Photographers insurance vital in copyright wrangles

It seems to us that photographers are starting to take their work more seriously than ever before and it’s great to see.  They’re no longer happy to sit back and see people take their pictures and use them without their permission.   We’re seeing professional photographers get braver, taking on the likes of twitter and Tesco to argue their point.  And why shouldn’t they? In no other profession would the stealing of work be tolerated.   There’s another example of a high profile case, just this month.  A Swiss photographer is alleging that Apple has used one of her registered photos in an ad campaign without having a proper license to do so.   Apparently Apple had said to the photographer that it would only use the photo for ‘comping’ (layout) purposes but in fact, it used the image in a commercial for a new product.  The photographer has now filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for New York Southern District Court.   We’ll be watching how the case progresses with interest.

If the global corporations can’t get it right, then it’s likely that many other businesses and individuals could be using your photos and be knowingly or unknowingly breaking copyright rules.   Some people still don’t realise they can’t take photos they’ve found on the internet and use them where they like.  If you’re a professional photographer and notice that anyone is taking your photographs without permission, call us for advice any time.