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Morning folks,
I'm an amateur photographer and as well as photographing wildlife I also do a reasonable amount of zoo photography. For the most part, this is for my own personal use (birthday cards for friends/family, photos in the house, etc.), although some go on my not-for-profit wildlife education website.
Recently, someone has asked for some photos to go into a book they're publishing and asked if there was any permission needed before photos of captive animals could be published. The book is very niche and won't hit any best-sellers lists, but it got me thinking about whether zoos own the copyright to the images of animals in their collection?
The only thing I've ever seen on this subject was a Monkey World, a primate rescue centre in Dorset. They have a sign at the entrance to the park stating:
Photography. We are happy for you to photograph or video our primates as a reminder of your visit to the park, however this must be for personal use only. You may not use photographs or videos taken of our primates, staff or park, for any commercial purposes. - Exploitation is exactly what we rescued many of our primates from, and so Monkey World retains the copyright of their images.
I appreciate the sentiment and, as it happens, would never use any photos I'd taken there without their permission (despite the fact they use any I send them without crediting me as the photographer!). I was interested to know whether there's a legal basis for this, though? Can a public attraction own the copyright to images you've taken because they're of animals in their collection? Perhaps Monkey World is a special case and, as the sign's right by the turnstiles, by entering the park you're agreeing to these terms by going in?
I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
Many thanks,
Marc.
I'm an amateur photographer and as well as photographing wildlife I also do a reasonable amount of zoo photography. For the most part, this is for my own personal use (birthday cards for friends/family, photos in the house, etc.), although some go on my not-for-profit wildlife education website.
Recently, someone has asked for some photos to go into a book they're publishing and asked if there was any permission needed before photos of captive animals could be published. The book is very niche and won't hit any best-sellers lists, but it got me thinking about whether zoos own the copyright to the images of animals in their collection?
The only thing I've ever seen on this subject was a Monkey World, a primate rescue centre in Dorset. They have a sign at the entrance to the park stating:
Photography. We are happy for you to photograph or video our primates as a reminder of your visit to the park, however this must be for personal use only. You may not use photographs or videos taken of our primates, staff or park, for any commercial purposes. - Exploitation is exactly what we rescued many of our primates from, and so Monkey World retains the copyright of their images.
I appreciate the sentiment and, as it happens, would never use any photos I'd taken there without their permission (despite the fact they use any I send them without crediting me as the photographer!). I was interested to know whether there's a legal basis for this, though? Can a public attraction own the copyright to images you've taken because they're of animals in their collection? Perhaps Monkey World is a special case and, as the sign's right by the turnstiles, by entering the park you're agreeing to these terms by going in?
I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
Many thanks,
Marc.
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