photography / copyright

As the author of a photograph - that is, the person who creates it - a freelance photographer is the first owner of the copyright in it. (Under UK law, in the case of employees, the first owner of the copyright in photographs made in the course of their employment is the employer: see the advice on Employment status.)

You are the owner of commissioned photographs as much as of those which are not. Getting this recognised in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 was a major win for the NUJ (see the link below for the text of the Act).

Under UK law, only the copyright owner can licence the copying of a photograph. That is to say: only the copyright owner can give permission to reproduce the "work" in any material form, which includes storing the work in any medium by electronic means. Only the copyright owner can licence the making available of a photograph to the public.

Photographers are frequently put under great pressure to surrender this hard-won right, but are strongly advised not to do so. There are no uses to which a client might wish to put a photograph that cannot be covered by an appropriate licence for an appropriate fee. Such licences should be agreed at the time of commissioning new work, or of seeking permission to reproduce existing photographs.

Even where the client actually needs exclusivity, either for commercial reasons or to protect individuals depicted, the photographer should retain the copyright itself and negotiate conditions on the use, which can only be sold outright through an "assignment", which requires the photographer's agreement in writing.

Photographers should protect themselves by stating their terms before accepting commissioned work, and by rejecting in writing any such attempt to seek assignment of copyright: see "Contracts and paperwork".

Fair dealing

UK law defines a strictly limited number of ways that photographs can be used without the photographer's permission or payment to them, such as including them in exam questions. These uses are called "fair dealing". The separate concept called "fair use" applies only to use in the US. See "Some things you should know about quoting" and the 1988 Act itself (both linked below) for details.