Pro-Imaging

Bill of Rights Condition 1

Contest Rules must not ask that Moral Rights be Waived

Moral Rights are a basic human right and are part of the law of copyright to ensure that the photographer is rightfully acknowledged as the creator of their images.

There are four moral rights.

This is the photographer's right to have their name appear with the photograph on every occasion it is published, exhibited, broadcasted, or appears in a film. There is however a long list of exceptions, such as when an image is used for the reporting of news events, publishing in  encyclopaedias, use in parliamentary or judicial proceedings, etc.

In UK law the photographer must clearly assert this right in writing on every film, print, and digital image put into circulation before this law can be applied. Simply adding the copyright symbol, year of creation and photographers name is not enough to be recognised as an assertion of this right in UK law, although the law does not specify in what form the assertion should appear. The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS UK) suggest using this form of words to assert your moral right to be credited -

I, 'your full name', hereby assert my moral right to be identified as the photographer of 'Title of Work' in accordance with The Copyright Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

This right gives the photographer the legal right to object to mistreatment of his image in a way that is "prejudicial to the honour and reputation of the photographer." This right does not need to be asserted in UK law.

The Right not to have a Work Falsely Attributed to a Photographer

This right belongs to everyone, not just the creator of a photograph. It could be used to defend against a case of an unscrupulous publsher using the name of a prestigious photographer to add credibility to the images in the publication, that the named photographer never took. The photographer has the right to a legal remedy in such cases.

The Right to Privacy in Respect of Certain Photographs & Films

This right applies to everyone, not just photographers. There is no UK right of privacy, but in France for example the privacy laws are very strict. Although moral rights apply in most countries, interpretation can vary greatly between them as in this specific case. For absolute safety, if you have photographs featuring people, then for complete protection you must ensure you have signed model release forms that permit you to use the images without restrictions.

Duration of and Waiving of Moral Rights

Note that unlike copyright, your moral rights cannot be assigned to anyone else.  They are yours and yours alone. You may, by a written and signed agreement, with another specific person or body, waive your moral rights for specific images. Such an agreement is called a waiver. So even if you have assigned copyright to another person or body, you can still enforce your moral rights, unless you have also signed a waiver with that person or body, in which case you have lost the right to enforce your moral rights against that person or body.

All moral rights continue to be in force for the creator of an image for as long as the copyright remains in force in an image, except the right not to have a work falsely attributed, which only exists for a period of 20 years after the photographers death in the U.K.

Competitions

Competitions which have a statement requiring you to waive your moral rights either in order to enter the contest, or to be selected as a winner, are removing from you a basic human right. Such contests cannot be approved by Pro-Imaging.