Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

I am a makeup artist who collaborated with a photographer for two photoshoots. The photographer and I had a verbal agreement that my services will be rendered in exchanged for photographs that can be used in portfolio. She agreed to provide me with images on a disk that I cou ld print out and use for my personal portfolio. This photographer and I have parted ways on a personal note, but our separation happened before she was able to provide me with pictures for my serices. During this time, the photographer has posted pictures of my work (not credited to me) on her fanpage. My issue is not with her choice to not credit me, but after contacted the photographer for copies of my photos, she has since reneged on our verbal agreement out of spite. However, she does admit via text that she agreed to provide me with pictures that can be used for my portfolio, but she told me to copy and paste it from her fanpage on facebook. She is aware that the resolution is not high enough for me to print the image, and she has also written the file in a manner where the pictures can not be printed. One of the pictures of my work has been labeled as all rights reserved?

My question here is what recourse do I have as my rights as the makeup artist for this shoot. Would I able to cut and paste the pictures on from her fanpage, include it on my fanpage on facebook and crop out her credit? What can I do if anything? Thank you in advance.


Asked on 2/25/12, 9:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nancy Delain Delain Law Office, PLLC

I'm sorry to say you have no rights in this dispute. The photographer, not the model and not the makeup artist, holds the copyright in the photos and the photographer can do what she will with the photos. If she wants to reserve all rights in a photo under the copyright law, she can do that, and there is precisely zero that you can do about it.

The photographer has given you written permission to copy the photos from her FaceBook page, but it's unclear whether she has given you permission to re-post the photos on your FaceBook page (and she certainly has not given you permission to strip her credit from the pictures). Without that specific permission, she could sue you for copyright infringement if you re-post them. You're stuck with the rights she's given you in writing, and you may need to produce proof that she gave even those rights if she decides to get really nasty and sue (I hope you kept the text).

I'm sorry; it's an expensive and unwanted lesson in copyright law for you, I know.

Next time, get a WRITTEN agreement about attribution of contribution to the photos, ownership of copyright and/or use of the photos with anyone � friend or not � who photographs your work. Do this BEFORE the photo shoot. You NEED a copyright lawyer to put that agreement together for you; this is NOT something that works well with self-help law. You're welcome to contact my office to set up a phone appointment to discuss how I can help you with future matters of this kind. 518-371-4599.

THIS POST CONTAINS GENERAL INFORMATION AND IS INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE, NOR DOES IT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. FOR LEGAL ADVICE ON YOUR PARTICULAR MATTER, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.

Read more
Answered on 2/26/12, 10:14 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Intellectual Property questions and answers in New York