Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Florida

Previously I was a full-time salaried employee of a real estate "team" in which I photographed houses for use in listings. I wanted to put together a website with some of my best photos to promote myself and was told to take the photos down because they belonged to the team and I did not have permission to use them. My question is, who owns the photos? The team? The listing agent? or me?


Asked on 1/08/13, 4:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nancy Delain Delain Law Office, PLLC

The photos may well be deemed a so-called "work made for hire" under the copyright laws of the USA. You took them as a normal part of in your regular employment, and the photos were used for the advancement of your employer's sales efforts. If that's the case, the hiring entity owns the copyrights in the photos.

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Answered on 1/08/13, 8:51 pm


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