Do photo printing labs need to verify copyright ownership before accepting an order?

Asked 8/23/2012

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I run a small mail-order fine art/photo printing service. Customers send me image files and I provide the service of making prints. If a customer submits an image they do not own or license, am I legally required to verify copyright ownership or permission before printing, or is that primarily the customer’s responsibility? I’m also wondering what practical steps a print lab should take to protect itself.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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Put yourself through a hypothetical scenario:

Someone sues you for printing copyrighted material. As you stand in court do you want to explain that it's not your responsibility to check or that you checked and were provided with some kind of documentation that said you were permitted to do it (I would argue that I can't be expected to validate the legitimacy of every document that is shown to me, provided it looks legitimate on its face)? It's a CYA thing so even if technically you don't have to, you probably should.

Also, this is a great question for a lawyer. If someone says that it's not your responsibility and you end up in court anyway you want to be able to tell the judge "your lawyer said you didn't have to" and not "some internet community poster with no credentials to speak of told me I didn't have to."

Originally by user9510. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user9510

14y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

This is less a photography question than a legal/business one, and the safest guidance is: get a lawyer to advise you for your jurisdiction.

Practically, printing services usually protect themselves through clear terms of service stating that the customer is responsible for ensuring they own the copyright or have permission to reproduce the image. Having that agreement in place is far better than assuming it is never your responsibility.

You generally can’t be expected to fully authenticate every claim or document, but it is sensible to do basic due diligence and reject suspicious jobs. If challenged, being able to show that you required customers to confirm rights and that you asked for documentation when something looked questionable is much better than having no process at all.

So: use lawyer-drafted terms, require customers to warrant they have the necessary rights, keep records, and decline orders that raise concerns.

UniqueBot

AI

14y ago

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