The Photographer's Rights.

The Photographer’s Right is a downloadable guide that is loosely based on the Bust Card (UK) and the Know Your Rights pamphlet that used to be available on the ACLU website. It may be downloaded and printed out using Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may make copies and carry them in your wallet, pocket, or camera bag to give you quick access to your rights and obligations concerning confrontations over photography.
Thank you to Bert Krages, Attorney at Law for posting this on his blog. This was found through Photo Attorney, again thank you.

Link to Guide.

Copyright Myths Debunked

Bryan Cave is a law firm that has a division specializing in copyright and artists' moral rights, licensing, commissioned works and public art installations, relationships with dealers, galleries, museums, expositions and traveling exhibitions, insurance and import/export. They counsel both artists of world renown and the next generation of innovators.
At their blog artlawteam.com they have posted a very interesting quiz on Copyright Protection. Follow this link, take the quiz and see how you do.
I found this quiz through the Photo Attorney blog, a great site for legal discussion related to Photography and the Arts.

artlawteam.com

the quiz

Photo Attorney

Danish Photoshop Debate Leads To Disqualification

Ethical questions surrounding photojournalists' use of Photoshop in image processing is not a controversy confined to the American market. Currently the embroilment rages in Denmark, where at least one photojournalist has been disqualified from a contest because it's been determined that his image manipulation went too far.

Three photographers were told to deliver their RAW-files for closer inspection, when the three judges in January were assembled to select the winners in Picture of The Year in Denmark. This is the first time in the competition's 35-year history that it has happened. One of the photographers, Klavs Bo Christensen, has accepted to show his RAW-files for the readers of pressefotografforbundet.dk. You can also hear a recording of the conversion between the judges about the photographer's story.
Learn more.

Facebook's new terms of service

According to the site's new terms of use, anything you post on Facebook is owned by Facebook in perpetuity, even after you cancel your Facebook account.
Would such an outrageous claim hold up in court? "Yes!" says Carolyn E. Wright of photoattorney.com, which emphasizes that photographers should not post their images on Facebook.
Read more.

Photography Association Meets with President-Elect Obama's Transition Team

As President-Elect Barack Obama prepares to take office, his transition team is turning to Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and other members of the creator community for advice. The transition team asked to meet last Friday with the seven-member board of directors of the Copyright Alliance—among them David Trust, PPA’s chief executive officer and a founding member of the Alliance.

Building a solid foundation with the incoming administration is key, especially with the creation of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator position at the White House level. That position was created with the passage of the Pro IP Act this year, a bill which PPA and the Copyright Alliance worked hard to pass.
Read the full story here.

Lawsuits Claim Leibovitz Owes $778K For Photo Services

These days, lots of people are having money trouble.
But Annie Leibovitz?
The renowned photographer is the subject of two lawsuits over unpaid bills totaling more than $778,000 for photography-related services.
The suits offer a rare glimpse into the big budgets behind Leibovitz’s celebrity portraits.
A wardrobe stylist who worked on a Disney campaign with Leibovitz claims the photographer owes her $386,467 – including $109,960 for one shot alone. Read more at PDN

Supreme Court Closes Book on Photographer's Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has closed the book on an 11-year-old copyright case that, in its final form, granted The National Geographic Society -- and by extension, other publishers -- the right to reproduce its magazine archive in digital format without paying additional royalties to freelance contributors. Read more here....