Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

That's horrible. Write a letter to mush-for-brains and demand that she never again post any photos of your child to the internet for any reason -- if she ever wants to have any photos shared with her again.

I am unaware of a specific law preventing a family member from posting photos of their own family member absent defamation or any profits made. You could try to prevent her from continuing to post via copyright infringement, but that would be costly and ruin any relationship you have with the mother-in-law.

The best course would be to do as the above attorney mentioned.

Disclaimer: This communication does not create an attorney-client relationship and such a relationship can only be formed through a signed written agreement. This communication is not legal advice and should not be solely relied upon in making your legal decisions. Any situation depends on many different facts and specific laws that require an in-depth legal consultation to evaluate the best solution for your needs.

Under copyright laws, the photographer is the owner of the copyright in a photograph. Copyright attaches immediately upon creation and no registration is required for the photographs you take. Copyright confers the exclusive right to copy and distribute, among other things. So, yes, you have the legal right to say when and how your photographs are distributed. The fact that you gave your mother-in-law a copy of a picture does not give her the right to copy it or give copies to others. Under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), this would include posting on an Internet site.

You should notify your mother-in-law that you do not want the pictures posted on the Internet (which can be dangerous, and some experts are advising people not to post photographs or information about their children on social networking sites) and ask her to remove them. If she refuses, you may contact Facebook (or whatever sites she is posting on) and demand that they remove your copyrighted pictures under the DMCA (instructions for how to do this for Facebook or other sites are on the respective sites). The legal requirements for such websites are stringent and they will respond in a timely manner.