Posted by Conor Risch on Friday August 11, 2017 | Business, Copyright/Legal
The co-founder and CEO of Unsplash, the photo-sharing platform that asks contributing photographers to grant free licenses to their images, attempted to justify the company’s terms of use in a blog post written last week. The post follows outrage by professional photographers, who blasted the company on social media. Unsplash’s terms are terrible for photographers,... More ›
Posted by Holly Hughes on Wednesday August 9, 2017 | Copyright/Legal
Bill Frakes, the award-winning Sports Illustrated photographer, will not return to his position as adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications, after university administrators concluded he violated its policy prohibiting sexual harassment and “created a hostile environment” for a female student. University spokesperson Steve Smith told PDN last week,... More ›
Posted by David Walker on Monday August 7, 2017 | Copyright/Legal
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and photographer David Slater have told a federal court in San Francisco that they are on the verge of settling PETA’s copyright infringement claim over the infamous monkey selfie. The two parties, along with Blurb, Inc., a co-defendant with Slater, have asked the US Court of Appeals... More ›
Posted by David Walker on Friday July 14, 2017 | Copyright/Legal
The joke is over in the monkey selfie case. Photographer David Slater, who is defending himself against PETA’s copyright infringement claim on behalf of a monkey, has told the Telegraph newspaper that the lawsuit has left him penniless. He is considering giving up his career as a wildlife photographer to become a tennis coach or... More ›
Posted by David Walker on Thursday July 13, 2017 | Copyright/Legal
Judges fired tough questions yesterday at a PETA lawyer arguing a copyright appeal on behalf of a monkey in the case of Naruto v. David Slater. The now famous “monkey selfie” case pits an Indonesian macaque monkey named Naruto against photographer David Slater. In 2011, Naruto picked up Slater’s unattended camera and shot a selfie.... More ›
Posted by Conor Risch on Thursday June 29, 2017 | Copyright/Legal
Photojournalists are now taking new measures to protect their data and their sources in the event of hacking, surveillance or seizure of their digital devices by border patrols, intelligence agencies or other, non-state actors. In PDN’s June issue we asked photojournalists how they secure their laptops, phones and cameras. The Freedom of the Press Foundation... More ›
Posted by David Walker on Monday June 5, 2017 | Copyright/Legal
Danny Clinch filed suit in federal court in New York June 2, alleging multiple copyright infringements of two of his photographs of late rap artist Tupac Shakur. The photographs were allegedly reprinted and distributed on T-shirts without permission. Clinch, a noted music photographer, names five defendants, including an agent for Shakur’s estate, two merchandise manufacturers,... More ›
Posted by Conor Risch on Friday May 19, 2017 | Copyright/Legal
Missoula, Montana-based photographer Erika Peterman is suing The Republican National Committee (RNC) for willful copyright infringement. The suit, filed in Montana District Court earlier this week, alleges the RNC used without permission a Peterman photograph of Rob Quist, the Democratic candidate in a special election to fill Montana’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.... More ›
Posted by David Walker on Monday May 15, 2017 | Copyright/Legal
A federal jury in Maryland has awarded $900,000 in actual damages to an Oregon-based plant retailer for its claims against a competitor over unauthorized use of two dozen copyrighted images. The jury verdict, delivered last week, also included a $300,000 statutory damages award, but the plaintiff may elect one jury award or the other (not... More ›
Posted by Conor Risch on Friday April 28, 2017 | Copyright/Legal
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the government’s consumer protection agency, says it sent warning letters to 90 Instagram users and marketers, reminding them that sponsored Instagram posts must be clearly identified as sponsored or paid content. The FTC did not release the identities of the Instagram users it warned, but said they included “celebrities, athletes... More ›
