Who will reap the benefit of a picture with millions of likes?
The photographer who captured the image that reached millions of
people, or the subject matter in it?
A very neglected yet important question to dwell upon is whose
rights will be protected in such a situation. John Locke's
theory of 'Fruits of Labour' states that, when a person has
worked hard on something, the society must grant him an exclusive
interest to enjoy that work. In case of paparazzi photographs, the
question is, who owns the photograph, the one who posed in the
photograph rendering it monetary value, or the photographer who
clicked the picture and captured the art to make it sell.
Photographs, as we know, are primarily protected under Copyright
laws. These laws state that, as soon as a person captures
something, the moment the shutter button is released in the camera,
copyright protection is created over the captured picture and the
photographer owns the copyright in it. On the other hand,
