Nfl Slides/getty Images

[BO34]

Hi quick question for the legal people out there...we use getty images and slides all the time to photo match our items.

If you purchase a slide that appears on the Getty website, can you stop Getty from having that image on their website for sale?

Just a thought but given the sky high prices they charge for just one photo, since we own the slide (and possibly the rights to that photo), aren't we the ones who have the final say?

Thinking out loud here but it might be something to look into...(might be a way to get a photo to a fellow game used universe member at a fair price).

Thanks,
MIKE
ALWAYS LOOKING FOR BO JACKSON GAME USED ITEMS

[shoremen44]

I am not a lawyer, but I think by paying Getty you are paying the Photographer for the right to use his image in whatever particular way you are going to use it...

you dont actually own it... you are basically renting it

[cordovacollector]

I'd sure look carefully at Getty to see what they say on their site. There is a huge difference between buying one time rights and all time rights.

[rj_lucas]

Bert is correct. You're buying a license, not a photograph. Big difference.

In fact, if you license a rights-managed image (as opposed to a royalty free image) you're only authorized to use it for a fixed period (e.g. six months, one year, etc.), not in perpetuity (forever).

I have heard of companies who have purchased a license for a Getty image to use on their website for, say, six months, and received a cease and desist letter from Getty when they continued to display the image beyond the six month term.

Rick
rickjlucas@gmail.com

[cordovacollector]

Bert is correct. You're buying a license, not a photograph. Big difference.

In fact, if you license a rights-managed image (as opposed to a royalty free image) you're only authorized to use it for a fixed period (e.g. six months, one year, etc.), not in perpetuity (forever).

I have heard of companies who have purchased a license for a Getty image to use on their website for, say, six months, and received a cease and desist letter from Getty when they continued to display the image beyond the six month term.

Rick
rickjlucas@gmail.com

Absolutely right, Rick.

And a note to amature photographers out there. Just because you take a photo of an MLB player, it does not mean you can sell it. MLB owns the rights to all images of baseball players. (Not sure of now, but it used to say that on the back of every ticket.

I have never sold a photo I have taken of a player. And I must have about 15,000 negatives at the least. If someone asks, I give it away, won't even trade. Just so I never have to worry.

I used to nearly go broke. The players wives always liked to get 8x10s from me. They'd offer to pay or get a bat and I'd say no. But it nearly killed me once when one wife asked me for 20 8x10s in one day.

I always take it as the highest compliment when a player asks for a copy of the photo I am having them sign. After Matt Lawton was traded, he came back into town for the playoffs and was sitting in the stands for the games. He was sitting 2 sections away from mine. After the game I had everything packed away and I walked over to Matty to have him sign the program. When I got up to him he said, "Hey, looks like you got a great new lens for your camera."

Never let it be said that players don't notice things in the stands!

[BO34]

Okay my question was more centered on slides...if you purchase a slide from a photographer and that image also appears on Getty, who owns the right to that image, you or Getty?

[rj_lucas]

Okay my question was more centered on slides...if you purchase a slide from a photographer and that image also appears on Getty, who owns the right to that image, you or Getty?

None of the above. The photographer owns the rights. When Getty licenses a photo to Joe Q. Public, Getty takes a cut, and the photographer gets the rest. Getty is a middleman.

If the photographer did not specifically sell you the rights along with the image, what you bought was a copy of the image authorized for your personal, non-commercial use (which is known as 'fair use').

Now...if you purchased the slide from the photographer AND he/she sold you the rights along with it, you own the whole shebang.

If you own the rights, and have the paperwork to prove it, you or your lawyer should advise Getty to either 1) remove the image from their site or 2) remit payment to you for all licenses purchased for that image going forward.

Of course, this assumes the photographer owned the rights in the first place and had the ability to sell them to you. If, for example, they shot the image while under contract with the Associated Press, then AP owns the rights.

Rick
rickjlucas@gmail.com

[aeneas01]

i'll add that i've had nothing but very positive experiences speaking with getty, wire, reuters, etc. on the phone concerning photo use policies - they've always been very professional and, equally important, perfectly clear about what can and can't be done with their photos... and why.

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