Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/02/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]OK, I'm not a lawyer, and I do not have a formal statement from one. But, I do not _think_ that they can legally stop you from standing in a public place and taking pictures of anything you can see from there. I also do not think they can stop you from making editorial, as opposed to commercial, use of those pictures. But please do not risk your freedom or fortune based on what I think. Talk to an attorney before you do anything important! Even if you're in the right, a big movie company could cause you a lot of expensive trouble, even if you won in the end! If you were in the mood for a fight (and had taken legal counsel), it might be interesting to pull out your cell phone, and offer to call the police yourself. My guess regarding your Eggleston portrait is that you could use it in a blog as an illustration of a discussion of his work. (Of course, you're much less likely to have trouble if there's nothing in your writing that could possibly be construed as defamatory. Unfortunately, one man's criticism is another man's defamation.) I _think_ you could use your pictures of him (for which _you_ own the copyright) in the same context, but not in an ad for, say, Eggleston Beer. It might be a nice gesture, and a safety factor, to write him a note first. Again, please do not make any decisions based on my opinions! Obviously, this is a subject about which I feel fairly strongly, and I hate to hedge it about with so many cautions. What I really hope is that some attorney/photographer on the list will jump in with some general principles. -EAL On Feb 24, 2005, at 9:26 PM, Phil Swango wrote: > At 05:18 PM 2/24/2005, Eric Ladner wrote: >> I think, from informal conversations with lawyers, that legally you >> can >> always _take_ the picture if the subject is visible to the public; >> it's >> what you can do with it that may be restricted. > > > This is interesting to me. Last week I was walking down the street in > my neighborhood and saw a film crew working on a Hollywood movie > starring actor Guy Pierce. Standing on the sidewalk across the > street, I took a few souvenir pictures with my digital P/S. A very > polite woman approached me and told me that photography was not > allowed. I thanked her for the information and suggested that since I > was on a public sidewalk and the filming was clearly visible from > there, perhaps there was no legal way they could prevent it. She very > politely told me they could call the police if necessary. I very > politely thanked her again and walked a few meters down the street, > out of her sight, and continued shooting. Now, I have no idea who was > right. I understand that if I tried to make commercial use of the > pictures there would be a problem but I assumed personal use was OK. > Does anyone here have an opinion? > > I also have another copyright question. Many years ago I was friends > with the Memphis photographer William Eggleston. One day when we were > hanging out he took a picture of me and later gave me a mounted > enlargement. I have it hanging in my house and have never displayed > it anywhere else. Since then he has become well known in the art > world, but we are no longer in contact. My question is this: if I > put the picture on, say, a blog site, would that be a copyright > infringement? Also, would it be OK to post any pictures I took of him > without his permission? > > Any input would be welcome. > > > > > Phil Swango > 307 Aliso Dr. SE > Albuquerque, NM 87108 > 505-262-4085 > 714-908-7846 (fax) > pswango@att.net > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >