Ani Agrawal, NK Patent Law Ani is an intellectual property attorney with a diverse background in patent prosecution, patent litigation, and related IP advising. His current practice focuses on patent and trademark prosecution before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in foreign countries. Before obtaining his law degree, Mr. Agrawal worked in cryogenics research and taught organic chemistry for over 6 years at the University of Illinois Chemistry Department. Previously, Mr. Agrawal spent 6 years involved in intellectual property litigation work for numerous corporations and universities across a wide spectrum of technologies, managing several attorneys in IP litigation matters. He regularly volunteers time with local entrepreneurial groups in both the Triangle and Charlotte. https://nkpatentlaw.com/professionals/ani-agrawal/ https://nkpatentlaw.com/ (https://nkpatentlaw.com/) NK Patent Law, for all your intellectual property needs. This should not be misconstrued as legal advice, for that, please speak directly to an attorney.
www.marlanasemenza.com
On this episode, we talk about your photos and the law. What can you do with them? Who owns them? And more!
Ani-Agrawal
Marlana: Ani Agrawal is an intellectual property attorney with a background in patent prosecution, patent litigation, and related IP advising. His current practice focuses on patent and trademark prosecution before United States patent trademark office and in foreign countries. Welcome, Ani!
Ani: Hi, Marlana!
Marlana: I am really excited to have this conversation with you because nobody talks about the legal aspect of using images and the ramifications of over stepping and crossing over the line. While this conversation is going to be based on the law and what things are from the legal standpoint, we do have to let people know that they should not be construed as legal advice, for that they will need to speak to a legal attorney.
Ani: Yeah! That’s right.
Marlana: So, let’s start with the very basics. I see an image online, whether be on Facebook or wherever and I decide “you know what! I really like this image and I want to use it.” So, I take a screenshot and I use it. Legal or illegal?
Ani: You should always presume that that is illegal. Copyright is really established as soon as an image or a song, anything is created. There is a copyright associated with that image and that is true whether they federally registered them or they’ve simply published it on their website. The creator has copyrights in that media they have created and that extends to them whether they have federally registered them or not. So, anytime you see an image you should always operate under the assumption that there is copyright associated with it.
Marlana: So, even if it’s something that’s non descriptive like flowers or a sunset, I should make that assumption?
Ani: Absolutely! So, the subject matter is not important in this case. It can be a person, it can be a sunset, an animal, an ornament. It makes no difference. The photographer or the creator of the image has rights in that and that’s true regardless of the subject.
Marlana: What about photos of me? If a photographer sends me proofs or I see my images being used on the photographer’s website or in a social media, can I take a screenshot and use them myself?
Ani: Actually you cannot! That is a common point of confusion. People think; “well! The photo is of me, obviously I will have full rights. It is the same image I see on the mirror every morning, so there should be no restrictions, it’s my face, it’s my property.” That is not the case. What happens is, when a photographer takes a photo of you, they own a copyright in that photo. So, absent some sort of work for hire agreement where ownership is transferred to the subject of the photo, absent any agreement like that, the copyright is presumed to be held by the photographer. You have...