GET IT IN WRITING

The Copyright Law says it's so…

As a photobuyer, when you "purchase" a photo, you are actually only renting it, and the photographer retains the copyright, unless you and the photographer have signed a statement describing a different agreement. Photographs belong to the photographer the moment the photographer clicks the shutter. It’s important to remember that if a publisher wants to own all rights to a photograph, the publisher has to get the photographer to sign a document stating that ownership of the photo now belongs to the publisher, and not to the photographer.

If the publisher offers the photographer a fee they can’t refuse, the photographer won't mind turning over the copyright of the photo. If this transpires, the photographer nevertheless can request to regain ownership of the photo in 35 years. Or, the publisher might make a special arrangement with the photographer to return copyright to them in a lesser amount of time.

All of this must be in writing. If you fail to get a statement in writing from the photographer that the copyright passes to the publisher, the copyright by virtue of the Copyright Law belongs to the photographer -- in other words, to the original "author."

Finally, if the photographer is a salaried employee of the publishing company, unless the parties have agreed otherwise in a signed written document, it’s assumed the employer owns the copyright to the staff photographer's photo(s). In such a situation, the photographer may want to negotiate with the publisher for copyright ownership of his/her photos. – RE

Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and publisher of “PhotoRESEARCHER Newsletter,” has provided on-line targeted information for photobuyers, photo researchers and editors for two decades. No other newsletter brings photobuyers such up-to-the minute, practical intimately familiar with both sides of the stock photo desk. For more info: http://www.photosource.com/photobuyer/.