Picture submission - Copyright issues

Should members give their first/lastname to keep rights

[tomda]

Hi,

Working on a project which involved a lot of picture submission by my members and guests.

Two questions :

1/ Members will have the choice to keep rights of their photos if they want to. Knowing that a valid copyright is

Copyright - [Firstname] [Lastname] [Date] - All right reserved

Do members who wish to keep rights of their work have to give their firstname and lastname? I presume that using the username is not OK?

2/ Guests.

When pictures are submitted by guest, the names and location of the author is unknow. Given this, XXXXX do claim copyright over all pictures submitted by guest.

Does this sounds right to you?

Thank you

[edited by: tomda at 3:43 pm (utc) on Sep. 23, 2005]

[utica]

As to #1, I believe that is correct, unless the username is the person's business which is probably not the case.

Not sure about #2

[tomda]

As to #1, I believe that is correct, unless the username is the person's business which is probably not the case.

Not it is not the case. Therefore, I should oblige members who want to keep copyrights of their work to give their first and lastname.

But what about those who do not give me their contact (like guests or members who do want their name on the net), someone should at least take over the rights. I think that in such case, the 2nd statement should be acceptable?

PS. Note that pictures submitted are less than 42 kb and less than 600x450, so they can not be use for other jobs such as publication, brochures, etc.

[Beagle]

But what about those who do not give me their contact (like guests or members who do want their name on the net), someone should at least take over the rights. I think that in such case, the 2nd statement should be acceptable?

It might be acceptable (but check your wording with an attorney), if you have that spelled out in the request for submissions -- that unidentified submissions will become the property of the site/forum/site owner. Otherwise, I'd say you'd be on pretty shaky ground in just "taking over" the copyright.

The contributor giving you permission to use the photo in your project isn't the same thing as agreeing to hand over the copyright to you. The copyright isn't hanging out there in a void; the contributor still holds it, unless that person has deliberately passed it on to you. If they do agree to transfer copyright, that would mean if they ever wanted to publish "their" photo elsewhere, they'd have to get permission from you (I deal with this quite regularly in regard to illustrations in medical journals). Is that really what you want?

How about a statement that each photo's copyright remains with the original copyright holder (just as a reminder of what's already the case)?

[edited by: Beagle at 7:09 pm (utc) on Sep. 26, 2005]

[Sanenet]

Surely a better solution would be an explicit disclaimer, on a page by itself, in which you explain that you will post their picture on a public site, and that the copyright holder gives their permission for this to happen?

Quite apart from anything else, I shudder to think of the legal shenanigans should somebody, say, upload the Microsoft logo to your site and informs the Microsoft legal team that you're claiming their copyright ;)

[tomda]

Some food for though!
Thank you all for your great input. I will do some modifications and will report back soon.

Beagle: See with my attorney? I am not a professional webmaster and it is a non commercial website, so I do not have attorney!

Sansenet: Then is this case I would call an attorney ;)

[Beagle]

Beagle: See with my attorney? I am not a professional webmaster and it is a non commercial website, so I do not have attorney!

Same here -- That's why I have it stated very clearly on my site that the copyright of any submitted material remains with the original copyright holder. I'm not messin' with that! ;-)

[rogerd]

Be certain to allow for the HIGH probability that people will post images that are the copyrighted property of others. I'd add some wording that says submissions are the responsibility of the person who uploads them, and provide contact info and directions for someone to contact you if they think copyrighted images have been improperly posted to your site. You can't eliminate the possibility of a lawsuit, but you can minimize it and also establish your good faith in the process.

For legal wording, you should really contact an attorney in your legal jurisdiction; if you simply can't afford one, visit similar sites to get ideas for wording your terms.

To stay out of court, be open, be honest, and respond promptly if someone reports a problem.