In honour of World Photography Day, we consider how copyright
affects photography and look at some famous copyright disputes.
Copyright is a form of intellectual property right which
subsists in original creative work, including artistic work.
Artistic work is defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988 to mean:
- a) a graphic work, a subset of which
includes photographs, irrespective of artistic quality;
- b) works of architecture being a
building or a model for a building and;
- c) works of artistic
craftsmanship.
For photographs, the photographer is the copyright owner subject
to certain exceptions (e.g. if employed to take photography, the
photograph is owned by the employer unless there is an agreement to
the contrary).
