UKC

A friend pointed out to me this morning that a photograph that I took on Saturday and posted in Twitter has turned up in a news article in Hampshire.

As the photo was lifted from Twitter they had an easy way of contacting me and I would have happily allowed them to use the photo for free.

I'm not going to make a fuss about it, because of the nature of the story it relates to, but I just wondered, is this normal these days? What would the legal position be if a picture was being used in a way that I wasn't happy about.

In reply to The New NickB:

It is normal but it's not right. You have the copyright and the newspaper should seek permission. We have it on a regular basis with our local newspaper, which is very poor at crediting photos supplied for reports I submit on our running club events. Local newspapers are always desperate for photos, but I've taken a firm line that we wont be submitting photos if they're not credited in the publication - they're starting to learn.
In the event that the photo was used for a purpose that you weren't happy about, your first port of call would be to contact the editor, explain the situation and require that clarification is given in the next available edition with equal prominence. If the photo is published online by them, you can require them to take it down.

In reply to tony:
Thanks Tony. It's actually running related and yes we have similar problems with our local paper as well, but I wasn't sure if it was just them being shit.

This is the first time for me where the picture has been taken from social media rather than submitted.

In reply to The New NickB:

Normal but it's not right. Exactly the same problem here, I LIKE that we regularly get the back page of the local paper with run news. I DON'T LIKE that they're so cavalier about credits - even when we specifically ask. Just sloppy really - I've seen them use old pics from the wrong races just because they look good. I tend to just suck it up, but it does rankle. Feet of clay (not a reference to yesterday's xc).

In reply to The New NickB:

If the newspaper is not-for-profit then a credit should suffice if you're feeling generous, but why help line someone else's pockets for free? A credit won't keep a roof over your head or feed your children!

In reply to The New NickB:


It's a strange relationship we have with our local papers. On the one hand, it's good for our club to get the coverage, so I'm happy to submit reports without getting credit myself. On the other hand, the papers are also desperate for copy to fill the pages, so they'll print pretty much anything they're sent, so it's not like there's any great editorial process going on. However, it's a bit much when it come to the papers taking pics and not giving credit when they're specifically asked to do so. And I've also had occasions when a journalist has used his own byline on a piece I've submitted. Given that their editorial standards are usually way lower than mine, it does piss me off to see someone else take credit for my work.

In reply to The New NickB:

I've been learning about Creative Commons licensing. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_license

You can put the symbol to show you want the work attributed, and choose between profit or non profit use.

In reply to The New NickB:


I don't use Twitter so excuse me if this is a silly question.....having published the photo on Twitter do you actually retain copyright? And come to think about it, what about photos we submit to Facebook.

In reply to The New NickB:


If they lifted it from twitter and are hosting it themselves then they've broken copyright law, though if they've embedded your whole tweet (including picture) then they're free to do so, as I understand.

In reply to Doug Kerr:


I'm not 100% sure myself, hence the question. I can't see why not though.

In reply to The New NickB:


You retain your rights. You do give them eg twitter or facebook, rights to reproduce (or pretty much anything for their own purposes) but not anyone else.