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Copyright – can I or can’t I ???????
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This is a question for the more legally verse amongst us. I was wondering if i was breaking any copyright laws if i was photographing products? By this I mean for instance, if i was using a model photograph which i have a release for, and in the shot there was a bottle of expensive perfume. Like a type of advertising poster. Something like you would see for the likes of Chanel perfume of coca cola drinks or really any product. Anyone know the legal standpoint for this type of image?
I think you may be breaking copyright but I’m not sure. I know I heard it discussed once but cant remember the outcome.
But I have a feeling the product manufacturer/designer has copyright on their product which comes into play before you take your shot. Again I may be wrong.Not quite sure on this myself. There are lots of factors to consider such as
? Is it an editorial or a commercial shot?
? How significant is the product in the shot?
? Is the product being shown in a negative or a positive light?…and a whole load more I can’t think of right now.
But when you think about it, major brands pay a lot of money to have their products featured in Hollywood blockbusters!
I suppose at a very basic level you are breaching copyright but I also suspect it’s really far more complex than that. Maybe the best thing to do is to check with the company in question as to whether or not they would have an issue with it (get it in writing though!).
Thanks Gerry and Thorsten for your input. It was just something I had been thinking of. Maybe better to leave it than end up with a hot potatoe on my hands. There was a host of things I had considered but I’ll just have to let them go……..
Thanks once again………….Derek,
if they are for your own use only or as I often do with products, use them for trying new ideas or “practise”, and they will hardly see the light of day outside your premises then I would not see a problem but if you were to publish them …..that could be different. I suppose it all depends on the end usage.Thanks Gerry, idealy what I was aiming for was a type of product photography, I suppose they would be for own use. Do you think displaying them on a web site would constitute publication?
Lets say for argument sake, I take an image of a female model wearing an expensive designer pair of glasses/sunglasses. Close up, prob head and shoulders, the name can be quite clearly seen on the leg of the glasses. Ultimatly I want to display it on my studio wall and web site. I know the studio wall would be ok as not everyone will see it. certinally not the designer anyway. The web i suspect could be different……..
DerekLaverty wrote:
Thanks Gerry, idealy what I was aiming for was a type of product photography, I suppose they would be for own use. Do you think displaying them on a web site would constitute publication?
Lets say for argument sake, I take an image of a female model wearing an expensive designer pair of glasses/sunglasses. Close up, prob head and shoulders, the name can be quite clearly seen on the leg of the glasses. Ultimatly I want to display it on my studio wall and web site. I know the studio wall would be ok as not everyone will see it. certinally not the designer anyway. The web i suspect could be different……..
Derek,
now I certainly have done that…….a model wearing her own designer stuff and I cant see a problem there. What I was thinking of was say a model holding, say, a bottle of a particular brandy or whiskey and showing the label in a kind of display way. Then it could be said you were portraying the product rather than the model but where the model is wearing, say, Levis jeans and the big label is showing then that, in my opinion, is different. She just happend to be wearing them and if Levis have a problem then they must surely take some responsability for displaying their tags on products and you have not gone out to deliberatly to use their logo/Design/copyright.Dont know it thats worth anything or not.
okay, thanks Gerry once again for your input. I’ll bear it in mind and tread carefully. We’ll see how it goes.
Thanks all. :D
I have just seen a fantastic image posted else where on the forum by Alison Boland. This is the type of thing I was talking about…… https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=2170
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