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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Freelance Taken Seriously
Paul Meyer, Photographer
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Spring Creek | NV | USA | Posted: 10:50 AM on 05.12.10 |
->> I had an email yesterday from a new "potential" customer. Simply read, I need the image off the poster for graduation announcement cards. To cut a long story short, I shoot alot of MX, local and regional. Galleries are created off my website, people buy, etc, etc.
The proprietors of a local track asked me to create a poster for a 1000 print run for thier series (which at this date, is coming to a close). My potential customer, recognized her son on the poster and contacted me to see if she could get the original image. Mind you, I was not the first point of contact!
As the story was unveiled to me in a phone call last night, the customer actually got the poster to an online vendor (i'm assuming via scan), and was told by the online vendor they couldn't remove, clone, pattern stamp, erase or whichever method they attempted, the layer from the poster to reveal the underlying image (this online vendor is known to all, but I'm reluctant to say, incase I voilate forum rules or similar). I politely told my customer that she and her chosen vendor were entering copyright infringement waters and she was genuinely apologetic, but the vendor, thats a different opinion, for this poster was clearly not the design of my client and they both seemingly have no concept of reproduction or licensing notices.
If all else fails, go to the source!
It is seemingly an assumption by some that, just because you turn up to an event, shoot the event, upload a gallery online for public viewing, that any image the public want, they expect for free or bypass all copyright notices and do what they feel with an image, even though there is a price list and contact information staring them in the face. It's amazing.
Online vendors are still willing to run this litigation gauntlet.
This is not a rant or complaint or legal help request, it's just a story from a freelance nobody, who I am sure I am not alone. I actually find the story comical, because at the end of the day, I will get the sale, announcement design and margin on print production after all, and to this customer realizing that even though I am a freelancer, my time and effort has a $$$ attached to it. |
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Jack Howard, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Central Jersey | NJ | USA | Posted: 11:54 AM on 05.12.10 |
->> Paul, I've got a question to ask you this question of you after reading your statement:
1) Does the participant contract language for this race series include a commercial release clause in order to participate?
Or
2) Do you or the track have a signed model release for the rider used in the poster to promote the race series?
Just a question, as it isn't clear in your original post. |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 12:47 PM on 05.12.10 |
->> Paul-
I have no idea what you're trying to say or ask. Could you rewrite and post it again? |
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Thomas E. Witte, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Cincinnati | OH | USA | Posted: 12:53 PM on 05.12.10 |
->> I thought you were going to go a different way with this.
Very recently I lost out on a bid because I was "taking this way to seriously". My infringement? Asking precisely what the images were going to be used for and granting them restricted rights on an a la carte basis. |
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Paul Meyer, Photographer
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Spring Creek | NV | USA | Posted: 1:12 PM on 05.12.10 |
->> Hi Jack,
I have a attached the paragraph of the prorietors waiver that I had written and have included for all events at this track.
"By signing this document, I grant a model release to our sanctioned photographer, to use any images or video, from this property or taken of me on this property, to be made available for public sale, via Meyer Media Design, or commercial use, for promotional purposes relating to ....................... (Proprietor/owner/governing body/or similar).
□ I accept the above paragraph and approve a model release
□ I reject the above paragraph, please do not take images of me
"
Hope this clears your question up.
Israel, I thought it was pretty straight forward. But in a nutshell, a patron of this event took a poster I created off a wall, scanned it to an online vendor and asked them to remove a photoshop layer so they could attach the image to a graduation announcement. The vendor attempted to do this and couldn't. No question involved, just a recent story I thought I'd share. |
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Jack Howard, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Central Jersey | NJ | USA | Posted: 1:40 PM on 05.12.10 |
| ->> Way cool, Paul :) |
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