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Thread: Copywrite Laws - Unusual situation

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    Default Copywrite Laws - Unusual situation

    I have an unusual situation. I have recently broken up with my fiance of 3 years. During that 3 years he has taken numerous pictures of me and my family. He is an amateur (wanna be professional) photographer. One of the pictures he has taken of me is a picture that I use on my website, business card, and profile pictures on various websites. I have received notice from him that he is going to have these pictures copywrited and I should immediately quite using them and remove any picture he has taken that is residing on my computer. My take on this, is that they are gifts and I can keep them. They weren't copywrited when I received them. Anyone know anything about this?

    I may have posted this in the wrong topic section.

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    In the US, the photographer has copyrights on the photo the minute it is snapped. So all the photos that were taken by him are copyrighted. Unless he has presented you with signed paperwork giving you those copyright, they are retained by him. He can demand that you remove the photos from all commercial use. If you do not do so, he can take you to court and sue for damages. The amount of damages will depend on if he has the photo formally copyrighted. If they are formally copyrighted, he can win thousands of dollars in the suit. You have 24 hours from the written notice to removed the images any websites.

    On the flip side, he cannot do anything commercially with the photos without a model release from you. He can keep the photos for his personnel use, but that is it.

    As for the photos on your computer, that would be a gray area. It could fall under the fair use clause.
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    Thanks for your reply. He sent me an email stating that he was in the process of having all his images copyrighted and that I was to remove any image that he had given me immediately. I think he's bluffing since he has sent me dozens of emails over the last two weeks and is cyber stalking me. But, I also don't want to have to fork over any money to him. But, he gave me these pictures, and he put them on my computer. It was a gift. Wouldn't the date of him receiving the copyright and the date that shows the image on my computer show that it was given to me before he had them copyrighted?

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    No - the photos had copyrights the instant that the photographs were taken. Photographer can apply for a formal copyright afterwards if they wish. However, they are copyrighted either way, the only difference in this case would be the amount of the award in the civil suit. Given the nature of the relationship, I suggest you get the photos off the websites and stop using the photos for any commercial use - TODAY. If he does follow through on the formal copyright, he can win thousands of dollars. I have read about cases reaching 6 figures per photo.
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    Thanks, I read somewhere that I had 24 hours after written notice, so I suppose the emails are written notice and I will take your advice and remove the images. I just hope I can remember everywhere I am using them. I know there is one website where you can put a profile image and it will use it on other sites, but I can't remember the name of it. Do you know?

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    On a sidenote, what a petty, chickensh*t thing to do.
    That's the kind of pettiness you would expect from college aged kids and teen agers.
    Not grown up adults.

    I'm just sayin'.

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    You're right, petty. It's not like he's going to make any money from the images I am using.

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    I'm just going to pipe in here to agree with what nealrm said. Your former BF owns the copyright and you should stop using the images. His "gift" of the images to you might constitute a royalty-free license to use the images, but if you lose that argument, the copyright law provides for statutory damages, so the owner of the the copyright is not required to show any financial injury in order to collect monetary damages.

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    I changed it on my website and social networks, and on Gravatar. But, not sure if I have found everywhere it is. I even ordered new business cards. I'm just glad I hadn't placed the order for my brochures yet because it also has my picture on them. What a pain this has been.

    Thanks for everyone's advise.
    Last edited by jamesray50; 03-13-2012 at 05:22 PM.

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    I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. What a joke of a man he must be.
    Just to clarify, nealrm, does the person clicking the picture have to be a licensed photographer or can anyone claim to be a photographer and use these copyright laws?

    My wife just took some photos of me for professional use, she used my camera, lol, can she claim something against me if we divorce?

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