Six Ways to Work on Your Photography Business While in Quarantine

April 14, 2020 by Leave a Comment
“Lens Cleaning” by The Preiser Project from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

I cringe every time I see a post about photographers and models teaming up to shoot during the COVID-19 pandemic when they should be social distancing and staying home. The only photographers who should be out shooting these days are the ones who are documenting the pandemic.

My business mentor taught me that when you’re not working in your business, you should be working on your business. Here are 6 ways you can work on your business while sheltering in place.

Edit Your Images From TFP Shoots

Models frequently complain that they rarely get images from open TFP shoots. They held up their end of the bargain. Now it’s time for you to do yours.

Brainstorm and Research Future Projects and Collaborations

Now is a good time to reach out to models you want to work with and research ideas for shoots you want to do when the Shelter In Place orders are lifted. There are lots of online groups where you can network with other photogs and models.

Create Your LLC

Are you still a sole proprietor? <shiver> Please fix that. No entrepreneur should be without a business entity for their company.

In most states, you can create a business entity online. Look up your state’s Secretary of State Office or Corporation Commission.

Review or Create Your Legal Documents

Do you have templates for your client contracts, model releases, and copyright license? If not, now you have the time to create them. If you have them, can you remember the last time your reviewed them? If not, now would be a good time to do that. A lot of people are double checking that they have an effective force majeure provision in their agreements.

If you want to respond to suspected copyright infringement by sending a cease and desist letter, now is the time to create an epic C&D template so you’re ready to lay the smack down on anyone who violates your rights.

Update Your Website

I bet it’s been a while since you did that. Make sure it accurately reflects your style and strengths. Even I’ve spent time while sheltering in place, updating this site.

Clean Your Gear

Now you have the time to clean your gear, including cleaning out gear you no longer use. Get your gear serviced if your camera shop is still open. Don’t forget to go through your memory cards and get rid of images you’ll never do anything with.

If you can’t resist the urge to pick up a camera, please limit yourself to shooting still life, self-portraits, and/or shooting at home with members of your household. You can also work on your craft by re-editing older photos and taking online trainings on various techniques and skills.

Lights Camera LawsuitTM

There’s always a need for quality legal information for photographers. That’s why I created an online course called Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography to address photographers’ most important questions. It’s 23 lessons, nearly 6 hours of legal information, with tons of information about contracts and copyright. I want you to feel secure in your business, confident in the way you operate day-to-day, knowing that you’ve set yourself up to get paid what your worth without incident.

The course is $497, but until June 1, 2020, you can get it for 20% off with promo code thrive20.

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Lights Camera Lawsuit Pre-sale Starts Tomorrow!

February 13, 2020 by Leave a Comment
“Fireworks” by Epic Fireworks from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

I’m nearly pee-my-pants excited because the pre-sale for my first online course, Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography starts tomorrow! I’ve been working on this for well-over a year, and it’s so close to finally coming to market.

I’ve spent the last week promoting the bejezus out of this, and I’m so pleased that the response has been so positive:

Looks like a powerful product… I’m sure it will prove very popular!

Super good idea, and i love the curriculum.

Sound like a good (and much-needed) product.

Just forwarded it to every photographer I know

I will never stop being amazed at your entrepreneurial talents – what an amazing idea.  

On the eve of the pre-sale, I wanted to respond to some of the questions I’ve received about this course.

What inspired you to create this course?

I’ve worked as a lawyer for eight years and a model for five. Basically, I’ve worked on both sides of the camera without having to touch one. I’ve seen there is a great need for quality information about photography law, and, unfortunately, most photographers can’t afford to hire a lawyer to help with all their legal needs. I’ve seen too many photographers make costly mistakes that were completely avoidable, particularly related to their contracts and copyright. I created this course to save other photographers from making the same mistakes.

Why did you create a course instead of another type of product or event?

There are three reasons. First, by creating a course, I can maximize the number of people I can help while keeping the price down.

Second, the material in the course is evergreen (at least until the law changes), so I want it to be available when people are ready for it and looking for a reliable resource about photography law.

Third, people who buy the course will be able to access it again and again, versus a live event which is a one-and-done deal. If there are changes to the law, I can update the lesson in question or add an additional lesson to the course, and everyone who had purchased it to date will get it at no additional cost.

Does the course include contract templates?

No, and here’s why – I’m not allowed to under the rules of my law license. However, the course includes the list of provisions I include in my contracts and lots of sample verbiage from real documents I’ve created for photographer clients.

Where did the name Scarlet Maven come from?

Scarlet Maven is the name of my superhero alter ego.

Why did you have to create a separate business entity? What type did you create?

I created a separate entity, Scarlet Maven, LLC, to make it clear that there will not be an attorney-client relationship with people who buy the course.

On the advice of my accountant, I created an LLC for this business. LLCs are a great choice In Arizona, because they are basically set-it-and-forget-it entities. The state doesn’t require an annual report or fee. I don’t have to file anything with the state unless the company moves or dissolves.

What aspects of the course did you outsource?

Each lesson is going to be a screencast with a voiceover recording. I hired Elizabeth Fullerton at Boldfaced Design to create the templates for the PowerPoint slides.

Additionally, because I have no artistic talent and only had a feeling about what I wanted my logo to look like, I hired Dina Miller at Square Peg Creative to create the logos for Scarlet Maven and Lights Camera Lawsuit.

Both were money well spent. These ladies did a beautiful job.

How have you been promoting the course?

In addition to promoting the course through Scarlet Maven’s email list, I sent well over 500 individual emails to photographers, lawyers, and other professional creatives who might be interested in the course or who might know people who would be interested in the course.

The promotion won’t end with the pre-sale. I expect Lights Camera Lawsuit will be a course I sell for years to come, so I’ll continue to look for opportunity to reach more people about it.

What parts of this process were fun?

Creating the outline for the course and each of the lessons was fun. So has been talking with photographers about their needs and what they hoped to get out of this.

What new skills did you have to learn?

This venture gave me the opportunity to learn some new skills. This was the first time I ever created a website with Squarespace. It’s quite different than working with WordPress, but not too hard once you learn the basics.

This is my first online course, and I’m using Teachery for it. I was so glad and relieved to learn that this platform is super easy to use. I’ve also taken a number of courses that platform, so I know how easy it is for users as well.

What challenges did you face?

Scarlet Maven is my side business, so one of the challenges I faced was making time to devote to the business, create the course, and promote it. I still have my full-time job being a lawyer, writer, and speaker where I don’t always control when I have deadlines or when work gets dropped in my lap.

The biggest challenge I faced, by far, with this venture has been managing my anxiety.

  • What if no one likes it?
  • What if no one buys it?
  • What if I screw up making it and it never gets to market?

These are the types of fears I wrestled with on a daily basis. Sometimes they caused me to procrastinate working on the course. The best way I knew to manage them was to focus on the next task in front of me instead of being consumed by the bigger fears related to the course’s overall success.

Lights Camera Lawsuit Pre-sale: February 14th-18th

The pre-sale for Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography will last only five days!

Pre-sale Starts: Friday, February 14, 2020 at 8am AZ Time

Pre-sale Ends: Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 6pm AZ Time

Pre-sale Price: $199 (60% discount)

Please subscribe to make sure you don’t miss out on this fantastic pre-sale price. I’ll never offer this course at this price again.

When the course goes live on March 16, 2020, the price will be $497. This is still a bargain for 10+ hours of legal information, but why pay more?

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Having a Photography Business is Two Jobs in One

February 6, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Ghost Dance by darkday from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

Being an entrepreneur is two full-time jobs in one: performing your craft and running a business.

So Many Hats, So Little Time

As a photographer, you have so much to do – photo shoots, edit images, maintain your web presence, promote your business, and garner new clients. Plus, you have to answer emails and phone calls, take care of your billing and accounting, buy office supplies, and take care of the things that normally come with a 9-to-5 job like saving for retirement, health insurance, saving for retirement, planning for time off . . .

Geez. Maybe it’s more like six jobs in one.  

Non-entrepreneurs don’t know how much work it is to keep all the cogs in the machine turning.

Best Advice I Received as an Entrepreneur

One of the best pieces of advice I heard when I was just starting out as an entrepreneur was:

When you’re not working in your business, you need to be working on your business.

When you don’t have client work to do, you need to be working on getting the next client in the door, and/or keeping up with the business side of your company.

How You Set Up Your Business Determines Its Success

How you set up your business, not just creating a business entity, will streamline future decisions. You want to know, and communicate, in advance:

  • Your policy regarding cancellations,
  • Pricing, including rush fees,
  • The turnaround time for deliverables, and
  • Your terms of licensing your work.

Remember – It’s your business. You make the rules.

You also want to make some in-house rules for yourself, like deciding how you to respond to suspected copyright infringement, how you’ll interact with your clients, and when to invest in more training or new equipment.

Having policies and systems in place will make you a more efficient and effective business owner, which will clear up time and energy to devote to your craft.

Work on the Business Every Week

Each week, you should set aside some time to work on your business. Treat your business like a client and put it on your calendar. I have a standing weekly meeting with myself where I put pen to paper to celebrate victories from the past week, examine what’s working and what’s not in the business, what to try next, and to consider upcoming opportunities. This is also the time I pay bills and reconcile bank statements. I run a profit-and-loss report every month to analyze how money is coming in and going out from the company.

Recently, I learned of a photographer who almost never scheduled shoots on Monday. Instead, they used that time to buy film, return calls, accounts receivable and payable, plan ahead, and send invoices. They give themselves an entire day to step back from the camera and Lightroom to take care of the needs of their business.

What about you? What do you do to take care of the business side of your photography company?

Lights Camera Lawsuit

There’s always a need for quality legal information for photographers. That’s why I created an online course called Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography to address photographers’ most important questions. I want you to feel secure in your business, confident in the way you operate day-to-day, knowing that you’ve set yourself up to get paid what your worth without incident.

The course goes live on March 16, 2020 and is $497. That’s less than what I charge for two hours of work and you’ll be getting over ten hours of legal information.  

Please subscribe to make sure you don’t miss out on other fantastic offers and opportunities to interact with me.

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How to Respond When a Client Violates Your Photography Contract

January 30, 2020 by Leave a Comment
” Angry Face Krah” by bixentro from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

Even when you do everything right as a photographer – signed contract, quality work, deliver the final images on-time, etc., you’ll still have to deal with clients who don’t comply with the contract terms such as being late with payment or alter the images (e.g. cropping them or applying filters) before posting them online.

In these challenging situations, you have options.

What Does Your Contract Say?

The terms of your contract matter most when things go sideways. You want to make sure you have an air-tight contract that is clear about the client’s dos and don’ts, as well as how you’ll resolve disputes.

When I write a dispute resolution clause for my clients, I frequently write one like:

Parties will attempt to resolve the matter among themselves for 30 days. If the dispute is not resolved in that time, then all disputes will be resolved in a court located in [Your County, Your State]. The Parties consent to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction of this court. This Agreement is governed by [Your State] law. The Parties agree that the non-prevailing Party shall be responsible for the prevailing Party’s attorneys’ fees and costs.

Actually, many times, I recommend that my clients have their dispute resolution clause to be based on where I live and Arizona law, because in the event of a dispute, my client will have to pay me throughout the dispute and hope for reimbursement from the other side at the end. It’s cheaper to resolve the dispute on your lawyer’s turf than to have to cover their travel expenses.

Dial Direct

When a client comes to me because their client violated a contract, I often advise them that they should contact their client directly first. Many people feel attacked and go on the defensive when a letter from the lawyer arrives, and they’ll ask, “Why didn’t you just contact me directly?”

When you contact your client, be sure to give them an out, a way to save face, particularly if the client hired you for personal or family photos. They don’t likely understand things like copyright. It could be a casual message like:

“Hey there. I noticed you did XYZ. I’m glad you’re loving the photos so much. I think you may have forgotten that our contract says ABC. Please remove the images by Date.”

When you send the email, include a copy of the contract, possibly with the pertinent provision highlighted.

If that a doesn’t work, the next email should be more forceful. (This may also be your opening response, depending on the client.) You want to clearly state that the person is in violation of the contract, and they must remove images by a specific date. Many times, I recommend including the sentence, “I hope we can resolve this matter without having to resort to lawyers.”

If that doesn’t work, that’s when it’s time to have your lawyer to send a nastygram (cease and desist letter) on your behalf.

Truth be told, frequently I’m the one who writes these emails for my clients to send. This way, the emails are legally accurate, which makes it easier if I have to get involved.

Other Ways to Go After Illegal Image Use Online

If a client posted images online that they weren’t supposed to, and you’ve posted them online somewhere, you can bypass your client completely and send a DMCA Takedown Notice to the website where the images were posted. This tactic only works for U.S.-based companies and companies that comply with these notices, since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is part of the U.S. Copyright Act.

To comply with the DMCA, the website has to remove access to the images. Note: It is easy for the client to send a DMCA Counter Takedown Notice to get the images restored. If you are concerned your client may do that, you may want to send them a note that doing so would constitute perjury.

Images that Should Have Been Licensed

Sometimes websites and/or paper publications ask the person in the image if they can use the photo without verifying who is the copyright owner. If this person is your client, they may be so flattered and excited by the offer, that they forget they don’t have authority to grant permission for the use.

If this happens, and your photo is used without your permission, particularly if it’s a situation where you would have charged a licensing fee, the proper response is to contact the publisher and inform them of their mistake. You can even send them a bill with a letter that essentially says, ““By using my photo, you’ve agreed to our licensing terms” and include a copy of your standard license.

“Beggar’s Sign” by Eli Christman from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

Non-Paying Clients

There are few things more frustrating for any entrepreneur than having to chase a client for payment. I’m a strong advocate that photographers should not provide proofs to a client until all outstanding balances have been paid.

Likewise, if the expectation is that the client must pay you before or at the time of the event or photog shoot, and they don’t pay, don’t be afraid to leave. Why do any work for them if they haven’t paid you to do so? If you choose to stay, I hope your contract includes a provision that lets you charge a hefty late fee.

No matter what or how you charge for your work, always send a reminder about when payments are due, including a notice about your penalties for late payment.

Contract are relationships management documents. They should address the interactions with your clients, including when things go sideways.

Lights Camera Lawsuit

There’s always a need for quality legal information for photographers. That’s why I created an online course called Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography to address photographers’ most important questions. I want you to feel secure in your business, confident in the way you operate day-to-day, knowing that you’ve set yourself up to get paid what your worth without incident.

At $497, the course contains nearly six hours of legal information you can immediately apply to your business. That’s less than what I charge for two hours of legal work for clients!  

Please subscribe for more information and to make sure you don’t miss out on any special offers or discounts.

Filed Under: Photography & the Law Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Manage Photography Client Expectations with Effective Contracts

January 23, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Photographer by Elicus from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

One of the problems I’ve heard about from a number of photographers is clients not understanding what the photographer will and will not do for them. A way to manage client expectations is to clearly document them in your contract.

Clearly State What the Client is Getting and When

When your prospective client reads your contract, it should be as crystal clear as possible what they are hiring you to do. This includes providing expectations when deliverables will be ready. Your contract may say things like:

  • You will show up on time and prepared to shoot the client’s wedding if they’ve paid your fee for the event in advance, or alternatively, the wedding party will not receive proofs from the event until they’ve paid in full, including any extra fees incurred because they asked you to stay late.
  • Proofs will be ready 3-4 weeks following the event.
  • The model is being compensated for their time and talent with money.

When I review a contract, sometimes I take my notebook and divide it into two columns – one for each party to the contract – and make a list about what each side is giving and getting in return. Your client should be able to do the same, which means the contract needs to be written with verbiage that they (and you) can understand.

Be Clear About What the Client is Not Getting

Along with being clear about what the client is hiring you to do, you may want to include terms that clarify what they client isn’t getting in this transaction. This may include things like:

  • You will show the client the best images from the event. The client will not be allowed to see every image shot at the event.
  • You make no guarantee that you’ll be able to capture every image the client hoped you’d get.
  • Unless the client paid for extra editing, you will not photoshop the client to make them look like a completely different person.
  • If the client only paid for images for personal use, they can’t use them to market their business.
  • The client is not getting a license to modify the images. This includes running the images through a filter before putting them on Instagram.

Additionally, I hope your contract has a provision entitled “Entire Agreement” that states that the terms therein constitute the entire understanding between the parties, and the contract supersedes all previous verbal and written exchanges. That way, anything that isn’t written in the contract is, be definition, not part of the agreement.

Contract = Relationship Management Document

The best way I can describe a contract is that it is a relationship management document. It clearly states each side’s responsibilities, helps manage expectations, and mitigates problems.

Your photography contract is the master document that applies to your relationships with your clients. When a client hires you for your talents and services, they must agree to abide by your rules. Whatever your concerns are about client behavior, make sure to address them in your contract.

An effective contract can save you from stress, headaches, and legal bills. It won’t eliminate problematic clients from your life, but it will help you manage them more effectively when you can respond to their complaint with a copy of the signed contract and saying, “As you can plainly see in the agreement you signed on [date], you acknowledged/agreed that . . . “

You may also want to have a section of your website where you share with prospective clients, “My Commitment To You” where you can lay out your promises to clients. You can even include a section that starts with, “While I promise to do my best for you, I’m not a miracle worker.” From there you can go into some of the things that you can’t or won’t do for clients.

Lights Camera Lawsuit

There’s always a need for quality legal information for photographers. That’s why I created an online course called Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography to address photographers’ most important questions. I want you to feel secure in your business, confident in the way you operate day-to-day, knowing that you’ve set yourself up to get paid what your worth without incident.

At $497, the course contains nearly six hours of legal information you can immediately apply to your business. That’s less than what I charge for two hours of legal work for clients!  

Please subscribe for more information and to make sure you don’t miss out on any special offers or discounts.

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Model Release and Regret

August 8, 2017 by Leave a Comment

“Subway Ballet” by J Stimp from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

Recently, I received an email from a photographer (not my client) who had a question about the validity of model releases. As I understood the situation, he hired a model (over age 18) to do a photoshoot at his studio. The model was photographed nude for at least part of the shoot. The model signed a model release and was paid for her modeling services.

After the photoshoot, the photographer censored some of the images to comply with Facebook’s rules and posted them online.  The model saw the images and was upset. The photographer asked me if the model had any authority to force him to take the images down.

The Rules of Model Releases
Model releases are standard in the photography world. In most cases, the photographer owns the copyright in their work from the moment the photo is created, not the person in the photo, and the model owns the right to publicize their own image.

The model release transfers the model’s right to publicity in those images to the photographer, which allows the photographer to use the images per the terms of the release. Usually, when I write a model release or a model release template, the model gives the photographer permission to use the images in any way and for any purpose, without restriction.

In general, once the model release is signed, the model’s given up their rights. If the model later regrets signing it, there may be nothing they can do to “unring that bell” unless the photographer is willing to negotiate another agreement – such as a copyright assignment where the model purchases the copyright rights in the images from the photographer.

Think Before You Sign
If you are a model, read the model release carefully. Never sign the release without reading and understanding it. Many of them allow for unfettered use by the photographer, including the right to license the images to others. Treat the images as if they are going to end up all over the internet, on billboards, on products or marketing campaigns you hate. Chances are, that’s not going to happen, but it could.

I write not just as a lawyer, but also a model myself. On a number of occasions, I have written and signed my own model release. Models may give up substantial rights when signing these documents, so it’s not a decision to make lightly.

What Could Invalidate a Model Release
Even if the model release was written by a lawyer and appears to valid on its face, there are situations where a model release might be invalid due to the circumstances surrounding the shoot:

  • The model was minor (Depending on your state, minors may not be able to sign contracts or they can withdraw their consent upon reaching the age of majority.)
  • The model was an adult but lacked the capacity to enter into a legally binding contract. (These people usually have an appointed guardian to sign for them.)
  • The model was intoxicated. (In general, intoxicated people can’t enter into valid contracts.)
  • The model was forced to sign the contract under duress. (You can’t get a valid contract if you use threats or force to get someone to sign it.)

There can also be instances where the photo in question was taken outside the scope of the model release and so the model release does not apply.

I get questions every day about photography, image rights, and copyright. If you are a photographer or model (or aspiring to be one), it’s imperative that you understand these issues. Many disputes can be avoided with well-written contracts and accurate information. I’m constantly doing work in this area, so if you want to keep up with what I’m doing or if you need help, you can contact me directly or check out the other posts and videos I’ve done on the legal side of photography. You can also get access to more exclusive content that is available only to people on my mailing list, by subscribing here.

Lights Camera Lawsuit

There’s always a need for quality legal information for photographers. That’s why I created an online course called Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography to address photographers’ most important questions. I want you to feel secure in your business, confident in the way you operate day-to-day, knowing that you’ve set yourself up to get paid what your worth without incident.

At $497, the course contains nearly six hours of legal information you can immediately apply to your business. That’s less than what I charge for two hours of legal work for clients!  

Please subscribe for more information and to make sure you don’t miss out on any special offers or discounts.

Filed Under: Intellectual Property, Photography & the Law Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DMCA Abuse

March 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Copyright license choice by opensourceway from Flickr

Copyright license choice by opensourceway from Flickr

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is part of the copyright law. Its purpose is to protect people who provide online forums but don’t control the content people post to them – like YouTube and Pinterest. If they receive a notice that material on their site is allegedly copyright infringement, they must remove it. This law gives content creators a way to react to copyright infringement when someone posts their work online without permission. Instead of sending a cease and desist letter to the person who stole their work, they bypass them and deal with the infringer’s webhost instead.

Lately, I’ve seen a few instances where people have been improperly using the DMCA to get material removed from the internet that they don’t like. I’m starting to refer to these acts as DMCA abuse.

1. Using the DMCA to address TM Infringement
The DMCA should only be used for copyright issues – when you suspect someone is using your original content without your permission. Don’t use it to removed suspected instances of trademark infringement.

In a recent incident, GoPro allegedly sent a DMCA takedown notice to DigitalRev’s webhost to remove a picture of its camera from the site. The photo was in article that compared GoPro against another camera. GoPro didn’t think DigitalRev copied their content, but that they were using a picture of the camera that had the wrong branding. GoPro should have sent DigitalRev an email with a correct image of the camera instead of getting the whole article pulled for alleged copyright infringement.

2. Using the DMCA to Eliminate the Original
This story really bothered me. Somebody copied someone’s original content onto their site, and then used the DMCA to claim that they were the real owners and get the original removed for its site. Thankfully the original author could get their work put back on their site by sending a DMCA counter takedown notice.

Apparently this is a common incident. This behavior was so disturbing, I had to make a video about it.

If you think you have questions about how you, your brand, or your content is being used online, please consult an intellectual property attorney. Don’t just send a DMCA takedown notice – that may not be the right tool to address your problem. When you send a DMCA takedown notice, you attest under the penalty of perjury, that your statements are true. If you send a DMCA takedown notice and it turns out what you did qualifies as what I call DMCA abuse, you may have committed a crime.

For more information about copyright, please check out my book The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested, or Killed.
You can connect with me on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, or you can email me.
Please visit my homepage for more information about Carter Law Firm.

Filed Under: Business Law, Intellectual Property, Internet law, Photography & the Law Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Using Google Image Search to Detect Copyright Infringement

March 21, 2013 by 8 Comments

Google Image SearchI heard you can input a picture into the Google Images search engine to see if someone has stolen or used one of your pictures without your consent. I decided to try to figure it out to see if it works.

I’m happy to report it’s super easy. Here’s how you do it.

  1. Go to the Google Images search page.
  2. Click on the camera icon on the far right of the search bar. This will bring up the “search by image” box.
  3. Paste the URL for the image you want to search for or upload it and hit “Search.”
  4. The results will show you every instance where someone has used that photo.
My paintball wound - Photo by Merlz Tamondong

My paintball wound – Photo by Merlz Tamondong

I started looking for images I’ve used on The Undeniable Ruth and I found an instance where someone pulled an image off my site without my permission. It’s a picture of me from Ladies’ Paintball Night. Someone put it on a paintball forum without asking me first. Even though this is a picture of me, I don’t own the copyright in it so there’s nothing I can do to get it removed, and to be honest, I don’t really care.

This search engine is one tool you can use to search for copyright infringement, but it won’t catch every copy of your photos, just the copies of the photos from your site. I know this picture of my dog Rosie is on my site and I shared it with Attorney at Work for a post I wrote for them. I didn’t give them a copy of the image off my site, so when I searched for this picture of Rosie, it only showed images from my site, not theirs.

My sweet Rosie dog

My sweet Rosie dog

If you’re worried about people stealing your work from your site, keep an eye on your analytics. A lot of people think it’s ok to use an image off your site as long as they give an attribution and a link to the source. All they may have done is committed copyright infringement and told you about it. I’ve discovered two instances of copyright infringement of my work this way.

If you create any type of content and you’re concerned about copyright infringement, please consult a copyright attorney in your community who can help you create and implement a strategy to protect your work.

Lights Camera Lawsuit

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Filed Under: Intellectual Property, Internet law, Photography & the Law Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Woman Attacks Camera Man on Camelback

October 11, 2012 by 7 Comments

Cholla Trail Landmark - Camelback Mountain by Dru Bloomfield - At Home in Scottsdale

Cholla Trail Landmark – Camelback Mountain by Dru Bloomfield – At Home in Scottsdale

Last week Pete Kosednar was hiking on Camelback Mountain when he saw a woman on the trail who didn’t have her dog on a leash. He turned on his video camera and asked her is she knew that her dog was supposed to be leashed. She didn’t appreciate being filmed and reacted by swearing at him and hitting him. Check out the video for yourself.

Was Pete Kosednar wrong to film this woman? No! She was in a public place where she had no expectation of privacy. As long as he wasn’t filming her to commercialize her image or filming her in a way that constituted any type of harassment, there’s nothing she could do to stop him from filming her. And now the video is on YouTube where everyone can see her behaving badly.

I understand that privacy is a hot-button topic for a lot of people. It is for me. However, you have no expectation of privacy for anything you do in view of the public so there’s nothing you can do to stop someone from filming you in most situations. Pete could probably strap a video camera to his head and tape most of his day-to-day activities without risk of penalty.

There are some places where you can expect to not be filmed like public bathrooms, tanning beds,  locker rooms, and retail businesses that don’t allow you to take pictures or shoot video in the store. This woman was on Cholla Trail on Camelback Mountain. There are no special restrictions on shooting photos on video there.

It also amuses me when people make a scene about being filmed in public. We have surveillance cameras everywhere – in the stores and shopping centers, on courthouses, monitoring freeway traffic, etc. It’s funny when people accept those cameras as a part of every day life but freak out when someone turns on the camera in their phone when they’re standing on the sidewalk or in a public park.

The take-away lesson here is if you’re going to behave badly in public, whether you’re breaking the law, violating a social norm, or making an ass of yourself, don’t be surprised when you find out that someone videotaped it and posted it online.

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Hat tips to Phoenix New Times for running the story and Jeff Moriarty for telling me about it.

Filed Under: Internet law, Photography & the Law Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,