Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/07/31

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: Street photography
From: John Brownlow <john@pinkheadedbug.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 14:37:01 -0400

on 31/7/00 3:07 pm, Tim Spragens at t.spragens@cityweb.de wrote:

> Johnny, on the web you are your own publisher, and defending a
> suit would be a pain if you had money or no. I don't know the laws,
> and haven't been in a position to test them, but I may at most any
> time.

caveat: I know nothing about the law!!

However, unless you have pictures taken in France or Quebec my guess is
you're pretty safe. Of course, you may have those pictures, in which case
you need to think about it. But you gotta ask yourself, where is the money
coming from to pursue the suit against you? No sensible attorney is going to
pursue a case like this on a contingency basis unless he is suing Robert
Doisneau. So long as you mitigate any supposed losses by removing the
picture if/when asked to do so I think you shouldn't worry. Under most legal
codes that would limit any damages to actual losses, rather than any kind of
punitive damages. I guess they may be trying to recover a cut of whatever
you made out of the picture. I'd pay the hundred bucks and forget about it,
unless you feel like having a big scrap, in which case we'd whip up a
defence fund by buying Kyle's Holga pictures.

Seriously, and speaking personally, I wouldn't display any street pictures
taken in France or Quebec on the web. Nor would I go there to photograph.

Their loss.

- -- 
Johnny Deadman

http://www.pinkheadedbug.com