Copyrights
ANYONE in the business who would like to discuss this page with me or correct erroneous information, or relay stories on topic, please contact me.
I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do, this page is just for general information.
First off, I have a policy that anything I post will be immediately removed if the owner of the copyright requests it. I get permission from anyone I deal with directly. I DO have permission to post a lot of the pictures here, but this permission doesn't get extended to everyone, so if you download a picture for which I've received permission and put it on your site, this would be illegal on your part. It doesn't bother me if you do this, but it may bother the owner of the copyright.
Second, this policy does not completely absolve me of responsibility. I can still be sued for the pictures that I don't yet have permission for. It's very unlikely, but it can happen.
GENERALLY SPEAKING:
Most magazines/photographers who make their living with the use of celebrity photographs will not sue a fan site that is truly a fan site. That is, no porno, no other obvious defamation issues, disrespectful conduct, and no revenue being made on the site. HOWEVER, they can, and some do, especially if it looks like something you have posted might be costing them income.
Promotional photos are not likely to cause a lawsuit, and if they do, you can probably appeal to the TV studio. Their whole reason for existence is to promote the show! BUT, you should credit the TV studio anyhow for these photos.
You could get sued if you doctor a picture by, say, putting someone's head on top of a nude body. (Take note that Alyssa Milano will find you and sue you if you do this to a picture of her. AND, she will win).
If you don't believe me, here's the news brief about Alyssa Milano. Check out the judgement amount.
A GOOD PRACTICE: Put up a disclaimer. If you can include copyright information, do it. Show good faith. Run a clean site.
IF SOMEONE ASKS YOU TO REMOVE A PHOTO:
- Take the photo down!
- IF THEY STILL THREATEN LEGAL ACTION, and you feel that you were acting in good faith, go to your celebrity's PUBLICIST. Tell them about it. They may not care, but they may very well care A LOT, and they actually have pull with many of the people who might sue you.
- If you have any good relationships with vendors, tell ALL of them about it.
- Write your local newspapers, TV stations, and other related media. Make the biggest possible noise you can. Remember that you are in the wrong, you are not a victim! BUT you may get a lot of interest anyway.
No one's trying to do harm to photographers. But it is important to realize that many people believe posting photos will result in lost revenue. My feeling is that posting pictures alerts people to their existence, and the details I give allow people to purchase these pictures that they may not have known about otherwise.
Pictures can represent a lot of time and effort to photographers. Remember that this is how photographers earn their living, regardless of your politics, and always bend over backwards to accomodate them. After all, they are the source of the photos you love. A good relationship with a celeb photographer can become a great connection for what could be some of the best photos available.
Here is a link to a page:
http://www.eff.org/pub/CAF/law/ip-primer
that fully discusses the legal use of other people's works in a multimedia environment. Thanks to Jim, a photographer (whose work is not featured on this site), who first brought this issue to my attention.
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