Transfer of rights of an image

[LoffKat]

I live in PA. I am doing an interview and the interviewer has sent me forms asking to transfer rights of my photos to the interviewer. I am concerned that by transferring the rights I will no longer be able to use my content. Would Permission to Use be better or does it not really matter since it's personal photographs? What is the difference between Transfer of Rights and Permission to Use?

 

[quincy]

I live in PA. I am doing an interview and the interviewer has sent me forms asking to transfer rights of my photos to the interviewer. I am concerned that by transferring the rights I will no longer be able to use my content. Would Permission to Use be better or does it not really matter since it's personal photographs? What is the difference between Transfer of Rights and Permission to Use?

First, a copyright holder has the right to reproduce the work, display or perform the work, distribute the work and create derivatives of the work. These rights are exclusive to the copyright owner.

A transfer of rights would provide the interviewer with an exclusive right to all of the rights or any one of the rights you, as the copyright holder, has in a work. If you transfer ALL rights, the interviewer would become the new copyright holder and you would have no rights in the photos. The interviewer would then be able to use the photos however he chooses. If you transfer exclusive rights to ONE right (for example, the right to distribute the works, which is common with book publishing contracts), you retain the rest of the rights in the work but you no longer have any right to what you have signed away.

A non-exclusive license, or permission to use, on the other hand, would provide the interviewer with "restricted" or limited use to the copyright you hold in the photos - with the limits placed on, perhaps, the time or the location or the purpose of use. For example, you could fashion a non-exclusive license that permits the interviewer to use your photos to illustrate one article in one magazine. Licenses can be worked to meet the needs of both the copyright holder and the one seeking permission to use the copyrighted work.

Both transfers and licenses should be in writing and signed by you, the copyright holder. When exclusive rights are transferred, the transfer must be in writing and signed by you in order to be valid, and all transfers should be recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office.

To ensure you are not giving away more rights than you want or intend, you should have any form reviewed by an attorney in your area before signing.

 

[LoffKat]

Thank you very much for clearing this up for me!

First, a copyright holder has the right to reproduce the work, display or perform the work, distribute the work and create derivatives of the work. These rights are exclusive to the copyright owner.

A transfer of rights would provide the interviewer with an exclusive right to all of the rights or any one of the rights you, as the copyright holder, has in a work. If you transfer ALL rights, the interviewer would become the new copyright holder and you would have no rights in the photos. The interviewer would then be able to use the photos however he chooses. If you transfer exclusive rights to ONE right (for example, the right to distribute the works, which is common with book publishing contracts), you retain the rest of the rights in the work but you no longer have any right to what you have signed away.

A non-exclusive license, or permission to use, on the other hand, would provide the interviewer with "restricted" or limited use to the copyright you hold in the photos - with the limits placed on, perhaps, the time or the location or the purpose of use. For example, you could fashion a non-exclusive license that permits the interviewer to use your photos to illustrate one article in one magazine. Licenses can be worked to meet the needs of both the copyright holder and the one seeking permission to use the copyrighted work.

Both transfers and licenses should be in writing and signed by you, the copyright holder. When exclusive rights are transferred, the transfer must be in writing and signed by you in order to be valid, and all transfers should be recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office.

To ensure you are not giving away more rights than you want or intend, you should have any form reviewed by an attorney in your area before signing.

 

[quincy]

Thank you very much for clearing this up for me!

You're welcome, LoffKat.