Who owns the photo?

Question:If a person works for a newspaper as a photographer, do they still own the copyright to the photos since they took them or does the newspaper own them since they employ the person to take the photos and provide the equipment?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: If a person works for a newspaper as a photographer, do they still own the copyright to the photos since they took them or does the newspaper own them since they employ the person to take the photos and provide the equipment?

If you were an employee it is the paper's. If you were an independent contractor, if it is not explicit in the contract, it might be debatable.

It's considered a work for hire, works for hire by full-time employees are copyrighted by the employer.

i think the newspaper, there paying for the photo

The photos are the property of the newspaper. They are considered work product.

If the photo was taken by a freelance photographer he can retain the copyright to his photos. Photos taken by employees of the paper usually reliquish the copyrights to the paper. It depends on what their contracts say.

This is why the grad students do all the work, but the full-time professors get all the credit.

The newspaper I used to work for (one of the top 10 in the USA) the photographer and newspaper jointly shared in the profits.

Every quarter, a photographer would get a photo bonus.

Not sure if that was in their union contract, or that is normal business practice.

===============
Life is so simple, but we insist on making it complicated

Confucius
551 - 479 BC
===============

Peace

Jim

http://www.ChinaBlix.com

.

The Newspaper owns the copyright if you are an employee.

If you are freelance and they have commissioned you to take certain photographs, then so long as they have upheld their end of the contract it is most likely that they will own the copyright in that circumstance as well.

If you are freelance, it will depend totally upon the wording of any agreement.

With paintings it is a similar thing. If someone buys a painting, the artist still retains the copyright to reproduce the image.
But if the artist did the work on commission, then the copyright belongs to the buyer who commissioned it.
The same thing applies if that artist is being employed to produce artwork.

I've been through this a number of times, especially when I was painting commissions of politicians etc.

The photos are the earnings of the newspapers . think it in another way iam sure that you will find it.