Copyright issue

[scotsdave]

Re: Copyright issue

One solution would be for you to give the Trust a licence to use one of your images or all of them for publicity purposes for the reserve or in any newsletters etc they produce etc - subject to payment of a fee to you as you think fit. This would leave the copyright of your photos with you. If the Trust won't agree to this then you can draw your own conclusions as to their motives for wanting a blanket copyright over all photos taken at the reserve. Of course it may all boil down to the fact that when they produced the document wanting copyright for all photos taken at the reserve they hadn't really thought it through properly and hadn't been advised of the consequences for folk such as you.

There are various photo competitions I haven't entered because the rules have said that by entering you give the competition all copyright rights in the image and your photo won't be returned.

scotsdave

[the black fox]

Re: Copyright issue

unfortunately i used to take the same line as you richard ,although i have sold a few images when specifically asked ,less than a handfull though .BUT and its a very big but image theft and use is rampant on the internet ,ANYWHERE you post a image makes it possible for someone to pinch it and use it .
i know i keep going on about this pixys place but its really opened my eyes to how widespread image theft is ,they can only work with images that have been used in compliant countries that regard it as theft ,but i have also found hundreds of my shots being used on websites worldwide ,from china and other asian ones ,russia ,and its environs ,also lots of arabic ones and as i can't even read the language i have totally no idea in what context they are being used .
so even though you have no desire to sell your images richard you can bet your last pound that someone somewhere is selling them and making a quick buck . my list of stolen ones even goes as far as companies as large as P&O .

[Richard W]

Re: Copyright issue

I actually don't post images on the internet at present, one reason why I was asking recently about how to make images visible here without using Flickr or similar. My aim is that they will be used to create pdf files, which will be password protected to disable copying or printing. A lot of pdf files use the same method including, I think, any pdf copies of the EOS magazine that you download.

Unfortunately people take the concept of a "photo sharing" site too literally. It's part of the whole idea of "something for nothing, if you can get it for free on the internet, why pay for it, seems to be the attitude of many.

[John Liddle]

Re: Copyright issue

I suggest you put several lines through the offending paragraph, write "I do not agree to the conditions stated in this paragraph" over it in large letters, sign the form and return it to them - you'll soon find out whether it's important to them or not.

[haydnj]

Re: Copyright issue

Thanks for the comments.
I'm still not sure exactly what they are trying to say. The first sentence says "I agree to assign copyright of any material I produce to ............. Wildlife Trust" which is very broad, the rest then proceeds to discuss only Trust materials. If the latter is all they mean, then I don't have a problem, but I won't sign it unless the wording of the first sentence is changed. I did reply to them for clarification but have received no reply. I'll wait a while then ask again, copying the email to others higher up the management hierarchy in the Trust. This was part of a longer document, mainly dealing with health and safety etc., but seemed totally out of place.
This has nothing to do with money as I don't intend to sell any images, even if they were saleable, just a matter of principle. My work is mine.

Sounds like a way to obtain your work for free, if you were employed by them on a salary or received payment, they would retain all intellectual rights, basically " your work was done in the firms time and you were paid for it, so it belongs to them" Had similar problem years ago when I invented a specialist tool, lost the rights as the "firm" claimed the tool as theirs. Get legal advice, or perhaps you may have to consider to
unvolunteer and get them to hire you, and you write the legal agreement/contract. Just my thoughts and part of my own experience. The tool in question is now used widely in the aviation industry. Good luck,

[Greg Simpson]

I would NEVER give away my copyright.