When I saw that this year’s World IP Day/Week celebrates the contributions of women, the first thought that came to mind was a memory of a chance meeting in the Spring of 1986 with a legendary photographer named Helen Levitt. My friend Josh and I were in New York City down from college and were supposed to stop by a ...

If for no reason other than the fact that I’m out of monkey jokes, I’m pleased to announce that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has finally put an end to PETA’s ridiculous litigation in which the organization alleged that the Sulawesi crested macaque in the photograph known as the “monkey selfie” is rightfully the owner of the copyright in ...

You might think that among the most straightforward relationships between a user and a creator of a copyrighted work would be that of a news organization and a photographer—namely that the news organization should license the photographs it uses for any of its stories.  It is also common-sensical that whenever a news organization displays a photograph in a manner that ...

Photo by Max Dubler. Used by permission. Last week, while I was writing my last post about photographer David Slater, a story on PetaPixel was making the rounds.  Written by photographer Max Dubler, the title is a refrain of an all-too-familiar theme.  No You Can’t Use My Photos on Your Brand’s Instagram for Free, says Dubler. Dubler has carved out ...

Photo sources by mrbrainous & artush This is a story about how people with self-righteous and futile agendas end up harming creators for absolutely no reason—and even end up harming society in the bargain. I’ve made light of the “monkey selfie” case in past articles because it’s hard not to. I mean, there’s a monkey in it.  But for U.K. wildlife photographer ...

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