Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

An international hotel company has taken a photo of a horse drawn carriage I designed and built in Danto Domingo. The have printed the photo in their main hard cover marketing book that shows their marquee hotels. They did not ask permission. Do I have any rights to demand removal of the photo and/or payment for use?


Asked on 6/03/12, 4:50 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

I would not discourage you from taking a copy of your contract to design and build the horse drawn carriage to an intellectual-property lawyer to see what rights you retained or granted to the buyer. There is a strong possibility, I believe, that a court would hold that the hotel has acquired the right to take and use photographs of your work. I would also point out that the applicable law may be that of the Dominican Republic, and not that of California or the U.S.

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Answered on 6/04/12, 9:08 am


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