Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/12/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Francesco wrote: >So in the case of HCB, since you brought it up, did he need >releases for all of his photos of people, since he obviously >did not take them for exclusively editorial purposes, and has >commercialized them in books and magazines?>>>>>>> Hi Francesco, I doubt at the time he took the photos no one worried about getting releases as nobody in those days related to the "dollar value" in relation to today's suing society for a buck! There was some kind of legal thing last year (?) with a Robert Doisneau photo, a couple kissing in Paris. Shot in 1950, "Kiss by the Hotel de Ville" created some kind of situation which I'm sure the couple, apparantly turned out to be a couple of models who had verbally agreed to be photographed, therefore no signed release. So one of them in 1997 realized Robert Doisneau was now a famous photgrapher with books and posters with the picture used. They had not been paid, nor unfortunately no release, so it was decided to "make some money" and legal action was taken. This may not be the absolute truth as it happened, but it's very close as I recall reading it. I beleive the action was thrown out of court simply because it was perceived by the French court that this was merely a "money grab" for something that they had originally agreed to do verbally without compensation. As far as HCB? I doubt he got releases for any of his photos, certainly at the beginning. He may have in later years as the "law suit society" learned the money potential in the value of the picture in the hands of a famous "and very wealthy" photographer. Ted Grant This is Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler. http://www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant