Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois
our wedding photographer put in her contract that "It is understood that all photographs and files are the property of [photographrer] and may be used for advertising purposes unless other arrangements have been agreed upon."
however, we were given space in the contract to add any amendments to customize our package. one of our requests was to actually obtain all of the raw images she took at the wedding. she indicated that we should put it in as an ammendment and she would sign off on the contract. our amendment was that we would receive a copy of ALL "raw" images taken at the wedding. what we have received though is a disc with 300x400 pics at 70dpi. she has said since the pics are her property they belong to her (no doubt to sell us products). we specifically said we wanted a copy of ALL the raw pics. and any professional in the photography industry knows that means the pics you originally took... unaltered and unedited.
my question is whether we are entitled to that despite the property issue, since we made a point of agreeing on it with her and she sign off on the contact as well. any help would be HUGELY appreciated!!! thanks!!!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Probably not. The general rule is that unless expressly stated in an agreement that this is a work for hire, the person is an independent contractor. As such she owns the copyright in the photographs. having originals and use of the photographs are two different issues.
Patrick Tracy
I cannot tell from your question whether or not there was a provision included requiring the photographer to give you raw images. If it was, then, depending on what the amendment actually said, you should be entitled to "raw" files. However, as a term of art for photographers, raw files are proprietary formats which require either software from the manufacturer or newer versions of Photoshop, Lightroom, or similar program to open. Even if this amendment was included, your right to obtain raw files does not change the ownership of the photographs. Unless there was a specific conveyance of copyright ownership, the photographer still owns the photographs and the rights to make copies. That means, even if you have the raw files, and you can open them, you would need the photographer's consent to make prints.
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