The Photo of a famous actress (copyright law/photographic work/camera)
The Photo of a famous actress (copyright law/photographic work/camera)
Li Dongtao
Description: camera ≠ author.
A. The case
They say a Photo is worth a thousand words or less[1]
This is a case about “PHOTO”.
The plaintiff is a photographer.
The defendant is a newspaper.
In May 1997, the plaintiff took a photo of a famous actress, of cause with her permission, caught her of guard, not just of beauty, but also full of vitality.
This photo was published it in a film magazine two months later. The author of the photo was identified as the plaintiff himself.
In May 1998, the defendant published an article on the actress and included this photo, but the photographer was not credited.
The plaintiff sued the defendant for copyright infringement.
The defendant argued that copyright infringement was not established because the photo was made out of a camera and not a copyrightable work.
B. Analysis
The copyright infringement is established. Because:
a. it was the photographer, the plaintiff, to choose the best angle, the light, the focus, the background and the right juncture for taking a photo of the famous actress, a camera couldn’t do this job independently, so the plaintiff is the author and should be entitled to the copyright of the photo;
b. without the plaintiff’s permission, the defendant couldn’t use the photo in its newspaper.
In short, worth a thousand words, worth copyright protection.
[1] Photo versus Flesh! POEM by Evans E Bradley at www.poetry.com/poem/98749/photo-versus-flesh!
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