release copyright to wedding photography?

[GuardianAngel]

Okay so my photographer is a scam artist. He has scammed many brides out of money and is filing for bankruptcy and is shutting down his shop this month!! He has told me he will sign me over the rights.. He gave me the cd but didn't sign over the rights. When and if I get a hold of him I need him to sign them over, what can I write stating that he gives me full use of all the images and takes away all his rights? Please I really need help asap!! He still owes me an album and enlargements that I'm NOT getting since he's going bankrupt but has offered to sign over the rights.. I just want something he can sign that is LEGIT! I paid him in full already and there's no use in suing at this point I just want the rights to my images. The police are involved and it's just getting messier and messier.. More about my photographer gone wrong can be read here.
http://www.topix.com/forum/source/nbc10/TE6TJQ8HIQ6MPLLL1/p12#lastPost

[saltyveruca]

Wait...he gave you a CD but never gave you a document that fully defined your rights (also known as a license) for printing and using the photos? That's strange.

Something like this would work:
Copyright to the work (including, without limitation, the right
to publish the work in whole or in part in any and all forms and media,
now or hereafter known) is hereby transferred to ______________, effective as of the date of this
agreement.

[GuardianAngel]

How would I write that? Just like you did? I typed this myself but doubt he'll release his full rights..

Date:
Date of wedding: August 29, 2008

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Jack C. Holton, I am the owner, photographer, and copyright holder of all images taken by Renaissance Photography/Weddings Unlimited. I release all rights of these images to (OUR NAMES).

I hereby grant (OUR NAMES) full copyrights to all images on this
DVD-R of their Wedding Photos and Proofs. The Disc contains 757 photographs.

If you should have any questions regarding the authenticity of this document or the terms herewith, please contact me at:

Email: JCHPhoto1@yahoo.com (JCHPhoto1@yahoo.com)

Sincerely,

x___________________

Jack C. Holton


Should I add or change anything? I'm so clueless and this is just such a huge mess :(

[sunflowersummer]

It might be a good idea to have someone witness the signing other than yourself, so he can't come back and say it was forged (I'm sure he won't given how much trouble he's in, but it can't hurt). Maybe also include a signature line for the witness?

I tried searching contracts on office online (if you use Microsoft Office) they have some documents that you could alter or borrow some ideas from:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/FX100595491033.aspx

Hope it helps!

[GuardianAngel]

Does this sound good?...


Date:
Date of wedding: August 29, 2008

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Jack C. Holton, I am the owner, photographer, and copyright holder of all images taken by Renaissance Photography/Weddings Unlimited. I release all rights of these images to Courtney and Christopher (lastname).

I hereby grant Courtney and Christopher (lastname) full copyrights to all images on this
DVD-R of their Wedding Photos and Proofs. The Disc contains 757 photographs.

Copyright to the work (including, without limitation, the right
to publish the work in whole or in part in any and all forms and media,
now or hereafter known) is hereby transferred to Courtney and Christopher (lastname), effective as of the date of this agreement.

If you should have any questions regarding the authenticity of this document or the terms herewith, please contact me at:

Email: JCHPhoto1@yahoo.com (JCHPhoto1@yahoo.com)

Sincerely,

x___________________

Photographer: Jack C. Holton

x ______________________

Witness: ___________________

[sunflowersummer]

Looks good!
I think you covered everything!
Good luck, hope it all works out for you!

[GuardianAngel]

Yeah :( the hard part is hoping he signs it.. or if I can even get a hold of him :worry:

[WebLady]

Here is a copy of a release I have done ...

COPYRIGHT RELEASE


This agreement is made into on Datebetween bride and groom, herein after referred to as “customer” and Photographer/Company, herein after referred to as “company”. This is the full and entire agreement and thus supersedes and previous written or verbal agreements.

Upon customer’s purchase of negatives (or CD or whatever format) from company, the company hereby grants customer “personal use” copyright.

“Personal use” copyright means that as long as customer has the negatives in their possession, they are free to take them anywhere they choose to have additional copies and/or derivative works made, whether from the print or from the negatives, they are free to do as they see fit with the images in their possesion.

This “personal use” copyright is granted to the customer only and cannot be transferred to anyone else without further expressed and written consent from the company.

The “personal use” copyright is limited to the above; the customer may not sell, offer to sell, publish, print or otherwise distribute any portion of any of these images in any other manor or for any other purpose than for personal use. Violation of such term could hold customer as well as any other involved parties liable to copyright infringement and company reserves the right for remuneration in the event of such a violation.

The company expressly retains all “public display” rights. This means that the company , and anyone acting with consent of the company, are free to use all or any portion of any image (printed or digital) currently in their possession for advertising or promotional use.

Payment and acceptance of the negatives implies that the customer understands and agrees to the terms of this copyright release agreement.

If there is every any question about the copyright to these negatives feel free to contact the company and/or the photographer.

Both parties sign and date below ...

[RevMatty]

If I may add on more little suggestion.....
Get it notarized!!!! Many banks offer it for free or at a small fee.
This way if he says he never gave you the rights or that the document is fake, the seal from the notary makes it a legal binding document, and in most courts will be upheld as such.

[ISPWP]

Transfer of actual copyright is a tricky area and I don't think you need to go there. What you need is something short, sweet, and simple that says the photographer gives you personal use of the photos. Something like this should be fine, assuming you can find the photographer and get him to sign it!

I do hereby declare and warrant that I (the photographer name), the copyright owner of the photos, have given permission and license to the customer (your name) to submit for processing or reproducing these photos. I hereby grant a nonexclusive license to (your name) to reproduce these photos for personal use only, and I represent that I have a legal right to grant such a license.

Sorry you're going through this. Good luck!

Joe Milton
International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers (ISPWP)

[Jacobs_Girl]

Also try checking the CD, from our Vegas elopement the copy right release was scanned and put on the CD as a picture file.

I hope everything works out, good luck!

[KristinGriffin]

As others have advised you, basically, you need a document that allows you rights for personal use of the photographs. When I transfer rights, I usually give a document along these lines:

Limited Copyright Release

I, Kristin Griffin, representing KRISTIN GRIFFIN PHOTOGRAPHY, transfer limited copyright ownership of the photographs, digital negatives and prints produced on (date) for (event) at (location) for (clients' names) hereafter referred to as THE CLIENT.

The following conditions apply to the images:
1. The digital CD-ROM or prints are the property of THE CLIENT for their personal use, and for the purpose of reproduction of said imagery for dispersal to relatives and friends. Images may be used on personal websites or email. An acknowledgement to the Photographer is requested and appreciated. Images may be printed for personal use.
2. THE CLIENT must obtain written permission from, and compensate KRISTIN GRIFFIN PHOTOGRAPHY prior to an event where THE CLIENT, THE CLIENT’s friends or relatives publish or sell the photographs for profit.

Signed: _____________________________________
(On behalf of Kristin Griffin Photography)

Date:________________________


It would definitely be helpful to have this signed by you, the photographer and a witness, as others have noted.

And having it notorized is a great idea as well. I'm almost certain Post Offices can do this, and I know I've had forms notorized at Mail Boxes, Etc. I think it cost me $3 last time I went - a small price to pay to make sure you have a document that will hold up!

Good luck, and I'm so sorry this has happened to you. It reflects so poorly on photographers, but not all of us are bad! If I can help at all, please don't hesitate to ask.

[Scott C]

Okay so my photographer is a scam artist. He has scammed many brides out of money and is filing for bankruptcy and is shutting down his shop this month!! He has told me he will sign me over the rights.. He gave me the cd but didn't sign over the rights. When and if I get a hold of him I need him to sign them over, what can I write stating that he gives me full use of all the images and takes away all his rights? Please I really need help asap!! He still owes me an album and enlargements that I'm NOT getting since he's going bankrupt but has offered to sign over the rights.. I just want something he can sign that is LEGIT! I paid him in full already and there's no use in suing at this point I just want the rights to my images. The police are involved and it's just getting messier and messier.. More about my photographer gone wrong can be read here.


Sorry to hear about your problem. My CPA was in a similar situation with his daughters wedding photographer. I cannot understand why these unscrupulous photographers are working this way. Hopefully the images were edited and ready for you to use. Best of luck to you.

[2dBride]

The "personal use" documents above all seem to assume that a) you will only have the right to use the photographs in a nonpublic way (e.g., not to post them on the Internet), and that your use is nonexclusive (i.e., that your photographer can still use them, too). If this guy is bankrupt and owes you money, he may well be willing to give you a broader release than that--full transfer of the copyright, so you can use the photos in any way you want, and he can't use them at all. And you probably want this. After all, you don't want the photographer posting your pictures on his Web site to bring potential customers in, when he did all this to you.

Even for our wedding, when we are on good terms with the photographer, we insisted on a full nonexclusive license. In other words, we can use the photos on our Web site or any other area that might be considered "public." He also retains the right to use the photos for his own publicity purposes.

[lilmsjess]

The "personal use" documents above all seem to assume that a) you will only have the right to use the photographs in a nonpublic way (e.g., not to post them on the Internet), and that your use is nonexclusive (i.e., that your photographer can still use them, too). If this guy is bankrupt and owes you money, he may well be willing to give you a broader release than that--full transfer of the copyright, so you can use the photos in any way you want, and he can't use them at all. And you probably want this. After all, you don't want the photographer posting your pictures on his Web site to bring potential customers in, when he did all this to you.

Even for our wedding, when we are on good terms with the photographer, we insisted on a full nonexclusive license. In other words, we can use the photos on our Web site or any other area that might be considered "public." He also retains the right to use the photos for his own publicity purposes.


here, here! and you especially don't want him being able to SELL your images...

[WebLady]

This thread is several months old and the original poster is no longer active. But for others interested in the topic in general ...

A good photographer is not likely to give up sole rights to any images taken by them; at least not cheaply. Some will sell personal use copyrights, but will still maintain the right to use pictures for their own promotional and advertising use and in some cases even sell them to others for such (as in stock photography).

If you want sole ownership of any images then this is something you should discuss with your photographer before booking and have this agreement worked into your service contract. In some cases this may not be a big deal, in others it may cost you a good bit.

Typical personal use would allow you to print, reproduce, distribute or display (including on the web) any images that you receive. You just can't sell them and/or publish them without crediting the photographer. But again; anything you wish to do with the pictures should be spelled out in the contract and release papers.

[EMinDee Images]

I am so sorry to hear about this happening to you. It gives wedding photographers such a bad reputation when there truly are some of us who love what we do and who we work for (you!). Like everyone has said, check the ending of your file names...are they jpg? RAW files will not say jpg at the end and are not compressed...the files are large & require some hard drive space & power to work with. Also most computers can't open them without the proper software. Adobe Photoshop Elements is fairly inexpensive & has a RAW converter file. You will be able to edit your photos and them save them as a JPG file. You can read a lot online about jpeg & raw files...read up before you use a trial version. You can use the trial version to test it out. Also, look at the Adobe website to get tutorials as well. You definitely want to get the copyrights to your photos...I agree with getting the notary. If you're still wanting an album, you may be able to find a sympathetic photographer in the area willing to help you out. I hope things work out for you. Best of Luck!

[eventhorizon]

This is a good example of how important it is to have a good contract before agreeing on a photographer. The contract should specify who holds the copyright and what constitutes fair use by everyone else. (I know the original post is old but I thought I would add this point for the benefit of anyone who reads it in the future.)

[Jenna Michele Photo]

The "personal use" documents above all seem to assume that a) you will only have the right to use the photographs in a nonpublic way (e.g., not to post them on the Internet), and that your use is nonexclusive (i.e., that your photographer can still use them, too). If this guy is bankrupt and owes you money, he may well be willing to give you a broader release than that--full transfer of the copyright, so you can use the photos in any way you want, and he can't use them at all. And you probably want this. After all, you don't want the photographer posting your pictures on his Web site to bring potential customers in, when he did all this to you.

Even for our wedding, when we are on good terms with the photographer, we insisted on a full nonexclusive license. In other words, we can use the photos on our Web site or any other area that might be considered "public." He also retains the right to use the photos for his own publicity purposes.

First of all, sorry you had to go through this. Most vendors don't behave this way. Secondly... I was going to post something along the lines of the above. There are two general copyright release types. One allows you to print and use the images in a non-commercial way to your heart's content. The other is a full release, making you the copyright holder and giving you full authority to use the images commercially. I doubt he's giving you the full release. You probably wouldn't need it anyhow, but it's still good to know when you sign. And on that note, I agree with the other posts to get a notary.

I would personally keep an eye on him and ask to have your images removed from his website/marketing materials if you didn't sign a model release form. A little threat of legal action goes a long way with these types. You can also make a report to the BBB.

Good luck :hearts:

[gwenshack]

This thread originated in 2008, so I'm going to go ahead and close it since the OP hasn't been around in quite a while. If anybody wants to discuss the topic further, please feel free to start a new thread. ;)