Photography … The Product
Creator and Author Mike Boatman 2018
For clarification purposes I’m going to try to put this in as plain English as possible.
The photographic product is usage rights!
Now for a little more detailed explanation and clarity. Usage rights are what photographers in the commercial world and even the portrait world are leasing and/or selling….. It is not the image.
Usage rights are associated with every image created regardless of the camera, phone, shoebox, or any other device used to create the image. Another word for usage rights is Copyright.
Buyers and photographers please know this:
It’s a relevant to your business model whether you’re selling/leasing images on a DVD for a person to do anything in the world they want to with them or selling individual prints, the reality is, you’re selling or leasing usage rights. It’s impossible to sell a print/image without conveying some form of usage rights to it. Copyrights are part of all images. The copyright associated with an image is created at the same time the image is created.
Therefore, if you’re buying/selling or using/displaying, distributing, copying, making derivatives or commissioning photography, you are working under the controlling law of copyrights.
Every construction contractor, plumber, or employer knows the laws of Workmen Compensation; obviously because it’s part of their business. There are laws and rules that govern all professions and businesses. If you are in any way, shape form, or fashion dealing with imagery, the governing law is copyright law. How would you classify a business person who conducts business without, at minimum, a basic understanding of the controlling law for that industry? ….. Foolish
Plain and simple: you are not buying an image, print, digital file or a pic, you are purchasing or leasing usage rights.
Sample of how this works:
Amy Vonachen commissioned me to photograph Mary and Bob’s house listed for sale in June of 2012. She only needed the image long enough to sell the house in a local region. This constituted both a very small distribution, limited time and limited usage.
Here’s one of the images from the assignment.
Copyright Mike Boatman 2012
At Home in Tennessee, a state wide regional magazine now known as At Home Mid-South contacted me to request an images representing luxury bathrooms, for an article they wish to run.
Obviously from the picture above I had one that was perfect for their request. I leased the same image to them for their article. Larger distribution regional, statewide and limited time frame, one month. The amount paid to me was triple the original assignment because of the larger distribution of usage.
Then in March 2017 Bob Vila’s agent contacted me and asked if I would be willing to allow them to use the image of this luxury bathroom with the beautiful claw foot tub and seating area for an educational blog post. Being associated with Mr. Bob Vila provided I got adequate accreditation and links to my website was worth allowing them to use the image. Plus I’m a big fan of Bob Vila anyway and have watched This Old House for almost 20 years. I naturally promote that my work has been used by Mr. Vila every opportunity that I get when soliciting new clients especially in the construction industry and interior decorating industry.
https://www.bobvila.com/slideshow/12-vintage-bathroom-features-that-never-go-out-of-style-50962
From Bob Vile post
May 2, 2018 Custom Contracting Inc. in Arlington MA 02476
Custom Contracting Inc really likes the Bob Vila blog and decide that they would like to have a blog site on their website also to promote their business and Custom Contracting. Of course this is my guesstimate of why they copied Bob Vila’s blog post in its entirety onto their website and represented it as their own.
They used all the same photographs as well including my photograph of a luxury bathroom.
https://www.custom-contracting.com/12-vintage-bathroom-features-that-never-go-out-of-style/
copyright infringement (theft)
With the three previous usages of my images I received value or compensation for the usage. Although with the fourth usage by Custom Contracting Inc in Arlington MA I’m not receiving compensation or value but they are receiving value from usage of my property.
If we are not compensated for each usage and we are only paid once for the image regardless of usage, and then it’s allowed to be used by everybody in the world free of charge from there going forward, why would anybody buy photography? Just wait for it to become available and use it. The value of photography would cease to exist if we weren’t compensated for the usage. As you can see from the fourth usage, the photographer is receiving no value or compensation but the image is still being used.
I’m certain that some of you are now saying, Well you have copyrights, file a claim of copyright infringement.” Here’s the sad irony, someone commits a copyright infringement, I personally refer to it in my own opinion as being a theft. Gain value from again, in my opinion the theft. I file complaint against the thief and am then called a Troll for enforcing my copyrights which is the only thing standing between me making a living and photography having zero value…….
Your thought?
Troll on!
And of course, this goes for any sort of media. I’m an illustrator. I have friends who are photographers and musicians. Any sort of created work like this is generally handled the same way, and as you say, what you don’t protect, you lose.
Thank you so the support.
Mike
This is definitely true. You must protect and defend your product but I’d also like to add, its juts as important to pay attention and read the fine print first. I have seen many artists and photographers sign away their work and then get quite upset when their work is used. Yet they unfortunately don’t have any legal right to challenge it. It’s so important to do diligent research before signing anything!
Hi Janet,
Thank you for adding a valuable point to the discussion. Reading the fine print is absolutely a critical part of protecting your usage rights.I don’t think people will understand it until a piece of their creativity is stolen and they discover that there’s nothing they can do about it. I can tell you from first-hand experience that it’s the equivalent of getting punched in the stomach with pain and vile so strong you feel like you’re going to vomit.
That’s why I make a habit out of reading the terms of usage on everything before I agree to it. As for my blog here I reached out to Bob Vila’s organization Vila Media and confirmed that they had no part of allowing custom contracting Inc. to use the blog post and its imagery. Interesting enough they went on to state that there blog post and many others had been scraped by this individual. After the demand letter from my attorney they removed my image but they still have the majority of Vila media original blog posted. I was led to believe that Vila media legal team will be taking a look at it.
I hope that people will follow my example and copyright register 100% of their work as I do. This is the first step to being able to defend your rights. If your work is registered and someone blatantly infringes it as has occurred here it’s the equivalent of holding a roll flush in a poker game. My ultimate goal is the change the risk reward ratio so that it becomes more economically practical to purchase usage rights instead of stealing the image. This will only happen more people defend their work. But, if people choose not to then their work and the profession will cease to have value. I guess people can then choose some other profession and let their creativity die.
Just my opinion and thoughts; personally my creativity is a gift and I have no desire to throw that gift away. Again thank you for adding such a valuable point to the discussion.