Can I license and charge for a cosplay photo a company wants to use on a calendar?
Asked 1/5/2020
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I photographed cosplayers at Comiket 97 in Tokyo and posted the images on Twitter. A company representative later contacted me asking to use one photo of their professional cosplayer/employee in a calendar. Do I own the photo and can I charge for that use? I’m also unsure how Japanese law affects portraits taken at a public event, especially with cosplay characters that may involve trademark or copyright issues.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
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According to most jurisdictions, you own the copyright on the images you took. Use of that copyright for publishing photographs might however be hampered by personality rights of the cosplayers and copyrights/trademarks of the respective characters, so it is not clear that you could make a lot of use of that copyright.
I'd be inclined to grant the cosplayer the requested publication rights in return for their permission ("model release") to use the image in your public portfolio. That will still not cover any character copyright/trademark so I'd likely avoid using it for anything directly connected to money making, like a picture book or a press publication. At least not without talking to an attorney.
Originally by user88826. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user88826
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
In general, the photographer usually owns the copyright to images they take. However, that does not automatically mean you can freely publish or commercially license the photo without other permissions.
Because this was in Japan, portrait/privacy rights may matter even for photos taken in public, especially when one person is clearly the subject. On top of that, cosplay can introduce character copyright/trademark issues, which may limit commercial use by either side.
So the practical answer is: you may own the photo, but your ability to exploit it commercially could be restricted. If you want to charge money or negotiate a formal commercial license, the safest route is to consult an IP lawyer familiar with Japanese law.
A reasonable low-risk option is to grant the requested use in writing in exchange for clear permission/model release from the cosplayer or company for your own portfolio use. Keep the agreement specific about what they may use the image for. Avoid broader commercial uses unless you’ve confirmed the legal position.
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