Intellectual property – photographic rights

The scientific, literary and artistic works that are created in Norway is protected according to the copyright act, which is a law to protect intellectual achievements.  An intellectual achievements is a product of independent creative effort. Such a product could be a creative photo that reflects independent work. This makes the photo an intellectual achievement. The creator of an intellectual achievement has copyright to the work, and the copyright is universal. The copyright act secures the creator exclusive rights to the work, and it is the creator of the work that is the author. There may be one or more authors of the same work. The copyright secures profit to the author for the effort.

Copyright

To state who is the author of a work, the copyright symbol ©, name and year may be printed on the product. The copyright symbol for  a work is described in the Universal Copyright Convention, and the convention gives protection for photographic, artistic and literary works. This convention is not very specific on the protection. As a result of an increasing approval of the Berne Convention lately, Norway together with most other countries has approved this convention. The Berne Convention emphasizes that it is not necessary for a photo to have the © symbol to be protected. The Berne Convention also has a Principe of national treatment, so that other country of the union provides the same protection for foreign citizens. Norway may, as a result of this, have secured a minimum of protection for the authors, through this convention.

Photographic pictures and works

The copyright act distinguishes between photographic pictures and photographic works. Photographic works have what is called ”verkshøyde”. This means that the photo must be characterized by the photographs individual creative effort. The photo must have a certain ”artistic value”. It is not enough to have made a technical perfect or beautiful picture.

”The certain aspects of a photo that reflects an individual creative effort makes the photo a photographic work, and therefore an intellectual achievement. In other words: it is how the motive is reproduced that is important. [...] What is reproduced, the motive, is not protected; the protection is for the reproduction of the motive, the result.» (Eirik Holmøyvik - Verkshøgdevurderinga for fotografi. S. 96, translated from Norwegian).

                    Photo: lanuiop                          Some rights reserved

«This is a photo that we surely can classify as a photographic work. The photo is manipulated (here is the original) and the author has done what must be defined as a creative effort» (Digitalfoto.hib.no translated from Norwegian)

Photographic pictures are protected by the copyright act §43a even if they don't have a status as a photographic work.  These photographic pictures are protected for a shorter period than the photographic works. Photographic pictures are protected during the lifetime of the photographer and 15 years after the year of death, but yet always 50 years from the year the picture was taken, while photographic works are protected 70 years after the death of the author. A photo may not be published or copied without the consent of the photographer or the one that the photographer has transferred his/hers economic rights to. Normally this is done for payment, so that it can be published. 

In addition to the economic rights the photographer has for the photo, the photographer also has moral rights. That is the right of attribution and the right of integrity that means that it is not allowed to publish photos in a way that is offensive to the photographer. The photographer has exclusive rights for distributing  and  presentation of the pictures for the public. On a web page with several nature pictures from the same author, Frode Holthe, one of my own photos have been published. Text under the photo refers to me with full name. My moral rights has been safeguarded, and in this occasion I was asked for permission for publishing and to be named under the picture. 

                                                         "Tomma fra ferga

                                             Fotograf Ida Linett Olsen 2006".

If pictures are to be published for example on the internet, the photographer must agree before the publishing. Simultaneously it is important that, if the photo contains persons, they also must agree to the publishing. This agreement has not always been complied, and several photos have been published for the public, without the consent of both the photographer and the persons pictured. It is therefore clear that if a person in a photo has disagreed, the publishing of a photo is illegal. This is determined by unstatutory rules for protection in the copyright act § 45c. This states that it is the person pictured that has the rights for further use of the photo. On the other hand there are several exceptions that makes agreement from persons in photos unnecessary. This may be crowds of people, torchlight processions, events of public interest or if the picture is used as in the copyright act § 23 third part or § 27 second part.

Publishing of own photos

There are many laws and rules that must be considered concerning photographic pictures and photographic works. As a photographer one has to take care of the copyright for the photo, but one must also consider the persons pictured and their agreement, before publishing. When publishing own pictures the main rule is that pictures of objects and landscapes are free to publish, while when publishing persons has to be considered carefully. Copyright for photographic pictures and works can be achieved in various ways, and if there are photos that one would like to share with others, but with restrictions, a closer look at this film about copyright from flickr.com should be interesting.  

At flickr.com you can publish photos and at the same time get a license that lets you determine how the photos may be used by others and what sort of copyright you want. Others may copy, distribute and use the photos in various ways. For example one license gives the photographer credit by making the user state the photographer as the author. Read more about the different licenses here. 

My photos - Some Rights Reserved

                                        Photo: Ida Linett            Some Rights Reserved

This photo has the license  Attribution Creative Commons. This means that others may alter and create what they want on the photo, as long as they states that it is me that has made the original. This license is chosen because it is a photo that I have altered myself, and it may be a  base for others to create various aesthetic expressions. 

                                              Photo: Ida Linett       Some Rights Reserved   

                               

This is a photo that I have chosen to publish with the license  Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons at flickr.com. I have chosen this license because it is a personal photo of my little sister that I don't want others to alter. I have received agreement from our mother to publish the photo. I allow others to download the photo, share it with others as long as I get credits. Others are not allowed to alter the photo or use it in commercials for example.