What do you mean I can't display the picture I bought? Photographs and Copyrights

So you have a photograph which you purchased some years ago of a beautiful early morning harbor view.  This photo would be perfect as a wall display in your commercial real estate office on the waterfront.  You have an enlargement made of the photograph and hang it in your office for all to see.

Not long after the picture is put on display, you receive an email from an attorney representing the photographer who asserts that you have no right to publicly display the photograph or to make an enlarged version of it, and asks that you immediately take down the photograph and destroy it. 

Is such a demand legitimate?    Yes it is.              

The photograph you purchased is subject to copyright protection which has a variety of associated rights.   Your purchase of the photograph provides ownership of the physical copy but not the associated copyright.  The purchase of the photograph does not give you any rights of copyright unless specifically conveyed in a written agreement between you and the copyright owner, in this case the photographer. 

As the owner of the photograph, you may display the photograph for your own pleasure, such as display in your home or private office.  But public display of the photograph is a right of copyright reserved to the copyright owner unless separately contracted for.

What to do now?  Work out a settlement with the photographer which may entail paying some amount for the right to commercially display the photograph.  Or comply with the demand to take down the photograph and destroy the copy.

Photographs, works of art and other copyrightable works are protected by copyright from the moment they are created.  The photographer has the exclusive right to reproduce his or her photograph and to control use of the photograph.  Without permission from the photographer (or other copyright owner), you cannot copy (in hard copy or electronic form), sell, distribute, publicly display or create derivative works of the photograph.

If you are contracting with a photographer to create photos for you, you should be mindful of the rights of copyright you wish to acquire in addition to a physical copy of the photograph.  You may wish to acquire all rights of copyright or just some.  It is often easier to negotiate a transfer of copyright interest at the time of engaging the photographer when he or she is more likely to be eager for the business, rather than later when circumstances may make the transfer of copyright less appealing.

The situation is similar for other works of art.  Laws in other countries are generally similar but of course individual country laws must be reviewed in specific situations.

If you acquire a photograph from a stock photo organization, the rights for use of that photograph are usually specified in the terms of sale or license.

There can be many nuances to transactions involving photographs and other artistic or visual works, and therefore prior consultation with an experienced IP attorney would be prudent.