Who owns the image?

Here’s a typical photo scenario, “can you take a picture of us please”, we’ve all done it – on holiday, a wedding, out with friends or family.

For happy snappy photos for non-commercial use there’s not normally an ownership issue, but we’ve been asked by a client to look into an image ownership for commercial website use.

In this example the business owner asked her friend to use her phone and snap a picture whilst on holiday on the beach. It was such a good photo she  wanted to use it on her new business website.

But who owns the photo?
Is it the person who took the photo?…or is it the phone/camera owner?

We consulted our legal advisors at Boxall IPM based in Sandwich and they said:

“Your client commissioned (albeit for free) the other party to provide the service of taking the photo so retains ownership of the photo”.

So there it is, the opposite of what we thought and remember, DO NOT USE AN IMAGE YOU DO NOT OWN (or have permission to use), if you’re not sure, consult the experts like Boxall IPM (new website coming soon).

Note: Oast House Media are not legally qualified to give advice on copyright. Always seek advice from qualified legal experts.