this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2023
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Photography

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A place to politely discuss the tools, technique and culture of photography.

This is not a good place to simply share cool photos/videos or promote your own work and projects, but rather a place to discuss photography as an art and post things that would be of interest to other photographers.

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what can i do if a school uses my photos without my permission? (alien.top)
submitted 11 months ago by averageworrywort@alien.top to c/photography@viewfinder.pro
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i'm having issues with my old highschool/the person who is running the yearbook now. they're new at it and have no idea what they're doing yet. we agreed that i would come back this year and take photos of events for the yearbook. i have not missed a single home game this year, and i have taken thousands of pictures. suddenly this person decides they don't want my help and won't be using my pictures in the book. this is very much out of left field for me.

knowing this person, there's a large chance they'll end up using my pictures anyway. are my images protected by copyright in any way? what can i do if my pictures end up being used in the yearbook?

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[–] ptauger@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

You are not my client, and I am not providing legal advice, merely general information about copyright law in the US.

  1. Copyright law is preemptive federal law, i.e. there is no such thing as "state copyright law," is the same throughout the nation regardless of state, and federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
  2. Copyright protection attaches to creative works as soon as they are fixed in a tangible medium. With respect to digital photography, "fixation" occurs when the image is saved on a memory card or other digital storage device.
  3. Registration is a prerequisite for filing a copyright infringement action. Most, but not all, federal jurisdictions allow registration after the suit is filed.
  4. Statutory damages have nothing to do with whether a work is registered or not. Infringement plaintiffs can elect either actual damages or statutory damages. Statutory damages are higher for intentional infringement than unintentional infringement. Statutory damages are available without proof of actual damages.
  5. Copyright infringement is strict liability, i.e. it doesn't matter whether the infringer was aware the copied work was protected under copyright or not.

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread, all of it from non-lawyers. Most reputable intellectual property lawyers will provide a free consultation as to how to address infringement concerns, and whether it is worth pursuing. I'd suggest you call one, rather than relying on anonymous advice on Reddit (or anywhere else on the internet).