Are Photographs Posted On the Internet Published?
Posted: October 17, 2012
© maxkabakov - Fotolia.com[/caption]In this new day and age of electronics and the internet, there continues to be a multitude of copyright, legal and rights questions and confusion. This may help shed some light on the issues surrounding whether an image is considered "published" when it's posted online.
© maxkabakov - Fotolia.com[/caption]In this new day and age of electronics and the internet, there continues to be a multitude of copyright, legal and rights questions and confusion. This may help shed some light on the issues surrounding whether an image is considered "published" when it's posted online.
Photographers have for years struggled with the question as to whether posting photographs on the web constitutes publication (check my old 2005 post on this issue). The answer is important so that photographers can accurately register their images by first separating them between published and unpublished. Fortunately, the court in Rogers v. The Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston, Inc., No. H-10-3741 (Aug. 15, 2012), provided some helpful analysis and information.
The Copyright Act defines “publication” as “the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication.” 17 U.S.C. § 101. But the Copyright Act doesn’t give any guidance as to how this definition applies to works on the Internet.
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Biz Tip Provided by Tony Bynum, Owner: Tony Bynum Photography
Biz Tip from Photo Attorney