Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Florida

Copyright law and retouching photographs

I sometimes am requested to retouch photographs and

I do not know whether they have a copyright or not. The

photos are sometimes copies of originals or scanned

and emailed to me. Other times the prints just say

''professional paper''. How can I protect myself from

copyright infringement when I do not know who is

holding the copyright and how to contact them. I have

resorted to have my ''clients'' writing me a letter and

signing it stating that if any copyright infringement

occurs they accept all responsibility. Will this work? I

am very paranoid.


Asked on 1/09/03, 6:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Re: Copyright law and retouching photographs

On a practical level, you have very little to fear here. Even if a customer brings you a studio print and you produce an edited version in violation of the photographer's copyright, the customer plainly would be looking to use the edited copy for personal use. Thus, the photographer would have virtually no likelihood of ever discovering the violation. Your indemnity requirement should be more than adequate protection.

Best wishes,

LDWG

Read more
Answered on 1/10/03, 10:41 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Intellectual Property questions and answers in Florida