Image Rights and Photo Law

Unauthorised use of photographs and images is a frequent copyright issue online. The legal assessment should distinguish copyright in the image from any separate personality or publicity rights concerning people shown in it.

Back to Copyright Law.

Rights in photographs

A photographer may hold copyright or related rights in a photograph. A licence can limit the permitted media, territory, duration, campaign or platform. Use outside that scope can create a dispute even where the image was originally supplied lawfully.

Online and social-media use

Website copying, social-media reposting, marketplace listings and removal of credits can raise separate legal questions. Evidence should record the URL, account, date, context and reach of the use.

Remedies and defence

Possible claims may include removal, injunctive relief, information and damages. The amount and availability of monetary claims depend on the facts, licence history and responsibility for the use.

Preparing a copyright-law review

Useful material can include the original work or source files, publication dates, licence and commissioning agreements, invoices, correspondence and screenshots showing the disputed use. Where online content is involved, preserving URLs, dates and the surrounding page context can be important. A clear rights chain helps distinguish authorship from contractual rights of use.

Photo and image disputes can involve multiple rights. The specific image, licence and publication context must be reviewed.