Copyright of photography
A lot of people who don’t work in the creative world don’t understand the concept of copyright and licensing. These are not terms or rather rules that the corporate world live by, and so copyright and licensing is foreign to them and they are not aware that it is the only thing that protects the work of artists, musicians, journalists and even photographers.
The work of creative people is always valuable even after many years it was produced and interestingly, the more it is used the more costly it becomes. This is the only way creative people get to make an income so if their work is used without their permission or knowledge then they will not get any compensation for the work.
So what exactly is this copyright?
According to plagiarism today; Copyright is a law that gives a person ownership over the things they create. It could be it a painting, a photograph, a poem or a novel. The person who creates such work, owns it. This ownership comes with some rights that the owner of the work have exclusively. Those rights include:
- The right to reproduce the work
- To prepare derivative works
- To distribute copies
- To perform the work
- And to display the work publicly
If you don’t own the work then you don’t have the right to distribute or use the work. What this mean is that it is against the law to use the photos on in this site without my written consent.
Who owns the photos after they have been taken?
According to the Copyright Act, photos belong to the photographer from the moment they are taken. Even if they haven’t been registered to the copyright office, they are still the intellectual property of the photographer. You can’t use the photos unless you are given permission in writing by the photographer.
If you take photos of my house and I pay for them. Don’t they belong to me?
Unfortunately no, they don’t belong to you unless you have signed an agreement with the photographer that transfers all the rights to you. Keep in mind the photos are intellectual property of the photographer so you need permission to use them because they are protected by the copyright act.
How can I legally use the photos as an agent?
Firstly you have to get permission from the photographer. The photographer has to transfer all the rights to you by giving you a license to use the photos. Remember all the photos that are taken are the photographer’s intellectual property.
Wait, what is a license now?
A license is a legal document that the photographer gives to you allowing you to use their photos for benefit of your business. This license doesn’t allow you to pass the photos to your customers unless you get permission from the photographer, but it does allow you to use the photos in the marketing of that property. After all, that’s why you hired the photographer.
How much does a license for a photograph cost?
There is no set amount for the license, since the price depends on the type of photos you need, when you need them, where you are going to use them and for how long you need to use them.
What kind of license do provide for residential real estate photography?
The residential or real estate license I supply will allow you to use the photos however you need to and for all your business purposes for a whole year. It will allow you to use all material including print and online photos.
What kind of license do YOU provide for commercial real estate photography?
The commercial photography license is more pricy than the real estate license but I promise that you are paying for quality and this license also comes with a bulk discount for your purchases. This discount will depend on the type of photos you need, where they should be taken and how many you need. Remember to always choose quality over quantity.
Here is a guideline of how you can use the photos
