photographer's rights in spain

[mattias]

hey,

anyone know what the rules are for taking pictures of people in public for "commercial" purposes in spain and especially the canaries? in sweden you can, without a release, and i just found out it's the same in the uk, which leads me to believe that it might be the same all over europe? i will get releases for everyone performing of course, but there will be plenty of involuntary extras, many of them fully recognizable.

/matt

[super8man]

Do you own any assets of significance in Spain? The answer to that question will affect the answer you are looking for.

[aj]

This is very much the same all over the world.

You cannot portrait or make average people the main subject and publish without their agreement. Unless the journalistic value is higher then the privacy and image rights of the person.

Should you produce a much published masterpiece you can get legal correspondance quickly or even 50 years after the deed.

You can shoot general shots of streets where people make up part of the background. I.e. they are not the main subject. You have to keep in mind the rights of architects and designers of other items in the frame though. Some of these use agencies who scout published pictures and publishers get an invitation to pay real quick if rights are not properly dealt with.

Famous people have less protection against journalistic images. They have more rights when you violate their brand. And they have better lawyers.

[aj]

This is very much the same all over the world.

You cannot portrait or make average people the main subject and publish without their agreement. Unless the journalistic value is higher then the privacy and image rights of the person.

Should you produce a much published masterpiece you can get legal correspondance quickly or even 50 years after the deed.

You can shoot general shots of streets where people make up part of the background. I.e. they are not the main subject. You have to keep in mind the rights of architects and designers of other items in the frame though. Some of these use agencies who scout published pictures and publishers get an invitation to pay real quick if rights are not properly dealt with.

Famous people have less protection against journalistic images. They have more rights when you violate their brand. And they have better lawyers.

[mattias]

This is very much the same all over the world.

actually it isn't.

You cannot portrait or make average people the main subject and publish without their agreement

in many countries you can. such as sweden and the uk. it's recommended to get a release because most publishers and broadcasters want it, but the law doesn't require it. here's my source btw.

http://www.sirimo.co.uk/media/UKPhotographersRights.pdf

You can shoot general shots of streets where people make up part of the background. I.e. they are not the main subject.

again, not in for example some u.s. states where it's enough that they're "recognizable".

You have to keep in mind the rights of architects and designers of other items in the frame though

again it depends. in most countries architecture in public places or to which the public has access is free to photograph, as is art and design that's not the main subject of the photo, i.e. a painting in the background, but not everywhere.

sorry, but i need someone who knows spain specifically. i'm well familiar with the generic rules.

i don't own any significant assets in spain, why?

/matt

[aj]

i don't own any significant assets in spain, why?

/matt

It determines the risk you can take. I.e. what they can lay law-enforced possession on.

I am not a lawyer but I know what I am writing about. EU laws are very much the alike. Differences come from how well the laws and rules are enforced.

Don't rely on UK and USA information. They are/act different and think their understanding of what is right applies automatically to the rest of the world which is not so. Not to the advantage of their citizens.

Don´t put buildings designed by Richard Meier or Marcel Breuer in your images as a main subject. The same for sculptures by Zadkine, Dali or Picasso, . They or their heirs will wear you out. And many other will do so too.

[mattias]

It determines the risk you can take. I.e. what they can lay law-enforced possession on.

good point. i'm sure they can't legally lay possession on anything, that's illegal all over the world as far as i know (well, some totalitarian states excluded) but they might anyway in my experience, especially local police and security guards, or even pissed off locals who are ignorant or simply don't care about the law. the worst that can happen legally is that i'm unable to use my pictures, but even that would be disaster of course.

Don't rely on UK and USA information. They are/act different and think their understanding of what is right applies automatically to the rest of the world which is not so. Not to the advantage of their citizens. :)

well, the uk is part of the union but i see your point. :-) it's good that they're generally tougher on these things so if i follow their laws i'm generally ok in the rest of the world too.

thanks for your help. i think i'll pm natxo, a producer of commercials in the country i'm interested in might be a good source. :-)

/matt

[morales72]

Hi to all. AFAIK, you can photograph everything in public places, except for children and officers of the law, goverment buildings, airports, etc. Regarding common people, even if you are shooting a super 8 cart of your local park (as I did many times, even anamorphic) and they refuse, they cannot say a thing against you (well, at least legally)
If you ask people on the streets you'll find that the more "castizos" (really common) they are, the more they will help and colaborate. Watch out for local policemen that will ask for permit or a brive, but actually they are so well paid that they might put you in jail.
If you come to Madrid let me know and I will do my best to help you.

Cheers,

Morales.

[Blue Audio Visual]

http://www.fotopunto.com/articulo-propi ... ografia_61

http://civil.udg.es/normacivil/estatal/reals/Lpi.html

These articles cover some of the issues, definitely including photography of buildings in Spain.

[steve hyde]

....these kinds of legal issues have been on my mind lately. You are smart to consider this stuff before you commit to a big project. As a rule of thumb, you should prepare yourself for the worst case scenario. Say for example, you make a few films in the next couple of years and don't fully acquire sync and master rights to music or don't get model releases for subjects in your films or infringe upon someones architectural rights or whatever. Maybe the films go the festival rounds and don't get wider distribution. However, keep in mind in the instance that you make a film that does get wide distribution and makes you rich, be aware that lawyers may start coming at you from all directions with arguments on how you infringed in your earlier films and that you used the material to establish yourself in your career and then make all kinds of intellectual property damages claims against you.... I'm no Lawyer and certainly don't know EU law, but in usa lawyers tend to be creative and their creativity knows no bounds.

This said, if someone's image is in your film without their consent, they must prove that the image is in fact them..... thus the case for shallow depth of field.

Get some smooth talking production assistants and print off a lot of release forms is my .02..

Steve

[mattias]

thanks but those are about the rights i as an author have to my pictures, not the rights i have when taking pictures, nor those of the people i take pictures of. at least that's how far my tourist spanish took me. ;-)

/matt

[mattias]

This said, if someone's image is in your film without their consent, they must prove that the image is in fact them..... thus the case for shallow depth of field.

and they must prove why this is a problem for them. the mere act of taking somebody's picture is rarely a crime. invasion of privacy is, slander/libel is, harassment is, and so on. in some countries including sweden you can't use images of people for advertising but for pretty much anything else, apparently in the uk even for ads. it's a jungle.

i got some pm answers suggesting that the rules are very similar to those in sweden, i.e. i'm fine if i just get releases from every performer and let whoever passes by just be a passer by, which is how i was planning on doing it. if somebody asks me what i'm using the pictures for i'll get their oral consent on tape which isn't a formal release but proves that they were aware of the situation.

/matt

[Blue Audio Visual]

Like I said, the links only cover some of the issues that had been raised in the thread rather than the specifics of your original post.

Don´t put buildings designed by Richard Meier or Marcel Breuer in your images as a main subject. The same for sculptures by Zadkine, Dali or Picasso, . They or their heirs will wear you out. And many other will do so too.

Article 35.2 of the 2nd link states...

"Las obras situadas permanentemente en parques, calles, plazas u otras vías públicas pueden ser reproducidas, distribuidas y comunicadas libremente por medio de pinturas, dibujos, fotografías y procedimientos audiovisuales."

Even my feeble Spanish can work out what that means.

The 1st link (and pages linked from that page) has some pertinent info relating to legally watertight release forms/wordings/principles in Spanish law, as far as I can see.

[mattias]

you're right, i never got that far since it seemed like the docs were about something else. ;-) what does las obras mean though? i mean i know what it means but what does it mean legally? architecture? sculptures? signs? logos? paintings?

/matt

[steve hyde]

you're right, i never got that far since it seemed like the docs were about something else. ;-) what does las obras mean though? i mean i know what it means but what does it mean legally? architecture? sculptures? signs? logos? paintings?

/matt

....call an entertainment attorney in New York City. They are generally well versed in international law and answer their phones 24 hrs a day and will talk your ear off for free.


Steve