Us On The ‘How To Be A Rockstar Photographer’ Podcast

Our friend Matthias Hombauer just posted a discussion we had on his “How to be a Rockstar Photographer” podcast. It was a lively discussion about the issues we constantly talk about until we’re “blue in the face”. The discussion was so good, that rather than cut anything it was broken up into two parts. Here’s […]

Tags: , , , ,

Who’ll Stop the Rain of Infringement

Creedence Clearwarter Revival sang it best: Long as I remember The rain been comin’ down. Clouds of myst’ry pourin’ Confusion on the ground. Good men through the ages, Tryin’ to find the sun; And I wonder, Still I wonder, Who’ll stop the rain. For as long as we can remember, the rain of infringements been […]

Tags: , , , , , , ,

How Copyright Trolls Lighten Your Wallet

What is a group of trolls called? A gaggle, a craven, a drool, a pollution? Scanning the Internet, we actually found a discussion about this and a crèche of trolls seems to be the most popular. We pondered this subject as we’ve seen an infestation of trolls (good one, right?) regarding copyright lately. In two […]

Tags: , , , , , ,

Learn The Rules Like a Pro, So You Can Break Them Like an Artist – Part 1

The title above is a wonderful quote by Pablo Picasso and sets the table for our next two articles. One of the great tragedies in the history of sports, is the fact that Jim Thorpe’s Olympic records are still not officially recognized more than a hundred years after he won them. Jim Thorpe, an American […]

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Statute of Limitations, Limitations

A lot of people have been asking about the 3-year statute of limitation for filing an infringement lawsuit. It’s taken us a while, because legally, from experience in these matters, it’s not a simple answer. As most legal questions, this question contains many shades of grey, well beyond the popular 50 shades. We know, unfortunately, […]

Tags: , , ,

Have You Heard The One About The Vase and The Photographer?

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 […]

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Sue Me? No, I’m Suing you!

An interesting graffiti case, filed under “We told you this can happen”, but not in the way expected. A lawyer representing graffiti artists contacted the Mercedes Benz company (also known as “Holy crap, how is Fred able to buy that Mercedes Benz on his crappy salary?!) about Mercedes Benz infringing on his client’s graffiti artwork. […]

Tags: , , ,

Supreme Court Ruling on Two Copyright Issues

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, […]

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

PG to X to XXX Rated Photography

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 […]

Tags: , , , , ,

Graffiti, Graffito, Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off

It is with much trepidation that we dive into this topic.  It is very hard to just dip your toe into the graffiti water without jumping in the pool. The use of graffiti – plural for graffito – as either background or integral to a photo shoot is fraught with easily avoidable peril. We suggest […]

Tags: , , ,