RE: [Leica] A chance to compare yourself to Magnum

[Tim Atherton <tim@KairosPhoto.com>]

It generally runs like this.

In most "Western" countries (US, Canada, France, Germany, UK etc), you can
take pictures of anyone in a public place.

In most of those countries, those images can also be published
"journalistically" (i.e. newspaper, magazine story) without the person's
permission being required. The same broadly goes for artistic endeavours.

However, you may not use the image commercially without the persons
permission. Depending on the country, the definition of "commercial"
vary,(e.g. in some countries, the cover of a magazine is considered
commercial, but not the editorial contents) as do the remedies - financial
and otherwise (again, you will get much more money suing in the US than in
Canada).

The major exception to this is France and Quebec (whose constitution is
partly based on French law as opposed to British and/or US as the rest of
Canada's is) both have a strong Right to Privacy, which extends to the
control of ones likeness/image, even when it was, for example, photographed
in a public place. Even for general editorial/news use you usually need
permission. There are exceptions - in Quebec for example - if the person is
part of a crowd, or is the subject of a "news event" e.g. Biker Boss "Mom"
Bouchard leaves Court during his trial.

So, in most places, you can still take the pictures, but it depends on where
you are, as to how you can use them. On top of which, areas such as
"documentary/street" photography often fall along the borderline between
art/journalism and sometimes. commercial use. Is a book of street
photographs a commercial endeavour? In France you would generally need
permissions. In most of Canada, probably not, in the US - maybe  :-)

All this is becoming more complicated in Europe (and Canada) as separate
Privacy legislation is being introduced nationally, and in the case of
Europe, also by the EU. Sometimes these address photography, other times
they don't. Again, for example, Canada will soon apply it's Privacy Act to
all business across the country who collect and keep data on people - and
they specify photographs as being included. So, any freelance photographer
will be subject to that act and will need to know how it applies to
photographs of people used commercially and/or editorially. And it applies
not only to keeping of those images, but to the collection of them as
well... that is - "taking photographs"

tim


PS - I'm not a lawyer like Marc, so don't try and use anything I've said as
a defence in court!!


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