The great writer H.G. Wells is quoted as saying “Advertising is legalized lying.” That might have been true in the early 20th Century when Mr. Wells was alive, but today that sentiment can get you into a heap of legal and financial headaches. In a prior article we referenced the involvement of the Federal Trade […]
Archive for category Paperwork
A photographer accidentally knocks over and breaks a client’s vase in their home. The homeowner screams, “That’s’ a 600 year old vase!” The photographer replies, “Thanks goodness for that! I thought it was a new one.” While most people think of photography as a “glamour” business, most of the aspects of running a photography business […]
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) just issued two decisions, both by 9 -0 votes directly affecting the rights and legal remedies available to copyright owners who choose to protect their work either defensively or by bringing an action for money damages for infringement. As we have written, lectured, screamed and cajoled for decades, […]
Using our powers of mentalism we know exactly what you are thinking at this moment – “What does this topic have to do with me? I don’t shoot or appear in that kind of stuff”. Now, now don’t get ahead of your skis grasshopper. The laws regarding risqué, controversial, or even sexual or simply implied […]
The two of us love great quotes, like almost every quoted line in Young Frankenstein (what’s not to love). Here’s one by the great writer Henry James (1843 – 1916) that is not as famous as Igor’s “What hump?”, but probably more meaningful for this column – “She had an unequalled gift, usually pen in […]
Nobody but nobody enjoys reading an insurance policy. Companies like GEICO know that and make effective commercials which rely on humor. Indeed famed actor Dennis Quaid is on a “mission to make insurance interesting” in his TV commercials for Esurance. Photographers and producers are no different than other people/businesses who pay for insurance coverage in that the odds […]
With the dramatic increase in substantial copyright litigation recoveries, the costs of intellectual property litigation and upon the often insistence of insurance companies that have to pay for infringements, more and more law firms are engaged in the practice of “Risk Management”. In lay terms this means that litigators are brought in to “teach” ad […]
Behind Podcast The Shot
Oct 29
Check out our latest podcast with Steve Brazill’s Behind The Shot Podcast. Great new info. Lotta laughs. https://behindtheshot.tv/2018/10/25/copyright-for-photographers-2018-update/
One of the areas we get asked about the most concerns model releases. As a reminder to readers, model release laws are not national, but rather are specific to each state are usually referred to as “right of publicity”, “right of privacy” or mash up of both. Whatever they are called they cover the unauthorized […]
Journalists who have covered wars are well aware of the cliche’ “First reports are always wrong”. Porgy and Bess put it this way, “It ain’t necessarily so.” Those two old sayings recently came to mind when we read the court decision that was recently headlined and clickbaited in various ways as “Photos on the Internet are […]
