EU changes to Freedom of Panorama

[Deleted]

I'm a few weeks late to this, but how will this affect transport photos in Landmark locations if this goes ahead?

[snoggle]

Jul 2, 2015 16:45:27 GMT @myparadiselostjs said:

I'm a few weeks late to this, but how will this affect transport photos in Landmark locations if this goes ahead?

I have read up about this. The crucial issue is whether the image is taken for commercial or personal use. If a photo is taken of a "copyrighted" work of art / monument and the image is used for commercial purposes then a payment to the copyright holder will be required. The classic example is of the Atonium in Brussels in Belguim. Apparently you can't find an image of it anywhere on the web where it is hosted on a commercial site. I guess the problem comes as to how you define personal use vs commercial use. I have more than one photo of the Atonium but they're not scanned on to Flickr. While I doubt I'd be pursued by the Belgian Government if I posted them on Flickr I can't be certain. It's that lack of clarity / certainty that is likely to restrict people from taking photos.

The other problem is that sometimes photos taken for personal use are so good that other people want to use them. I've only been published once but I have been approached several times by magazines and companies to use my photos. If they're not prepared to pay then I refuse. However the point is that what is "personal" one day might end up being "commercial" the next and you could inadvertently end up being pursued for payment if you were deemed to have breached copyright. When I took those photos in Belguim years ago I had no idea there were copyright issues!

I disagree with the proposal by the French MEP to remove "freedom of panorama" because it'd be just another source of restriction and confusion for photographers. We don't need any more restrictions. I also don't think it would help the creative industries in the UK. I'm not aware that UK sculptors or architects are campaigning for the introduction of copyright restrictions to protect their work. I feels like one of those dreadful French elitist demands that happen every so often.

Ironically the topic was discussed on the Daily Politics Europe about a week ago. The Labour Party support the proposal to impose restrictions while UKIP oppose it. To my personal horror I found myself agreeing with the UKIP MEP.