Photoshop Insider

Don’t Miss Last Friday’s Eyeopening Interview with Copyright Attorney Ed Greenberg

By Scott on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 3:26 am | updates.

Last Friday I posted on a blog an exclusive one-on-one interview I did with Intellectual Property Attorney Ed Greenberg, where Ed dispelled many of the most common myths and misconceptions about copyright, shooting in public, model releases, and more.

Well, the response and flood of emails I have gotten on that interview has just been through the roof. Ed was just an absolute wealth of information (it was actually a part part interview running nearly 20 minutes—but worth every minute). Some people are calling it the best thing I’ve run on this blog yet, so if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the link to the videos I posted on Friday.

The interview will appear in this week’s Episode of Photoshop User TV (posted later today), but you can hear the interview now (I posted it here on the blog on Friday so it would be up for the entire Fourth of July Weekend).

My thanks again to Ed for taking the time to dispel some of the most common myths and misconceptions, and I hope to follow this up with an interview with Jack Reznicki on the step-by-step process of registering your images. Great stuff!

Comment form for this post

^#1

There is a typo in the name - it should be Greenberg as is in the picture and also in the original article.

Matus on July 7th, 2008 at 4:50 am

^#2

You weren’t exaggerating when you said ‘eye-opening’. Hope we can have a series on Kelby Training on that topic?

Thanks!

Emon on July 7th, 2008 at 10:14 am

^#3

This very helpful interview got me to see how to register my own works. The link below details how photographs can be deposited online with the U. S. Copyright Office.

Dan Dill on July 7th, 2008 at 11:11 am

^#4

http://www.copyright.gov/eco/ [ The link didn’t make it in my previous comment. ]

Dan Dill on July 7th, 2008 at 11:12 am

^#5

Hey Scott,
Just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday on our shared special day. Only the best were born on 7/7! I’m going out to celebrate!!
Julie

Julie Greller on July 7th, 2008 at 12:57 pm

^#6

Scott, The Greenberg interview answered some confusion I always hear about model releases. The answer from Greenberg to your follow up question regarding street photography and the right to exhibit and sell those images was very helpful. Then, yesterday, I was reading the rules to enter a photo contest partly sponsored by National Geographic, where in, there are a whole lot of restrictions about model releases including buildings and/or signs that may be in the photo. I really wish that there could be a universal agreement about these issues. Whatever happened to the “Art for arts sake” concept?

Larry Larsen on July 7th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

^#7

Dear Scott, i know You are the guru of the Photoshop. For me, Photoshop now is the only hobby now, i spend many hours with it, every free moment, i’m fascinated.
I read the books about Photoshop, yours first of all.

Will you be so kind to describe me how to obtain the gradual transparency of the picture.
Imagine a horse which is jumping from the wall - his rear leggs are presque tramsparent, the bricks of the background are visible. The transparency lowers gradually - the head and the front leggs are practically not transparent, the background is not visible
I’ve the CS2/CS2PL

I’ll be very gratefull

Tristan from Warsaw

Tristan from Poland on July 7th, 2008 at 2:45 pm

^#8

Anybody that is interested in publishing anything on the net..or selling even one photograph should give this webcast a listen. It is really great. Scott, thanks for making this publicly available.

Dave Hutchinson on July 7th, 2008 at 5:44 pm

^#9

Hello Scott,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, just woundering if you are going to be able to show us PC’ers how to do the calender ,,,,,,,,,,,, I enjoy your blog ,,,,, and your unselfishness in sharing your knowlege with others.

—————————————— tony

Tony on July 7th, 2008 at 6:13 pm

^#10

Happy Birthday Scott! Hope you’ve had an amazing one!

Erik Bernskiold on July 7th, 2008 at 6:18 pm

^#11

Happy Birthday Scott!

Jason Loucks on July 7th, 2008 at 6:35 pm

^#12

Hey Scott,

Happy Birthday! Hope it is a great one.

Alessandro Rosa on July 7th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

^#13

Scott,

Probably a really off topic… but how did you do the phone interview in the Podcast? I saw your iphone out there, but how did you record the audio for publishing?

~John

John on July 8th, 2008 at 4:44 am

^#14

one word:

Nussenzweig!

Big law case which seems to contradict what Ed Greenberg says towards the end of the first video or did I get it wrong?:

http://www.shootingbynumbers.com/?p=201

peter on July 8th, 2008 at 12:13 pm

^#15

They say it’s your birthday!!!!!
We’re gonna have a good time
I’m glad it’s your birthday
Happy birthday to you.
Yes we’re going to a party party
Yes we’re going to a party party
Yes we’re going to a party party

Happy twenty-something Birthday!
-Dan Francis

Daniel Francis on July 8th, 2008 at 3:41 pm

^#16

Peter,

Ed Greenberg did say that selling prints without a model release should be okay, but as he said that would be covered under state laws and they could differ significantly.

That doesn’t however get around the issue of cultural sensitivity. I think that if I were the photographer in question, whether or not I was legally in the right to sell those prints, I would have stopped, attempted to buy them back or offered to donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity. Or better yet, maybe I would have found out if there could be an issue with using the image of an Orthodox Jewish man in the first place and would not have made the image public, no matter how good or evocative the image was.

To me, I think photographers in general are often too worried about their own rights while they think nothing about trampling all over the rights of others. Whatever happened to the Golden Rule in our society? Why is what we want and what benefits us more important that what someone else may want or not want to be done with their likeness? Even if the law allows it, why should we profit off of the use of someone elses likeness without their permission? Why do we feel entitled to in the first place?

Alessandro Rosa on July 8th, 2008 at 4:41 pm

^#17

I agree 100% Alessandro - 3 points

- Ed Greenberg is an attorney, not a rabbi or moral philosopher
- This happened in NY NY - where Ed Greenberg lives and practices.
- This case involved hundreds of thousands of dollars

Personally I agree with Lawrence Lessig - the whole area of copyright law is outdated and needs re-writing. British copyright law (on which ours is based) was meant to promote creativity and commerce not inhibit them:

http://www.shootingbynumbers.com/?s=lessig

peter on July 8th, 2008 at 5:33 pm

^#18

I am not sure how this case contradicts Mr. Greenberg’s statement. He said that in most cases it was okay to sell limited edition prints of a person without a model release. DiCorca won the case and Nussenzweig lost the case. Doesn’t that back up Mr. Greenberg’s statement with the precident of a court decision? Am I missing something?

I also don’t think that the monetary amount should have anything to do with it. If DiCorca was not able to counter sue or have legal fees awarded to him, then he is out that money. If he has a release, then the court case maybe doesn’t get brought in the first place.

I think that even though the law may protect you from needing a release in this situation, you may still face the cost of defending yourself in court against a lawsuit by selling a picture of someone that you did not obtain a release for, even if it is not for a “Commercial” purpose.

I am not sure I understand your point on Ed Greenberg not being a Rabbi or a moral philosopher. Those were my thoughts, not his. The law may allow you to do something that you shouldn’t. That is all I was trying to say.

Alessandro Rosa on July 9th, 2008 at 2:28 pm