Who owns the rights to these pictures? Please help!

[dahardaway]

I am hoping someone can answer a question for me. I just shot my first independent film recently. While shooting, one of the assistant cameraman that I hired was shooting photographs of the actors on the set. I told him that I would allow him to shoot but the images belong to me because he was under my employ while he was shooting them. He has turned over some of them to me but he has "Copyright his name" on the bottom of all of the photos. Do I have a right to these photos or are they his? I have payroll checks stating he was working for me when the photos were taken. It turns out I'm not the first person he has done this to. I don't know where to turn to and if I have a legal leg to stand on so I was hoping someone could give me some advice.

I live in New York and the film was shot in Chicago.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Larry

LAWRAT- I have alot of respect for your opinion. Could you please weigh in on the subject? Wasn't there a similar case like this last year on the set of a major motion picture?

[Edited by dahardaway on 06-24-2001 at 07:01 AM]

 

[racer72]

If you paid him to take the pictures, they belong to you. But if taking the pictures was not his job and he was taking them for his own use, they belong to him. Just because he was employed by you does not mean you own the pictures.