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This is a very complex subject. There is no way I will be able to provide all information you must know in such a small article, but I feel the need to mention a few things, that seem often slip models attention. Always refer to the signed model agreement and contact your legal counselor in difficult situations.

Copyright

The fact that a model appears on the image does not grant copyright to the model. It does not matter whether the model paid the photographer or shoot on TFP/CD basis. Under copyright law, the photographer owns copyright on any photos he/she has taken, with the following exceptions:

  • If the photographer is an employee of the company the photos are taken for, or is an employee of a company instructed to take the photos, the photographer will be acting on behalf of his/her employer, and the company the photographer works for will own the copyright.
  • If there is an agreement that assigns copyright to another party.

In all other cases, the photographer will retain the copyright. If the photographer has been paid for his work, the payment will be for the photographer's time. The copyright to the photos will remain with the photographer, and therefore any reproduction without permission would be an infringement of copyright. Copyright expires 70 years after the photographer's death.

Do not put "© me" statement under the images, false copyright claims are illegal.

Other rights

Rights come in all shapes and sizes. The photographer as the copyright holder can grant or license to the model or other parties certain rights to the images. Those rights should be listed in the model agreement. Usually photographers grant perpetual, irrevocable rights to use images for model's self-promotion and personal use. In normal language it means that the model can put images on his/her web site or send them to an agency;  the model can give them to his/her family members or put it on the wall. It also means the model can have those rights for entire lifetime and the photographer cannot take those rights away. Read the model agreement carefully, pay attention to the rights granted to you; pay attention to the media restrictions; pay attention to the period those rights are granted for and whether those rights can be revoked. If something is unclear, ask questions. Contact your legal counselor in difficult situations. Do not schedule the shoot if you don't understand the terms of the model agreement, or disagree with its terms.

Alternation and derivative work

If a model (or somebody else) alters a copyrighted image in any way or uses this image to make another creations, it is considered alternation and/or derivative work. Such changes are prohibited, unless a specific permission was granted by the copyright holder.

Contests

It happens quite often that models participate in big contests or competitions and submit their images to participate. However, only a few read contest's terms and conditions. Contest's organizers often require signing a special "rights release" or "copyright transfer" form which allows them to have unrestricted commercial rights for the submitted image. Some of them do it by putting a small paragraph in Terms and Conditions and when the model submits an image, he/she automatically "accepts" those terms. It is a legally binding agreement. If the model accepts or signs this agreement without having full rights to the image, it will be a copyright infringement (the photographer owns copyright, not the model). The model must always check the model agreement signed when those photos were taken to see if the model has the right to use images as required by the contest's terms and conditions. If unsure, contact the photographer or your legal counselor.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:24.