Legality of selling street photography as art

F2AS

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Recently I have been thinking about expanding by business into selling some of my travel photography. For example I have some nice images of New Orleans pre Katrina. Some of these are of very recognizable landmarks but some of them are of buildings that are occupied by small businesses or even private homes. I enjoy shooting this type of street scene/architecture photography and would like to try to market some of it without violating the rights of private owners. Seldom does any of my work include any recognizable people. I also have some nice rural landscapes which often includes barns or other buildings which are private property. Most of what I have done or would like to do is oriented to large cities.

Anyone doing this sort of thing or checked into the legal issues involved. Before I get very serious I would probably consult an attorney who specializes in copyright issues etc.
 
Well, the attorney will probably give the best advice. She or he is supposed to be trained and responsible. Might be expensive, though. Here it's free.

While the architect has rights in the building, those rights don't extend to being able to control the taking and sale of pictures in or visible from public places. Interiors is a different matter. Here's a good search term to Google up: "Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990"

Here's a place to look, as well as reading up on the Library of Congress copyriight website:

http://www.aepronet.org/pn/vol5-no2.html

Now, the images may very well contain trademarked or similarly protected signs, logos, advertising, etc. You do need to be aware of trademark but that isn't going to prevent taking or selling the pictures. Trademarks protect products and sources of products. You'll probably want to review those laws as well, mostly to see what you can't do. If you don't mimic a trademark or similar identifier or your products don't give the impression that your product is actually endorsed or produced by the trademark owner, it's unlikely to be a problem. For example, TransAmerica doesn't care if their pyramid is in your pictures - if you are selling pictures. Start selling insurance or financial products and get that pointy building in your ads, designs, logos, letterhead, etc., that could get nasty.

Check: Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995

There will be those who tell you that an individual has no privacy rights while they are in public. Not necessarily true. They retain their publicity rights. While the details vary from state to state, a person has the right to control the use of their own image and persona commercially. This doesn't mean their picture can't be sold (lots of ways it can be sold - news, art, etc.). It does mean that their image can't be used to endorse businesses, products, goods, services, etc. This is an area you should review carefully with your attorney because of the local variations. Nor can you disclose private facts, hold a person in false light, defame an individual, etc. Now typically, simple sale of an image that captured someone walking down the street doesn't do that. Context is important. New Orleans has some, uh, colorful entertainment establishments. A person walking down the street in front of a sleazy bar and you caption the image in a way that it suggests they are a customer of the bar, a prostitute, drug dealer, etc. That could be a problem.

These are just really basic sorts of general principles. You would want to be careful in applying any general principles to the specifics of your images and your applications. any thing you aren't pretty clear on, there are a number of websites prepared by attorneys that go into more detail and then, of course, discussions with your attorney if still unclear.
 
Now typically, simple sale of an image that captured someone
walking down the street doesn't do that. Context is important. New
Orleans has some, uh, colorful entertainment establishments. A
person walking down the street in front of a sleazy bar and you
caption the image in a way that it suggests they are a customer of
the bar, a prostitute, drug dealer, etc. That could be a problem.
I recall a test case we studied in college about a drunk photographed sleeping it off in a doorway showing up in the newspaper. Anyway, there was a lawsuit on behalf of the drunk for defamation. He lost because he was photographed in a public place doing something he'd actually done publicly. His name was not used, nor was he held up to ridicule by the paper. His privacy was not violated by the photographer, but by his own actions which were merely recorded by the photog. If I recall correctly, it was only because the caption was not geared toward the person, but a situation (widespread public drunkenness) upon which the news was reporting.

Had the news identified him, it would likely have been different. Had he only been napping innocently, but the photo captioned to make it seem as if he were a drunk, it would have been defamation and he'd have won the lawsuit.
--
jrbehm
http://www.jeffbehm.com
 
There is a rather famous photographer that shoots lots of "urban landscapes." He is pretty well known, and has published quite a few books featuring his work. His name is Stephen something. I can't remember his last name right now.

His work shows lots of businesses, business names, cars, and some people. If he sells it, I'm sure you could too. Of course, I'm no attorney, and I'd speak with one, but I'd think you'd have no real problems.
Jeff's advice, as usual, is right on, also. Good luck.
 
Thanks for all the great responses. I have a busy day today but I will set down this evening and look at all of the links provided. I appreciate everyone taking time to respond in such detail
 
Well, they have good lawyers!

I read recently that they are experimenting with software to automatically blur faces, so perhaps they are worried.
 
To what are you referring as a "blatant disregard for privacy"?

If you mean Google StreetView, they are only taking images that anyone could take. If you are walking along a public street, or even if you are on private property that can be easily seen from the public street, you have no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Perhaps as a corporation they do not have quite the same rights as an individual, but I can't see this as being one that would be denied a corporation. At least not until someone challanges it, and that may be the case. Hence my requestion for something citing your information.
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Chefziggy
http://www.pbase.com/chefziggy/lecream

 
As I understand it, if you are selling limited editions of under 200 numbered copies, and selling them as art, then you pretty much can shoot anything you want, provided no law was broken in taking the picture. These same images can also be collected into a book form, provided the purpose of the book is to showcase the art. The photos can also be used to advertise a showing of your art (gallery or museum), or to advertise the book. However, if you sell the photos as unnumbered posters, then you either need to be a "recognized artist" which seems to have no set legal definition, or have to have releases to use the photos, as posters (as opposed to numbered limited edition art prints) are considered commercial products.

I would recommend you check out the book The Law (in Plain English) for Photographers

http://www.allworth.com/The_Law_in_Plain_English_for_Photographers_p/1-58115-225-6.htm

as it covers a lot of these issues.

All of that said, it is very rare for photographers to get sued over using images for personal artistic purposes.

--
The goal is to overcome the deliberate nature of the process.
 
More good information, thanks. This starting to make a bit more sense. Most of my photography has been portrait/ wedding sports so I have never came up against this issue before.
 

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