Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/06/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Yes, I would really love to see this question taken into the courts. I understand restrictions on tripods where they could interfere with pedestrian traffic (e.g. N.Y. Times Square), or present a nuisance and hazard, as in a museum. But the notion that if you are on a tripod, you are a professional photographer and are going to use the pictures commercially should be challenged. One friend was kicked off what appeared to her to be a public sidewalk by a private security guard because she was trying to photograph the building of Oracle, the software firm in Redwood Shores, CA. Another friend told me that if they think you are a professional, they won't permit you to take photographs in any public park in San Jose, CA unless you pay something like $45 for a permit that is valid for only a few hours. Just hearing about it burns me up. ACLU: Where are you when you are needed? Herb - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portion of original message It raises the hair on my back to even think about being prohibited from photographing a tree because I might look like a professional photographer with my 4x5 or 8x10 camera on a tripod, but yet any tourist with a point and shoot, or some sneaky guy with his 6x17 Linhof, Xpan, or M6, can shoot the tree hand held without a problem. I wish I had the money to take them to court. In my eyes this is called prior restraint and should be illegal. Just like documenting (with your camera) the experience of a live musical event. The making of photographs does not violate any copyright or laws. Tape recorders, on the other hand would violate the music's copyright and that is understood. It should be my right as a citizen to photograph ANY public situation I encounter no matter what! In fact, I know of no federal or state statute that prohibits the "taking" of photographs, with the exception of governmental/military restrictions. It is only the future distribution, sale, or display of those images that would constitute any potential copyright infringement or potential legal challenge. - -- Herbert Kanner kanner@acm.org 650-326-8204