Picture perfect – protecting copyright when selling photographs online

A young up and coming photographer called Arts Law for advice about starting a website to sell her photographs online. How should she protect her work online and her copyright from being infringed? The key issue was copyright protection and a combination of general advice, written documentation and practical tips were the solution!

Arts Law advised her that as the photographer, she was the first owner of the copyright (there are some exceptions to bear in mind though) and as such, she can reproduce, publish and communicate her photographs to the public. We also outlined the exceptions to those principles. We further advised the photographer on the importance of a written agreement with the website designer to clearly set out all the parties’ obligations and entitlements regarding copyright issues that may arise in the website design process. Lastly, we gave some practical advice including digital rights management tips.