But just as photography has changed , so has copyright law . There have been three revisions in the last 100 years – in 1911 , 1956 and 1988 . Each time the law was updated , changes were made to copyright ownership and copyright duration .
But , good news ! Under the the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 , artists and photographers enjoy the most creator-friendly copyright legislation to date .
Who owns the copyright ?
Well , it depends on when the photograph was taken . Before the 1988 law , photographers didn ’ t always own the copyright in their work automatically . In the previous copyright laws , if the photograph was commissioned by someone , it would be the commissioner – not the photographer – who owned the copyright in that photograph .
The 1911 law also had a provision that the person or company who owned the negatives – remember those ? – at the time they were made was ‘ considered to be ’ the author of the photograph .
Copyright reform in 1988 changed this , recognising the importance of rights staying with creators . Since the 1988 law , copyright is now owned generally by the person who created the work , or by an employer if the work is created in the course of employment .
How long does copyright last ?
For photographs taken after the 1988 Act became law – on 1 August 1989 – copyright will last for the life of the creator plus seventy years . But many photographers may have works produced under the previous copyright regime . The previous laws only gave a copyright term of fifty years after the photograph was taken . To deal with this shift , the law made extra provisions depending on factors such as whether the photos were published , or the date the photographer died .
If you are a photographer , or the beneficiary of a photographer , and the photographs were taken before 1989 , you can figure out when copyright expires based on the following , issued by DACS ( www . bit . ly / DACS-copyright ):
Photographs taken on or after 1 January 1996 These are automatically protected for the life of the photographer plus seventy years .
Photographs taken on or after 1 August 1989 but before or on 31 December 1995 These were originally protected under the 1988 Act for the life of the photographer plus fifty years . Copyright in these works has now been extended by the 1995 Regulations and are now protected for the life of the photographer plus seventy years .
Photographs taken between 1 June 1957 and 31 July 1989 The length of copyright protection for photographs created in this period depends on whether they had been published as at 1 August 1989 .
( a ) Photographs published before 1 August 1989 Where the photographer died more than twenty years before publication , copyright will expire fifty years after first publication . In all other cases , copyright will expire seventy years after the death of the photographer .
( b ) Photographs which remained unpublished as at 1 August 1989 Where the photographer died before 1 January 1969 , copyright expires on 31 December 2039 . In all other cases , copyright will expire seventy years after the death of the photographer .
Photographs made before 1st June 1957 These photographs were originally protected for a period of fifty years from the end of the calendar year in which they were taken ( regardless of whether they were published ).
If the photograph was still in copyright as of 1 July 1995 however , the period of copyright was extended to the life of the photographer plus seventy years . If copyright protection had expired before 1 July 1995 , there was still the chance to “ revive ” the photograph . An eligible photograph would then be protected by the new term , i . e . the photographer ’ s life plus seventy years .
DACS and Payback
All the above is based on information issued by the Design and Artists Copyright Society . Any ‘ photographic ’ Guild member who is not already subscribed to DACS should rectify that as soon as possible . It ’ s no big deal and will earn you cash in the form of what they call ‘ Payback ’.
Payback is an annual scheme run by DACS which distributes royalties to visual artists and estates for the re-use of their copyright-protected work in UK books , magazines and TV programmes .
It ’ s worth it ! In 2017 , 38,000 artists received a share of over £ 4 million .
Copyright advice for members
As a Copyright Licensing or Artist ’ s Resale Right member of DACS you can take advantage of their free copyright advice service for these members .
Disclaimer The content of this article is offered as a general guide to the issues surrounding copyright and is not intended to apply to individual circumstances . It does not constitute legal advice , it is not a substitute for independent legal advice and should not be relied upon as such . You should seek specialist advice for any specific circumstances .
This article is prepared ( with permission ) using material supplied by DACS , 33 Old Bethnal Green Road , London E2 6AA . Tel : 020 7336 8811 ; www . dacs . org . uk . It is drawn from an original DACS Newsletter feature Copyright uncovered : What do I need to know about copyright and photographers ? summer 2018 | Outdoor focus 11