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Sam's Club Won't Print w/o a Release?

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Wanchese

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A customer of mine went to Sam's Club for a couple of enlargements. They told him they needed a release from the shooter before they could print.

Huh? Anyone have an idea of what kind of release they want?
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You Will Never Walk Alone
 
It's not just Sams Club, this has been happening for a looooong time in Walmart and other locations. They are covering their buts for lawsuits and people that are printing copyright photos without the photogs permission.

I feel if you have the file, you probably have the pros permission.

I went there about a couple of months ago to make baby announcements for a relative and when I went to pay and pickup, they told me I needed a release as the pictures looked 'pro'. I told them thank you - I was the photographer who took the pictures. She made me sign some form that basically said they were my files and that I took responsibility for making them - something like that, I didn't really take the time to read the whole thing, it's to protect them, not us.

I give my clients a form letter when that's included in the package that says I give them the rights or permissions to make reprints. I have not heard from any clients that this has not been acceptable to any labs as of yet.

I believe on-line labs - it's just a free for all, no questions asked.

suse
 
Yes, they are looking for permission from the Photographer to reproduce their work.

If you are providing your client's with CDs of full resolution files for them to print at will, you should provide them with a printed "permission slip" that clearly provides them the right to reproduce your work for their personal use.

sean
 
We do not provide a copyright release - we supply a License to Print for the person's own personal use only.

We provide 5 copies of the license since several local printers want to keep a copy of the license on file for at least a year - just in case the photographer comes back to complain about the printing. They then can produce the proof that they had written persmission from the copyright holder to print the images.

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http://www.almariphoto.net

 
you do not have to be a pro to have a copyright on your photo. by law any and all photographs are copyrighted and the owner of the neg or file must give permission to print. that is why they have the copyright law on the screen when you first start the order.
 
Always good to educate or refresh your clients regarding reprint rights.

Any that end up with files, I direct to a couple of PRO labs in town, though they never go there.
 
The typical "Send me a picture" type snaps amongst family and friends seldom results in a legal battle. I'd expect there is nothing large (as in vulnerable) processors and printers would rather do than have a click box that relieves them of any liability for what some customer does at their kiosks or over their net presences.
 
Thanks all for the feedback! I have been sending clients to Wal Mart for a couple of years now and never had a problem. Nice to see that our litigious society has finally wrought some protections for us.
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You Will Never Walk Alone
 
Wanchese said:
A customer of mine went to Sam's Club for a couple of enlargements. They told him they needed a release from the shooter before they could print.

Huh? Anyone have an idea of what kind of release they want?
--
You Will Never Walk Alone
Click to expand...
Right to reproduce images release. They do this to protect pros from clients who take proofs and try to get prints done from those.
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Skip M
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com
http://www.pbase.com/skipm
http://skipm.smugmug.com/
'Living in the heart of a dream, in the Promised Land!'
John Stewart
 
Wanchese said:
Thanks all for the feedback! I have been sending clients to Wal Mart for a couple of years now and never had a problem. Nice to see that our litigious society has finally wrought some protections for us.
--
You Will Never Walk Alone
Click to expand...
Sam's Club and Costco seem to be far more rigid about this than WalMart and Target. It's odd, because Sam's Club and WalMart are, of course, the same corporation, and should have the same policies.
--
Skip M
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com
http://www.pbase.com/skipm
http://skipm.smugmug.com/
'Living in the heart of a dream, in the Promised Land!'
John Stewart
 
Professional photographers won a lawsuit seeking damages from labs who were printing their work. The courts ruled that professional photographers can sue the lab/owners if they find out their copyright was infringed.

Retailers now have a form in which the customer must obtain the rights from the photographer. If the photographer is dead or there is no way to contact the photographer, the customer must sign and accept legal consquences if the photographer finds out and starts a lawsuit.

If I find a photograph or any image files that are printed without the copyrights owners permission, I try to contact that photographer. I have done this when clients try to copy print team photos that you can see the photographers logo on the print.

Sadly, most lab owners do not follow the professionalism I do. I do it because I do not want someone copying my work without properly paying for the right to do so.
 
A license allows the client to get copies of their photos printed.

I'm pretty impressed with how some of the printers identify pro work. I had work that was just 10MP, taken using available light only (venue restrictions), that was refused by Target until the client returned home for her release I had given her. There was no special lighting, on-stage performances, pixel resolution, or styling that would have cued "pro" work, and yet they still caught it.

P.S. One good place to put the release is as a PDF right on the CD or DVD on which the images are delivered.
 
Warning, if you cannot take a joke, stop reading now...

Perhaps this post is just your way of bragging that your shots are so great that Sam's Club surely thought they must have been stolen by a PRO.
In that case, I got a comic-strip for you. It's an oldie, but a goodie

 
Great idea including a release on a DVD/CD, but I only deliver electronically. This is exempt from taxation in the once was Golden State.
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You Will Never Walk Alone
 
I am all for supporting IP rights, but tell me, how do these labs magically determine which photos that clients wish to print are bootlegged pro photos, and which are taken by the clients themselves?

Some cases are clear - watermarked images for instance, and the client does not have a printing release - nice and straightforward. The lab might be considered negligent for not inquiring about IP rights before reproducing the image.

But what about a CD of data files to be printed where they are all fantastic photos, without watermarks or other ID claiming IP rights are held by other than the person ordering prints?

Are the labs going to administer a photography test on the spot to deduce if the prospective client is a good photographer?

This is a bad law if it levies ultimate responsibility solely on the labs.
 
Ha! God one!
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You Will Never Walk Alone
 
I mean, do they have a list of nationally registered pros and their signatures? Why can't the client take it home and print out a form w/grandpa's signature? What a meaningless restriction!
 
Suppose you were trying to print your own photos. Could you write up a form on the spot? Or would you need to get your mom to sign it?
 
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