MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: josephjacobs on January 02, 2017, 18:11
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I recently uploaded a small batch of skiing pictures. The model is wearing skiing gear so naturally I had to remove a good deal of logos from the picture before I could upload. however, I missed a super distorted logo on the poles and uploaded with that logo still there. All sites but one (DT was the only one to spot the logo) accepted the pictures, and they are currently on sale.
If the pictures have been accepted does that mean the site thinks the logo is not recognizable enough to be a problem, or that the site just made a mistake? Pretty much, do all these pictures need to be taken down? I've attached one of the photos.
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legally you have no risk of liability for taking a photo which contains a logo. this was upheld in the court case of Daniel Moore vs University of Alabama, whereby the court stated that the photographer can sell photos that contain logos that did not belong to him.
The risk comes in how the photo is presented to the general public, such as in advertising. if someone who sells ski equipment from a competing company uses the photo, they can run the risk of trademark infringement. in almost all other cases, there is no legal risk for anyone to use the photos.
according to the safe harbor conditions of the DMCA, there is no risk for any infringement in regards to the web site that has the image hosted, as long as they investigate within the legal time period and have a designated agent filed with the copyright office.
you as a photographer never have any legal liability for any photo you take unless it is explicity prohibited by law (such as child pornography). there are no laws that prohibit you from taking photos, and reselling them, of logos or trademarks.