AV News 178 - November 2009
Photographers’ Rights
Linda Macpherson
During a recent Members Sequence evening held at the Wilmslow Guild AV
Group Suzanne Walker showed a brand new 'sequence in progress' for
comment called 'Escape'
To set the scene she had used some images photographed around the
Strangeways Prison in Manchester including the walls, fencing and security
cameras. Within a few minutes a police car arrived on the scene and she then
had the unenviable task of trying to tell the officers just what her images had
been taken for and in so doing, having to explain what an AV sequence was
and who would be viewing it!!
Thankfully, as she is apparantly not keen on porridge and maybe doesn't
like having to wear stripey tops, her explanation seemed to satisfy them and
they went on their way ... but maybe things might have been so very different.
In August 2004 I was allowed to publish within the pages of 'Focal Points',
the magazine of the Lancashire & Cheshire Photographic Union, an article
written by Linda Macpherson LLB, Dip. LP, LLM. Linda is a freelance legal
consultant specialising in Media and Intellectual Property Law. She is also a
part-time law lecturer and has presented seminars on law for photographers.
She has just recently produced an updated version of this informative
document and has kindly agreed that it can be published in this issue of AV
News. There is also a handy downloadable pdf version which can be found
at www.sirimo.co.uk/2009/05/14/uk-photographers-rights-v2/ along with
useful links to further information on the law as it applies in other countries.
First of all a Disclaimer:
While care has been taken to ensure that the information contained within this
guide is accurate as stated at the 30th March 2009, it does not provide a
comprehensive in-depth discussion of the relevant law.
The information it contains is of a general nature and is not intended to be legal
advice. The guide is provided without any warranty as to the accuracy of the
information it contains and users are urged to consult a solicitor in respect of any
legal problems they might encounter.
The author, publisher and distributor of this guide will not be responsible for any
loss suffered by any person that is directly or indirectly attributable to reliance on
any of the information contained within the following guide.
Restrictions on the Right to Take Photographs
It is often said that there is "no law against taking a photograph", but in fact
there are many legal restrictions on the right to take a photograph, so it would
be more correct to say that one is free to take photographs except when the
law provides otherwise.
This is intended to provide a short guide to the main legal restrictions on
the right to take photographs and the right to publish photographs that have
been taken. It is not an all-encompassing discussion of the law and any
photographer faced with unusual circumstances or specific difficulties should
take legal advice.
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