gonate Loc: sacramento,calif

If your worried about your rights, go to search on your lap top , Type in photographers rights , you can print it and put it in your bag . lots of info to view.

donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

Sure it can be printed, but who de 'ell is going to pull out a mag glass and try and read it ??
I would not go by anything that the ACLU staates as "law"... They're opion does not make anything "lawfull"...

RobertMaxey

When I drink enough and the subject rears its ugly head, I often tell others that there are rights and then there are rights. I have the right to kick you off my property. I have the right to control my personal stuff; my writing, my photos, my likeness, my music. You have the same rights. You have the right to control your music and you can sue me if I use it without written permission. But I have the right to appropriate your music make a parody and profit from it in some cases.

I have the right to prevent many things because my personal property rights trump your perceived rights. Unless we are talking eminent domain and I want my new film manufacturing plant located where your house is, then in some cases, your house is gone and I earn billions with my new Bobbochrome 64 roll film.

You cannot invade my privacy unless I become a public figure than I no longer have some of the rights some private souls enjoy.

You have a right to photograph the scenery around you, but when you visit our nation's capital, your rights could be restricted. If you argue, you are actually given more rights than I would be given: the right to remain silent, for example. You have a right to take pictures from the sky, yet no right to violate airspace above Area 51 where the aliens gather for poker, scotch and cigar night.

You have the right of free association, but you cannot discriminate based on race or color. You have basic rights that are self-evident, but sometimes trumped by new laws, congress and SCOTUS. You have the right to ruin my life if you discover something really bad and you make it public. I have a right to sue but if you are telling the truth, that is its own defense.

You do not have a right to profit from insider trading of stocks, yet congress does. You go to jail and congress members do not.

Your car has more rights than your body. You can sell its parts, rent it out, crush it in a car crusher; yet you cannot rent your body to others, sell a kidney, or commit suicide. If your doctor discovers some unique genes with great power, he could patent them and now you are partially owned by another and you do not have a right to sell your super genes and cells to a drug company.

You can grow corn on your farm, but loose the rights to sell that corn if a large company like Monsanto discovers their patented corn cross bred with your corn. They own your corn for the most part and you are screwed simply because Monsanto built a farm next to yours.

You can grow corn to feed your family, but you could be in violation of peculiar aspects of Interstate Commerce Laws and pay fines or go to jail for growing corn to feed your kin.

You do not have the right to copy Disney characters and make products festooned with Mickey and Donald. But actually, you do have the right to do exactly what I just said you cannot do. Yup, very odd, but it has been tested in Federal Court. A lovely young woman kicked Disney's bum over her right to sell clothing made from Disney fabrics. She also took MLB and NASCAR to task and won.

The Internet has granted us many rights. Sadly, many of those rights are merely perceived rights and therefore, not really rights. Some people do not bother to read the law and they scream about their rights and those rights might not exist.

Or something like that.

VHD-Tex Loc: Mc Allen Tx.

Way to go Maxey.

donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

Well spoken: Ah yas, ain't freedon presious ?

RiverNan Loc: Eastern Pa

Geez maxey...
hard to now what is right and what is left.

Add Loc: S.W.Florida

The biggest problem is the local cop who has no idea of your rights and makes up his own rules.The ACLU recently aided and won a case for a noted railfan who was arrested for taking a photo of a NYC subway.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Just a point on the ACLU. They do know what your constitutional rights are more than almost anyone else. The goal of the organization is to protect those who's constitutional rights are violated. The courts not the ACLU decide if they are right. They are with most of the cases they bring before the court. You may not agree with the cases they take but if they win you need to work to change either the constitution or the make up of the court. Never could figure out why people who love our constitution can not like an organization that works to protect constitutional rights. Like the policeman not letting someone take photos. - Dave

Pepper Loc: Planet Earth Country USA

Google your specific state and you can download those laws that govern your state, they do differ from state to state. As far as the ACLU...well never mind, not the time or place.

RobertMaxey

I wonder how many people simply assume something is legal and they have always assumed that because they see photographers all about taking photos wherever they want.

There are model releases, property releases, and some jurisdictions require that the photographer have a permit. There are required permits for photographing on federal public lands and the mall is private property so they can tell you NO! if they desire.

Every government agency seems to have special requirements and permits for photographers and the famous Hollywood sign apparently, is copyright protected so you cannot sell pictures of that sign. Well, it was this way the last time I cared to consider the sign.

From the web so it must be true:

"Orange County Harbors, Beaches, and Parks

Permits for photography in County harbors, beaches, and parks are issued by OC Parks; fees are the same as for other areas in Orange County. To issue a permit, OC Parks require a certificate of insurance indicating general liability coverage of $1,000,000, and an endorsement naming the County of Orange and the State of California as additional insured. OC Parks require specific language not required by many other agencies, so the insurance instructions should be read carefully. Nominal time to process a permit application is five days, but this often can be reduced if an insurance certificate meeting all requirements is submitted with the application.

An annual portrait photography permit is available for $150 plus a $500 surety deposit; the permit can also be used for most other still photography. Insurance coverage must remain in effect for the entire year for the permit to remain valid. A photographer with an annual permit must make arrangements with the supervising ranger for the park, or other designated personnel, 48 hours in advance of the planned activity; if the activity would minimally disruptive, the 48-hour requirement can often be waived, but the supervising ranger must still be notified.

Information about County parks, including contact information, is available on the Orange County Harbors, Beaches, and Parks web site. Permit applications and sample insurance documents are available on the OC Parks Filming & Photography Permits page."

Every state, town, city, suburb, township, hamlet, village, and alley where street people build their dream homes from discarded Best Buy refrigerator cartons seem to have has laws, laws, laws and more laws, or so it seems. Too hard to keep track of and in some cases, one might conclude how unfair all of these requirements are.

I might suggest that we are so accustomed to running around willy-nilly doing this and that, we forget or fail to consider that there might be laws and rules and regulations that govern our actions. Perhaps those laws have always been with us and we are surprised when we learn that we are a lawless crowd.

Bob is not a layers, but go here for a little light reading:

http://www.photographybay.com/photography-laws/

I have not vetted the information, but it is on the web so it is true and accurate.

Pepper Loc: Planet Earth Country USA

And of course it all changes depending on what you plan to do with the photos you take. Are you on public property? Private property? Federal Property? It all makes a difference.

RobertMaxey

Absolutely.

Do you all remember when it was so much easier and we did not need to practice Lawyerography? Or perhaps some of what we do has always required permits and such and we were simply ignored by officials that also did not know what is legal or not. Bob does not know.

Xiaoding Loc: North Carolina, USA

"I might suggest that we are so accustomed to running around willy-nilly doing this and that, we forget or fail to consider that there might be laws and rules and regulations that govern our actions. Perhaps those laws have always been with us and we are surprised when we learn that we are a lawless crowd."

All of the laws you cite are pure BS. They only exiast because no one has challenged them. Perhaps they apply to only production companies, people making movies and such. In no way do they apply to the guy with a camera. and if they say it does, sue them.

RobertMaxey

Not debating if they are bad, good, right, wrong, pure, or contaminated BS. I do not really care about things that do not directly affect me; when they do, I'll find out what I need to do to comply with the rules in place.

I am too pretty for prison, so I must obey.

My point is this: Apparently laws exist and perhaps they have for a very long time and perhaps we just assume things and think they are ok to do and we have never been told no, so we assume it is legal and we complain when we are told no. Or some other long sentence.

You certainly have the right to challenge any law and seek whatever change you want to see. Or break the rules and pay the price. Your decision and certainly not my business.

Laws exist and as they say, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

VHD-Tex Loc: Mc Allen Tx.

Way to go Maxie!