From whom am I supposed to have Property Releases signed

[luigi]

good day everybody,

like my subject says, from whom am I supposed to have Property Releases signed? is it the owner of the property/ product or the holder of the copyright of said product?

for example, if i took a picture of a child hugging a Whinny the Poo teddy bear, will a release from the owner of the teddy bear (or the child's parents) be enough, or would i need to go search out Disney or the family of the creator of Whinny the Poo? or say i have a guy standing by his car with the "Ford" logo clear in the shot too, again, is the guy's release enough or is a release from Ford the necessity?

i just don't want to say that i have all proper releases only to be told after the fact that i had the wrong people sign them. any and all information on the topic would be greatly appreciated!

much thanks,
Luigi

[OldClicker]

What is the intended use? - TF

[luigi]

hey OldClicker,
no intended use yet, this is more for when i upload to those sites that say if there are signed model and property releases. if i say i have a property relase for the image i wanna make sure i have the right one..

[OldClicker]

Well, I'll start it off and others with more knowledge can correct/expand.

A property release is from the owner of the property - whatever it is. I don't believe that it has anything to do with the brand name. That would be protected by the copyrighted name of the item. If the brand is incidental to the image, your fine; but if the 'intent' is to use the brand to promote/sell something, then it may be a copyright violation. – TF

A copyright for instance - if there happens to be a Mustang in the background, fine; but if you put together a calendar of Mustangs and attempt to sell it, you may be in violation.

TF

[WesternGuy]

luigi, releases can be a very variable sort of thing, particularly when it comes to wording, etc. Depending on what type of release you are looking for, they can vary from country to country and maybe even state to state or province to province. As OldClicker has indicated, a lot of the requirements for releases depends on the end use and what is identifiable in the image that is being posted or sold. If you intend to get into stock photography, then you will need to talk to whatever agency you are selling your images to as to their requirements for releases. For websites, you should probably contact the webmaster to see what releases they like to have. If you are posting people, then you should have some form of written permission (release) from them as individuals (over legal age) or from parents or legal guardians (under legal age). Note that legal age may also vary considerably from place to place.

I would think that if something is in the public domain, then a release is not necessary, but again, who defines what the public domain is(?). You should also know that there are some buildings that are copyrighted (if that is the correct term). The rule-of-thumb is "when in doubt, ask". I have also heard of police accosting individuals who were taking photos of buildings and landmarks and asking to see their permit, when they really didn't need a permit. I have also heard of people being rousted by law enforcement because they were taking scenics that happened to include military installations, etc. (homeland security?)

One word of caution, depending on what you intend to photograph - be very careful of situations, such as parks and areas with wading pools or other such situations where small children are found. Their was an instance (I won't say where) of someone being approached by police when a parent complained about someone taking pictures in a park and thought that they were taking pictures of little children and raised the issue of "this guy who might be a pedophile"...all a big mistake as it turned out.

There, I have just given you my reasons, at least, for sticking to nature and landscape photography and only taking people pictures if it happens to be immediate family or relatives. HTH a bit, or maybe it just adds to the confusion.

Cheers,

WesternGuy