attempted to protect her copyright upon discovering that a popular Instagram user had use her photo without permission.
The folks over at the image tracking service Pixsy have released an infographic about the state of photo theft in 2016. As 64% of you have personally experienced, photo theft remains a serious and widespread problem in our digital age.
What began as one of the most explosive, publicized, and potentially ground-breaking copyright lawsuits in the world has ended in less-than-explosive terms. Carol Highsmith's $1 billion lawsuit against Getty Images has, for the most part, been thrown out of court.
Blockai, the company that burst onto the scene a few months ago by offering a totally novel way to protect your photo copyrights, is expanding onto Instagram. Now, all it takes to claim copyrights on your Instagram photos is a hashtag.