 JOE |
LEGAL ISSUE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF I NEED TO OBTAIN A MODEL RELEASE FOR EVERY PERSON I PHOTOGRAPH IN PUBLIC(PARK,STREET,SIDEWALK)ECT,IF I DECIDE TO PUBLISH A PHOTOGRAPH.I LIVE IN TEXAS.
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
It depends on where you publish the pictures. If it is used editorially then you need no release. If it is a commercial use then you need one.
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Ken Pang |
Jeff is more or less right, but there are a few more things that will make you safe: 1) If the people are not individually identifiable, then you will probably not get into trouble. That is, if you could show the photo to a friend of the "model" and they cannot say with certainty that it is their friend, then the model is not "individually identifiable". 2) If the person is clearly not the subject of the photograph, and does not serve you commercially, then it might not reduce the chance that you're slapped with a law suit, but it does greatly increase your chances of successfully defending yourself. For example, if you are photographing a Cafe to advertise that cafe, and it just so happened that you caught me in the background, sharp and identifiable, I might try to sue you, but if it is successfully argued that your intent wasn't to gain from me being in the photo, then I would lose. Even if me being in the background makes the Cafe look busier and more popular, you're still pretty safe, because there's nothing special about me that people would recognise and say, "Hey, Ken Pang is endorsing that Cafe". On the other hand, if Tom Cruise happened to be in the background and was clearly identifiable, he could argue that including him in your photo, is an implied endorsement of the cafe and not just adding to the "atmosphere" of the shot. Anyway, if in doubt, talk to a lawyer
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