agillot

same here in san diego county , no camera allowed !!!!

Dragonophile

Hmmm... I wonder what the legality would be if someone was on a balloon ride and took a picture from the air without being in attendance? Or from a drone not over the actual arena?

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

I believe the term is being used incorrectly. "Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture." A live performance cannot be copyrighted per se. However, the organizer does indeed retain all rights, including any kind of reproduction.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

I am a professional photographer- not a lawyer. Simple enough?- but nowadays it seems you need to have a law degree just so you can take pictured at certain venues or even out on the streets

So...I never went to law school and a simple high school class in "commercial law" is as far as I got. Where I am out on an assignment or just shooting for my own pleasure, I have adopted a policy. I always find out, well in advance, what the rules and regulations are at the event, venue, etc. as to rights, access, required permissions or accreditation, equipment restrictions- tripods, etc. Then I apply for permission, clearance, accreditation or whatever is necessary.

Thing is, I don't want to mess with security folks, run into any legal issues so I seek out permission- get it in writing and secure the proper passes and go from there. There are rules base on lens size to differentiate amateurs from professionals- how silly is that? Arguing thos points with a security guard is fruitless! I full understand exclusivity rights so it is what it is and I gotta get permission first!

For three years in a row, I covered the Calgary Stampede- a BIG rodeo! The first year I just went in and told the truth. I approached the management and told them I was a local professional photographer and simply wanted to shoot the even on speculation. I would not sell images to the competitors- there was someone else doing that. I might submit some of my pictures to travel advertisers, news outlets, etc., and I would clear all of this before doing these things. I was granted permission and an infield pass- nearly got killed- it was my first rodeo!

The second year, I was hired by the city to cover the event again- same the third year and then I moved back East!

I take the same approach at concerts, festivals-whatever. If I can't secure permission, I don't go there with a camera.

Questions like this come up here all the time. There are matters of privacy, expected privacy, copyright, exclusivity, celebrities, and God knows what else! I ask permission- usually get it and if not- I find something else to do! On the street and at public events, I find that if you are polite and treat folks with respect they will cooperate or just let me go about my business. Never had an issue!

JaiGieEse Loc: Foxworth, MS

Ever been to a NASCAR event? You can take all the photos you want - BUT you cannot sell any of them.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

You betcha! If you paid for a ticket, whoever sold you the ticket to the event as all the rights to the event. A "public" event just tells you who can attend that event. But even if it is a copyrighted event, you can still shoot to your heart's content for educational and personal use since than does not violate copyright. Should you try and make a profit from one of the shots and get caught, it could cost you $1500 on up depending on the assessed value of the shot.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Still the host's event and their rights to that event. You still can be sued for copyright violation if you make a profit from the shot. The only possible exception would be if it was a small part of a drone or aerial shot and would be considered as an inadvertent part of a larger shot. As you can see, the term "inadvertent" is a gray area of interpretation. Of course, that could be cleared up for you with a lawyer - or possibly in a court of law where you don't want to be.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It's not a "public event" and they are perfectly within their rights to restrict photography for any number of reasons. Most professional sports organizations are highly restrictive about uses of images from their events. They may have a contract with an "official event photographer" that prohibits any commercial usage of images by other photographers, usually with the exception of photojournalists. Many events also restrict the size and type of camera simply to keep from infringing on the enjoyment of the event by other spectators.

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

Events can be copy righted, just listen to the disclaimer at the beginning of any NFL game. Or, read it in the small print on your ticket.

B

kddp13 Loc: Wisconsin

Every venue or place is different. I could take a bridge camera into a Packers game but 2 months later no camera in the Resch Center across the street for the Trans Siberian Orchestra, But 10k people can use their cellphones.

dragonswing Loc: Pa

Around here, they say "photography by professionals is not allowed". And they consider anyone owning a camera with a detachable lens a professional. They do allow cell phone photography. Go figure.

Derryg

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

Ha, ha, ha! The law states clearly and with no reservations, copy write is automatically assigned to the photographer at the moment that the image is created. Now, the idiots will prattle on and on droning at you that contracts are created and the copywrite can go to here or there. It is legalistic stuff. But the copyright is assigned to the person making the photograph at the moment the image is made, what happens after the fact is legalistic stuff and may be upheld or dismissed in a court of law.

This is where everyone gets lost. Where smart people get saved is the ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers). They have their own attorneys and there main focus is mostly issues with copyright. Letting the ASMP decide your issue will resolve any and all problems, and the great truth is the lawyers of the ASMP get a lot of this nonsense worked out and take many fun groups like the ones your having issues with to the legalistic wood shed.

There are chapters of the ASMP through out the US and have monthly meetings and will be happy to have you stop by and get involved or just have coffee. They also publish the best (expensive) books on the ins and outs of photography and the law plus how to make contracts with clients and organizations. They are the go-to people on this subject and they helped shape the federal laws on copyrights.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

There are many times that the photographer taking the photograph doesn't own and will never own the photograph. If I hire a photographer to take pictures for me, and our contract states all rights are mine, the photographer taking the photo does not have or own the copyright - I own the copyright. That is why the various rights to a photograph must be stated properly in the contract.

And contracts come in all kinds of forms. Have you heard of the "trick" check? A check is a contract and has been used to change a previously agreed upon and signed contract. If I, as the photographer, signed a contract for just magazine rights and retained all other rights, I own all the other rights except magazine rights. That also means the owner of the magazine rights can only use it for magazines. Not posters, not newspapers, not galleries, not books, etc. But if that customer pays me with a check that states on the back that all rights are theirs, and I sign and cash that check, I just assigned away all my rights to the photograph. That check becomes the new and binding contract.

And if you don't believe me, ask the lady that I told not to sign such a check. After getting a $10K court settlement, she was given a check for a "partial payment" of $2500 by the person. On the back of the check it was printed that this was the final payment and nothing more was owed. I warned her if she signed that check, her settlement would be $2500, not $10K. She went back to court, the court admonish the check writer for the "trick" check and was told not to do it again. She came back to thank me for preventing the loss of the $7500 by "trick" check.

I may not be an attorney, but people can learn from other people experiences and mistakes.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

Almost kinda sorta like bringing a camera to a theatre, or a movie.
The business is in the business of making money by charging for the show.
The business pays rent, wages, costs, taxes, insurance, etc etc.
If people would rather not get "official" showings, souvenirs, etc because of you, then you're stealing.
The business gets money from advertisers; advertisers pay money for their ad at that time and place.
Like TV shows- you disseminate a recorded show, the advertisers of the rerun didn't get their value.
That got mentioned quite a few times. HBO pays a dime per viewer to the show. Did you DVR it and watch it a few more times- only 1 dime. Or did you wait a day or 3 and watch it on Youtube sans ads? No dimes.
Check the DMCA regs, also. Did a 100,000 watchers see your "Best Of" clips of that Rodeo?