Law

Gun-Toting Couple Billed by Photog for Using Viral Photo on Greeting Cards

The St. Louis couple who are facing felony gun charges for pointing guns at protestors marching close to their home have found themselves in yet another legal dispute. The photographer who shot a viral photo of the couple has sent them a bill after discovering that they had turned his photo into greeting cards without permission.

Teens Who Killed Photographer Get Three Years in Juvenile Detention

Two Ohio teens whose actions led to the death of a local photographer on Labor Day 2019 have plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and been sentenced to three years in juvenile detention, bringing the sad story of Victoria Schafer's untimely death to some sort of conclusion.

TikTok Will Be Banned in the US on Sunday

The United States government just announced that the video-sharing social app TikTok and the social app WeChat will be banned in the US starting on Sunday "to protect the national security of the United States."

These May Soon Be the Standard Fees for Commercial Photos on Federal Land

In years past, major agencies that managed federal land weren't consistent in charging fees for commercial photography and filming on those lands. In 2000, a new law directed the government to develop a consistent fee structure for all federal lands, and the government is still working to iron out what those fees will be.

Photographer Wins Lawsuit Against BuzzFeed, Sets Major DMCA Precedent

Last week, photographer Gregory Mango won an important lawsuit against online publication BuzzFeed; it's important, not because of the payout involved, but because of the precedent set by the court, which ruled that BuzzFeed was liable for 3rd party infringement of his photo because they removed his copyright info from the image.

Volvo Says All Public Instagram Photos are Fair Game in New Court Filing

A couple of months ago, automotive photographer Jack Schroeder and model Britni Sumida filed a lawsuit against car maker Volvo, accusing them of "willful and wanton" copyright infringement. In a major update to the case, Volvo is trying to get the suit thrown out by claiming that all public Instagram photos are basically free to use and share.

Seattle Judge Orders Media to Share Unpublished Protest Photos with Police

In a controversial ruling that has sparked criticism from photojournalists across the US, a judge in Seattle has ruled that the local news media must hand over unpublished protest photos to the police, who will use them in an ongoing investigation into the destruction of several police vehicles on May 30th.

Photographer Sues Police for Blinding Her Left Eye, Uses Last Photo as Proof

Last month, while covering protests in Minneapolis sparked by the killing of George Floyd, photojournalist Linda Tirado was blinded by a foam bullet fired by police. Now, she's suing the city and its police department, and using her last photo as proof that she was targeted despite being clearly identified as press.

Georgia Court Revives Lawsuit by Real Estate Photographer Who Was Shot by Homeowner

In 2018, we shared the story of real estate photographer Whitney Morris, who was shot by a surprised homeowner while taking pictures of her house. Morris sued the homeowner and her real-estate agency and lost by summary judgement. Now, the Georgia appeals court has ruled that the original trial court erred, giving Morris another chance to plead his case.

Instagram Says You Need Permission to Embed Someone’s Public Photos

Instagram just released a bombshell statement about copyright infringement. In response to recent developments in a lawsuit between a pro photographer and Newsweek, the photo sharing site told Ars Technica that it does NOT grant a sub-license to anyone who uses their "embed" feature to share a public photo.

Photographer Sues Microsoft for Millions Over Copyright Infringement

Photographer Matilde Gattoni is suing Microsoft corporation for millions of dollars in damages after she discovered that company-owned publication MSN used several of her images in an article about "the women leading China's wine revolution" without paying to license them or asking for permission.

Instagram’s Moral Imperative: Let Users Disable Embedding

The past few years have made it abundantly clear that platforms hold disproportionate power in the online sphere – from Uber to Grubhub to Amazon. Online success is predicated on building both utility as well as a critical mass of users, and for that, platforms should be congratulated.

US Filmmaker Arrested While Documenting Pipeline Protest in Canada

US documentary filmmaker Melissa Cox had a run-in with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) this week while trying to document an indigenous protest in British Columbia. Despite the fact that she is a member of the press, the RCMP chose to arrest Cox, allegedly using "undue force" and tampering with her camera equipment in the aftermath.

Are Your Social Media Photos Ending Up In a Law Enforcement Database?

Facial recognition is an incredibly useful consumer tool for organizing our burgeoning photo albums. Companies like Google and Apple have slowly integrated machine learning algorithms into their consumer photo products, which allow you to search by keywords without the need for manual tagging, or to simply click on a face to see more photos of that person.

Lady Gaga Criticizes Music Pirates with Pirated Photos. Shutterstock Responds

After Lady Gaga's new song "Stupid Love" leaked onto the Internet and went viral last weekend, the singer called out fans who had listened to the unauthorized release. Problem was, Lady Gaga's Tweet used "pirated" stock photos that had "Shutterstock" watermarks splashed across them, and this unauthorized usage didn't escape the company's notice.