Unclear copyright policy?

cedricd

I was referring someone to Smugmug when he posed an interesting question: what does Smugmug's copyright policy mean? Do photographers retain all rights to their images? He pointed to PBase's copyright policy as an example. I think Smugmug's means the same thing but it's far less clear. Could SmugMug do something to amend this? You could maybe add simple statement like PBase's to the FAQ with a link to the actual terms of use.

Pbase (http://www.pbase.com/tos)

Any images uploaded by a user remain the property of that user or whatever party holds the copyright.
By uploading images, a user does not surrender his/her copyright or ownership of the images.

Smugmug (http://www.smugmug.com/aboutus/terms.mg)

All content included on this site, such as text, graphics, logos, icons, images, photographs, audio clips, video clips, digital downloads, data compilations, and software, is the property of Smugmug, or its subscribers who upload photographs or other media, or its content and software suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. Smugmug's selection, coordination and arrangement of all content on this site is the exclusive property of Smugmug, and is protected as a compilation by U.S. and international copyright laws. All software used on this site or in conjunction with the Services is the property of Smugmug or its software suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws.

Andy

cedricd wrote:

I was referring someone to Smugmug when he posed an interesting question: what does Smugmug's copyright policy mean? Do photographers retain all rights to their images? He pointed to PBase's copyright policy as an example. I think Smugmug's means the same thing but it's far less clear. Could SmugMug do something to amend this? You could maybe add simple statement like PBase's to the FAQ with a link to the actual terms of use.

Pbase (http://www.pbase.com/tos)

Any images uploaded by a user remain the property of that user or whatever party holds the copyright.
By uploading images, a user does not surrender his/her copyright or ownership of the images.

Smugmug (http://www.smugmug.com/aboutus/terms.mg)

All content included on this site, such as text, graphics, logos, icons, images, photographs, audio clips, video clips, digital downloads, data compilations, and software, is the property of Smugmug, or its subscribers who upload photographs or other media, or its content and software suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. Smugmug's selection, coordination and arrangement of all content on this site is the exclusive property of Smugmug, and is protected as a compilation by U.S. and international copyright laws. All software used on this site or in conjunction with the Services is the property of Smugmug or its software suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws.

, Hi and welcome to Dgrin!

Your photos are your photos and we don't have ownership rights to them. The key phrase in our terms is: "is the property of Smugmug, or its subscribers who upload photographs"

We are in fact, in the process of rewriting our Terms, and I'm certain the next version will be even clearer.

I hope this helps!

dogwood

copyright law
In the USA, as long as you're not shooting in a work for hire situation, you own the copyright to your images the moment you shoot them... unless you specifically sign over that copyright. So unless smugmug gets your signature for the copyright to a particular image, you retain the copyright.

However, smugmug does own rights to some of the website design on smugmug sites. In other words, you can't just copy the code and start up your own service and claim it as your own. Just like smugmug can't copy your images and claim them as their own.

cedricd

Thanks for the info guys. It's pretty common-sense that smugmug would allow photographers to retain copyright.

I do think that there should be a plain-english statement of this in the FAQ or somewhere else equally discoverable. People quickly looking over features of a photo-sharing site for comparison with others may not have the inclination to fully read the terms of service.

SteveM

Corporate knuckleheads.
I think most corporations are all about "us", and many of them make that horribly evident in their terms of service. They're written from an "Us, you, them" perspective, the us always being the corporation, the you being the lowly peon using their service, and the them being the end user/viewer.

Smugmug, on the other hand, does a great job to exude the symbiotic relationship it has with its customers and the terms of service are written from an "Us" perspective that includes, not excludes us, as part of the Smugmug entity and defines "them" as the end user/viewer/patron. We're in this together, we're part of the family and the terms of service echo this. I like the way it's written a lot. When properly read, it makes me all warm and fuzzy to know Smuggy is an in-law. We're under the corporate blanket of Uncle Smuggy!

Okay, that was so sappy, I have to go kick a puppy to balance my chi.

SteveM
www.downriverphotography.com