My image being used

[Meherenow]

Wisconsin.

Twenty years ago I was in a band. I just found a web site that's using a band picture with me in it without my knowledge or permission. The picture was taken during a photo session of our band in the photographer's studio on private property. The picture is being used in addition to an article on several local bands. Do they have a right to post my picture without asking me?

 

[CALIF-LAWPRO35]

Wisconsin.

Twenty years ago I was in a band. I just found a web site that's using a band picture with me in it without my knowledge or permission. The picture was taken during a photo session of our band in the photographer's studio on private property. The picture is being used in addition to an article on several local bands. Do they have a right to post my picture without asking me?

My response:

Is the web site making money DUE TO your picture?

Does the picture of you and the band place you in a "false light"?

How have you been legally harmed?

What are your monetary damages as a result of their use?

Please post the web site address.

IAAL

 

[Ohiogal]

Another question: Who owned the rights to the picture? Hint: It may not have been you.

 

[CALIF-PRO36]

My further response:

I guess the issue really wasn't all that important to our writer.

IAAL

 

[Meherenow]

Sorry I don't have time to check this site everyday. My world doesn't revolve around it as it apparently does some others.

The pictures were taken during a paid photo session in a private photo studio. I didn't sign away my rights to the pictures. The pictures were sold to an online magazine by the photographer and were also used in the hard copy magazine which was then sold to the public, I assume for profit. Isn't that why people sell magazines? I politely asked the editor to take my photo down as there are other photos of the band without me in them and she refused stating she has a right to use them with or without my permission simply because the photographer sold them to her. Do I have to be "legally harmed" to not want my picture plastered on the Internet by complete strangers? I thought we all have certain rights to our own images and how they are used.

http://www.vitalsourcemag.com/story/view/100963

http://www.vitalsourcemag.com/gallery/snapshotsinanalog

I have two daughters who both graduated with degrees in photography and they were under the impression that if they take pictures of someone in a private paid photo session, they would need that person's permission to then sell the same photos to a magazine for profit.

Thanks in advance for any expert legal advice.

 

[The Occultist]

Typically, whoever takes the photo owns the photo. This is a slightly different scenario, but hopefully you will see my point: My little brother plays hockey through an equivalent of the YMCA. As part of being in this league, team pictures, as well as singles, are taken, and parents have the opportunity to purchase these photos. When my parents got the photos, my dad found that he was unable to scan the pictures to email to relatives; the pictures were printed with some sort of glitter, which reflects away scanning lights, so any attempt to scan these photos results in a white page. If my parents owned the photos of my brother, then they should be allowed to make copies, right? Do you see what I'm getting at here?

I think you missed the point behind the question about the website making money from your picture. IAAL was asking if the website was only making money because your specific picture was being used. The answer is obviously "no".