Canon just scored a major legal win in the battle against counterfeit products. A US District Court has issued a judgement in Canon's favor in a lawsuit against two eBay users who were selling counterfeit Canon batteries online.
Photographers, beware: if you're ever contacted by a big brand on Instagram or any other social network with a request to "share your photo," make sure you read the fine print of any terms you're shown. If you don't, you could easily be agreeing to give away unlimited usage of your work.
If you're a 500px member who hasn't logged in to the photo sharing and selling service for a while, you may be asked to agree to an updated Terms of Service document upon logging in. The latest agreement is causing an uproar (and a new wave of account deletions) among many photographers, but it doesn't appear that anything has changed from a legal or rights standpoint.
The NPPA is suing California over the state's controversial Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), saying the law forces independent contractors like photographers and visual journalists to "become employees of their clients," whether or not this is preferable or even feasible.
The US Government is being sued by two documentary filmmaking organizations over new visa registration rules that require applicants to divulge any and all social media handles--including pseudonyms--that they've used over the past 5 years. The lawsuit claims that the new rules constitute "unconstitutional surveillance" and could even put foreign filmmakers in danger.
Five photojournalists are suing the United States government for allegedly tracking, detaining and interrogating them about their work on the US-Mexico border. The journalists are accusing the Department of Homeland Security of "an unprecedented, coordinated attack on the freedom of the press."
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit system (DART) has agreed to pay blogger and photojournalist Avi Adelman $345,000 to settle a lawsuit in which Adelman alleged that he was illegally arrested for taking photos of someone being treated for an overdose.
The New York Attorney General has filed a major lawsuit against photo and video gear retailer B&H Photo alleging that the retail giant has dodged millions in sales taxes over the past 13 years. B&H calls the lawsuit "outrageous" and says these claims are "flat wrong."
An recent court order banning photography outside the Arizona Supreme Court in Phoenix and Court of Appeals in Tucson is being criticized as unconstitutional. The court says the order is meant to stop "abuse and intimidation," but critics say it infringes on people's First Amendment rights and puts photojournalists in an "untenable position."
The historic Gion neighborhood in Kyoto has enacted a photography ban near one of the area's most photographed streets. The law comes in response to rude tourists and street photographers who have been flocking to the neighborhood to capture photos of its narrow alleyways, picturesque tea houses, and the geishas who call Gion home.
Two Ohio teens have been taken into custody on charges reckless homicide in connection to photographer Victoria Schafer's tragic death at Hocking Hills State Park last month. The police had stated that they suspected foul play, and it seems the 16- and 17-year-old teens have confessed to being involved.
Two former photographers for the New York Times have filed a lawsuit against New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, accusing the department of copyright infringement after NYC Parks "unearthed" a long-lost trove of photos from the 1970s and then wildly publicized them without permission.
The Splash News and Picture Agency is making headlines today after filing a lawsuit against Jennifer Lopez for copyright infringement two years after she shared one of their photos of her in an Instagram Story without permission.
No fewer than 5 different sources sent us the same article this morning from photographer Jason Weingart, in which the extreme weather photog accuses digital artist Brent Shavnore of willfully stealing his images, calling him a "thief, poser, coward, and a liar." Shavnore tells PetaPixel that the entire issue is a misunderstanding, and accuses Weingart of being "childish."
A local news anchor from Philadelphia has filed a lawsuit against some of the largest social media and photo sharing platforms in the world after she noticed a creepy security cam photo of her being used in dating and erectile dysfunction ads on Facebook, Imgur, Reddit and others.
Police departments aren't often accused of unethical Photoshop manipulation, but that's the controversy that has erupted in Portland, Oregon. The police were discovered to have Photoshopped a suspects mugshot to make his face look more like the perpetrator in a bank robbery.
The FAA has published a notice and is sending out emails warning drone owners and the general public that weaponizing drones is illegal.
Back in May, Apple quietly filed a legal petition to try and invalidate a key patent by cinema camera maker RED, and RED is not taking it lying down. The patent in question describes RED's "REDCODE" codec for visually lossless, compressed 4K video at 23fps and above—one of the patents at the very core of RED's history as a company and camera maker.
If you enjoy following Elon Musk on Twitter, be careful not to call him out on posting photographers' work without permission or credit. Multiple people just got blocked by the Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur for doing just that.
Here's a video of a disconcerting encounter between a police officer and photographer that's making the rounds online. It shows a police officer in San Diego drawing his gun on the photographer filming because he "doesn't know" what the GoPro attached to the main camera is.
Senator Josh Hawley has introduced a new bill designed to ban the "addictive" tricks used by social networking services to hook users and increase the amount of time they spend on their platforms.
Earlier this week, supermodel Gigi Hadid's lawyers successfully got a copyright case against her dismissed despite the fact that most people thought this was a clear cut case of infringement. The important question for photographers now is: how did her lawyers manage to pull this off?
If you're a recreational drone user in the United States, there's cause to celebrate. Yesterday, the FAA announced that they have expanded their LAANC system to include recreational drone pilots, allowing users to get "near-real time" approval to fly in controlled airspace, as long as you stay below 400ft.
The CASE Act, a major piece of legislation that would introduce a small claims court for copyright infringement cases, has officially been passed by Senate Judiciary Committee, clearing the way for a full vote on the Senate floor.
Renowned photographer Nadav Kander was recently surprised to find one of his portraits used without permission on the cover of a magazine. When confronted with this, the magazine's explanation was that the image was purchased as a stock photo -- a stock photo of the copyrighted photo in an exhibition.
A District Judge in Manhattan has sided with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in a fair use case that will likely leave many photographers upset. The case surrounds a set of screen prints, silk-screen paintings and other artworks that Warhol created for Vanity Fair by altering a portrait by renowned photographer Lynn Goldsmith.
Famous model Gigi Hadid is being sued by a photo agency for posting a copyrighted photo of her on Instagram without permission. Hadid is now arguing that it was "fair use" because she contributed to the photo by smiling in it.
If you're planning to do any drone photography in Japan, make sure you stay away from alcohol. The country has just outlawed drunk droning, making it an offense that's punishable by up to a year in prison.
Photographers were just dealt a big legal blow this week after a Texas state appeals court ruled that the state can infringe upon copyright without risking punishment under the state's or federal government's "takings" clause.
Instagram photographer and influencer Alexander Tikhomirov has sparked outrage after posting a smug photo of himself next to a car he got stuck in a protected geothermal area of Iceland.
The US State Department is now requiring that virtually everyone applying for US visas submit their social media usernames, including those for the photo-sharing services Instagram and Flickr.
The Los Angeles-based entertainment news and photo agency Splash News has apologized and agreed to pay "substantial damages" to Prince Harry after it flew a helicopter low over his rural retreat home and shot photos into the living room and bedroom.
Ariana Grande made headlines a couple of months ago for striking back at "greedy photographers" with a concert tour photo contract that demands full copyright to photos. Now the singer is being sued by a photographer for posting his photos of her without permission on Instagram.
Back in 2017, the CASE Act ("Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2017") was introduced to establish a copyright small claims system for pursuing infringements on a smaller scale in the US. That bill expired without being passed, new and revised CASE Act bills were just introduced in both the House and Senate this week to revive the effort.
Cheating at Instagram by buying fake followers and activity is becoming a huge business, but Instagram is pulling out the big guns to quash this type of deceitful activity. The company just filed a lawsuit against a company that made a business of selling likes, views, and followers.
In July of 2018, a Virginia federal court sparked an uproar among photographers by ruling that finding a photo on the Internet and using it without permission on a commercial website can be fair use. Good news: an appeals court reversed the decision today in a big win for photographers (and other creatives).
Visual China Group, the "Getty Images of China" and owner of 500px, has sparked an outcry after it attempted to claim copyright to the first-ever black hole picture that became a worldwide sensation this week.
Mercedes has filed lawsuits against four artists after they accused the car company of infringing upon their copyright by including graffiti murals in the backgrounds of car photos posted to Instagram.
Profoto has been publicly accusing Godox of stealing its A1 round-head flash designs for the upcoming Godox V1, going as far as to send threatening letters to retailers warning them of legal trouble if they stock the V1. But Godox isn't letting Profoto thwart its V1 launch.
While most commercial photographers know about copyright laws and the use of a model for their images, it seems the answer isn’t so clear when it comes to travel photography. If you’re traveling the world with your camera, what laws apply for you and for your subject?
Well-known New York City-based fashion photographer Dani Diamond was contacted by a fan in 2017 after the fan spotted one of Diamond's photos featured in a Lufthansa in-flight magazine ad promoting a "Bellevue Swiss Made" watch. Problem was, Diamond had never licensed his photos for any such use.
American music star Ariana Grande has sparked an outcry from photographers and media organizations with her new concert tour agreement. Reportedly a response to "greedy photographers" taking advantage of her in the past, the new contract requires that photographers hand over full copyright to their photos.
Harvard University is being sued over daguerreotypes of slaves -- believed to be the earliest photos of American slaves -- commissioned by one of its professors back in 1850. A descendant of the slaves accuses Harvard of wrongfully seizing, possessing, and profiting from the photos.
A federal court judge in Montana has sparked controversy among photographers after he ruled that the Republican National Committee (RNC) didn't infringe a photographer's copyright when it used her photo without permission on a political mailer.
Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in the United States (by square footage) just opened to the public in New York City, and the centerpiece of the Yards is a permanent art installation and giant public structure called Vessel. It's a 16-story landmark with 154 flights of stairs that visitors can climb, but beware: by reserving a ticket to Vessel, you hand over rights to photos shot within.
Godox is getting ready to launch the V1, its affordable rival to the $995 Profoto A1 round head flash, but it may soon hit a major roadblock: Profoto is accusing Godox of patent infringement, saying the Chinese lighting company copied its A1 designs for the V1.
The US government has a secret database through which it's tracking people tied to the migrant caravan, according to newly leaked documents, and found on the list are a number of photojournalists.
Kodak launched an on-demand photography service called Kodakit back in January 2017 that aims to connect photographers to brands looking for photography. But there's something all photographers need to know about this "Uber of photography," as it's been called: it demands that you sign over the "entire copyright" to the photos you shoot.
A prominent Houston socialite is the subject of a viral video this week after she was filmed losing her cool over a baby's first birthday photo shoot on public property.
The US government is ordering that all drone owners in the US add external markings to their drones, displaying registration numbers to make it easier to trace the drone back to its owner.
