RE: [Leica] Photos on the Web

[Austin Franklin <austin@darkroom.com>]

>>> I'm not sure what type of work you do but signing away all rights,
>>> forever(?) is definitely not the norm.
>>
>>Well, aside from photography, it is.  When an engineer is hired as an
>>outside contractor (as a photographer is), the company that hires them 
owns
>>the work they pay them to do.  I also believe that should be true for
>>photographers, period.

> I definitely disagree. Even though the initial message dealt with
> photography and you started including everything else, it still is not 
true.

> When an architect produces drawings, the copyright is retained by the
> architect. It does not go to the person comissioning the architect. I'm
> quite sure that's the case in the US as well. It certainly is here in
> Canada.

Unfortunately, you are right as far as architects, and as with 
photographers, I think that's just plain silly.  The architect is being 
paid what s/he asks for to do the work for you..why should they benefit 
from it after the fact?  We just redesigned some buildings on our property, 
and I specifically wrote in the contract that I owned the copyrights to the 
work, and wanted the drawings in computer readable form.  Same with the 
surveyors...

If the architect did the plans, uncompensated, then I would agree, they 
should own the copyrights, as they invested all the time etc.

> Similarly, engineers retain the copyright to their designs.

In practice, you are wrong.  Companies require contractors (employees have 
NO rights along these lines) to sign over any rights to the work they are 
paid to do.  That's just common sense in my book...and I have never 
understood why anyone could believe it should work differently.  It's a 
misplaced entitlement issue in my opinion.  And I know it offends a LOT of 
photographers when I say this.  No offense is meant.

> I sell certain types of usage, I don't sell
> photographs.

And if YOU paid for the materials to do create the photos, and you took the 
time to make the photos, etc., you took all the risk, therefore, you should 
own the copyrights to these photos.  If you were paid (for time and 
expenses) to do a shoot for a client, that's a completely different story.