In the U.S., who owns the copyright to a photo someone takes of me?

Asked 7/21/2012

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If another person takes a photograph of me, do I own any rights to that image, or does the photographer own the copyright? I'm mainly asking about U.S. law, but I'm also interested in how privacy or publicity rights might affect whether the photo can be published or used commercially.

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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This varies widely based on jurisdiction, and there are widespread misconceptions about it. The photographer is normally the sole owner of the copyright in the photograph. However, local personality rights (aka right of publicity) may limit the use of an image without permission of the subject. Personality rights vary from nation to nation and even within a nation; sometimes all publication is limited, sometimes all commercial use is limited, sometimes any marketing or promotional use, sometimes only the false implication of an endorsement is limited (as in Canada or Australia), and some places recognize no such right at all (e.g. all US states not listed in the Wikipedia article, such as Oregon). Whether the picture was taken in a place with a reasonable expectation of privacy also may or may not figure into local law.

Country specific consent requirements on Wikimedia Commons summarizes consent requirements for public photos in a limited set of nations. Here's a rough summary of that page:

  • Some countries where it is illegal to publish (even just on your Facebook page) a picture of a person taken in a public place without permission: Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland

  • Some countries where noncommercial publication without permission is permitted: Austria, China, India, Netherlands, United States

  • Some jurisdictions where commercial use without permission is permitted: Netherlands, most US states

In short, as a photographer, you either need to be thorough about acquiring permission, be very careful to research applicable law in your jurisdiction and not exceed the permitted uses, or just take a chance that the person will not have the means and interest to sue you.

One exception: if the photographer is working under a contract that explicitly transfers copyright to the subject, or is being paid by the subject and the work qualifies as a "work for hire," then that party assumes copyright and has full control over its use, and the photographer must license it from them even to use it in their portfolio. (Note that not all work done for money qualifies as work for hire.) If you are a subject hiring someone to photograph you and concerned about misuse, you should consider an explicit contractual clause that limits use without your permission.

Edit now that the OP has added their jurisdiction: personality rights in Washington state, USA are governed by WA ST 63.60.040. If the person's likeness is used without permission to imply an endorsement of a good or service, whether or not for profit, it may be an infringement. There are fair use exceptions. Personality rights are licensable and transferable, and persist even after death for a period of 10 or 75 years, depending on whether the person is an "individual" or a "personality." See the statute for more.

Originally by user10128. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user10128

14y ago

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In general, the photographer owns the copyright to a photo they take, not the subject of the photo. So if someone photographs you, they normally control the copyright unless there was an agreement transferring it.

That said, copyright ownership is separate from privacy and publicity rights. Even if the photographer owns the photo, their ability to publish or use it may be limited by local law depending on:

  • whether the photo was taken in a place where you had a reasonable expectation of privacy
  • whether the use is commercial, promotional, or implies your endorsement
  • the specific state or country’s publicity/privacy laws

In the U.S., these personality/publicity rights vary by state. Some states recognize stronger protections than others, while some may offer little or none. A photo taken in public is generally treated differently from one taken in a private setting.

So the short version is: the photographer usually owns the copyright, but that does not always mean they can use the image however they want.

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14y ago

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