Picture of french door used in commercial without consent

[quincy]

How are they allowed to use the photo to benefit their commercial application for profit and at the same time portray a disparaging view of work that they had no connection to? That's what i don't understand. They are making a profit off of the use of which they had no legal authorization to use.

Anyone can take a photo of a house to illustrate a point, the point in the commercial being that a homeowner should hire a professional to install doors and windows. As long as nothing false is said about the property featured that results in demonstrable, compensable harm to the property owner, there is little a property owner can do.

What a photographer/videographer should not do is trespass on private property (or violate any other law) to capture the view. The camera can capture whatever can be seen from a public vantage point with the naked eye. This vantage point can be a public sidewalk in front of the house or a neighboring property (with permission from the neighboring property owner).

I do not see that what you describe in the commercial can be used to support a legal action - although you can approach the company that is airing the ad to discuss the matter, or you can consult with an attorney in your area to see if you have any legal options not visible from this distance.

Perhaps you can suggest to the company that they use your house as a before-and-after commercial, with the company taking on the cost of repairing your own French door installation with their custom made doors (at no cost to you). Could be a win-win.

 

[whentoquit]

Well, have at it then. Prove that their use of a photo that they took while they were permitted on your property, and which can't be specifically identified as your house (except by a tiny fraction of a tiny percent of people in the US), has harmed you.

What do you mean when saying "can't be specifically identified". The photo is specific to my house alone. Please elaborate.

 

[Zigner]

What do you mean when saying "can't be specifically identified". The photo is specific to my house alone. Please elaborate.

First, it's not a place that's open to public view. If I were driving down the street, I couldn't tell it was your place. Second, it really doesn't matter, since the problem is not caused by the picture, it's caused by the shoddy plastering.

 

[whentoquit]

Anyone can take a photo of a house to illustrate a point, the point in the commercial being that a homeowner should hire a professional to install doors and windows. As long as nothing false is said about the property featured that results in demonstrable, compensable harm to the property owner, there is little a property owner can do.

What a photographer/videographer should not do is trespass on private property (or violate any other law) to capture the view. The camera can capture whatever can be seen from a public vantage point with the naked eye. This vantage point can be a public sidewalk in front of the house or a neighboring property (with permission from the property owner).

I do not see that what you describe in the commercial can be used to support a legal action - although you can approach the company that is airing the ad to discuss the matter, or you can consult with an attorney in your area to see if you have any legal options not visible from this distance.

Perhaps you can suggest to the company that they use your house as a before-and-after commercial, with the company taking on the cost of repairing your own French door installation with their custom made doors (at no cost to you). Could be a win-win.

Although the company had legal rights to be on the property to install windows, how can they get away with using the photo that could not be attained from a public vantage point for commercial purposes without the consent of the property owner?

 

[quincy]

Although the company had legal rights to be on the property to install windows, how can they get away with using the photo that could not be attained from a public vantage point for commercial purposes without the consent of the property owner?

There is no law that prevents a photographer from taking pictures of houses and using these photos for a commercial purpose (with very few exceptions).

You said the doors pictured in the commercial are located on your "side yard." A photo taken from next door is permissible as would be a photo taken from your own yard if you invited the company onto your property for an estimate.

Houses have no rights. Property owners have a right, however, to seek compensation from those who make FALSE statements of fact about their houses, if these false statements cause the homeowner demonstrable economic harm. There could, in other words, be a slander of title claim to consider.

I see no false statements and no economic harm. I see no legal action to pursue.