Aviation Calendars

Just to be clear, all the images are taken by me so I don’t think there’s any issue with intellectual property?

So, it appears my approach should be as follows:

1) Contact Airshow organisers to ask for their permission to use photos taken whilst at their display.

2) Contact owners of privately owned display aircraft to seek permission to use a photo of their aircraft taken at an airshow/event.

or

3) Give the calendar away for free….but what if it is being used for advertising purposes? I.e. has a company logo/website address/contact details on it?

Thanks for all your replies, although I wish things were a lot simpler!!

Bob

I think if you gave credit to the location and aircraft operators, there could be no potential issues, but even these are probably not required, as the image is one you’ve taken yourself – it’s your intellectual property.

In using somebody else’s intellectual property, a credit is not all it takes. The credit is put there to acknowledge that you have permission to use the image. Not everybody requires a credit to be used.

I certainly know that if any of my images had been used without permission, I would still be taking action, credit or not.

If you read the small print on race circuit tickets most say that any photos taken from public areas are for your private use only and that the race circuit owns the intellectual property rights so they may not be used for commercial gain. Press men sign in to register as press which means they are covered by circuit insurance when accessing areas not open to the public and by registering as press they retain the rights to their images. I have no idea how enforcable this would be as I would think it must be difficult to prove that a photo was taken from a public area for a start.

That’s pretty much it – it depends on the contract between you and the event organiser when you purchase your tickets. If it says personal use only, then you cannot sell any image taken at that event for commerical gain unless you were standing on public ground.

Kind Regards,
Scotty

Royalties

As far as I know,

If the picture was taken on public ground on which no fee had been paid to enter or permission had to be granted, then you do not need to ask permission to sell a photo of most things.

Conditions requiring permission occur when it is private land, military or sensitive area, or when covered by a contract (air show condidtions). Also if you need to stand on private land to take the photo. Then the object owner, landowner or organiser becomes the copyright holder, and permission is required for commercial sale.

Otherwise, broadly speaking, anything is fair game to be snapped and used commerically.

These rules come about to protect the income of the likes of National Trust properties, where a good bit of income will come from selling calendars, postcards etc. I would imagine that if the conditions of sale of an air show ticket say that any image or video capture is for personal use only, then you cannot commercially sell it. The only airshow I often can attend is the RAF Leuchars one, and they make their own DVD of the show, so if somebody sells their own one, I could imagine they’d be upset.

Taking photos, regardless of whether or not there is any identifiable landscape or location in them, and then passing them off as being on public land, runs the risk of the copyright holder taking action against you if it can be proved you took the picture without the relevant permission.

I’ve only seen release forms used for modelling or other portraiture work, but they could be needed for something like an airshow as well.

As a guide, I would say if in doubt, ask the organisers…

Hope this helps,
Scotty

If you read the small print on race circuit tickets most say that any photos taken from public areas are for your private use only and that the race circuit owns the intellectual property rights so they may not be used for commercial gain. Press men sign in to register as press which means they are covered by circuit insurance when accessing areas not open to the public and by registering as press they retain the rights to their images. I have no idea how enforcable this would be as I would think it must be difficult to prove that a photo was taken from a public area for a start.

I think if you gave credit to the location and aircraft operators, there could be no potential issues, but even these are probably not required, as the image is one you’ve taken yourself – it’s your intellectual property.

Thanks for the replies.

Hampden, that did cross my mind, but how would they know which airshow it was taken at if I ensured the photos didn’t show any obvious features? But it’s an interesting point, are there any pro photographers on here who have taken pics at an airshow then used it for publication, and if so did you pay royalties to the airshow organisers?

Bob

If you take a picture at an airshow doesn’t the small print limit it to `private use` only? If you are looking to make money from it wouldn’t you need permission or have to pay royalties?

I would not bother about asking permission.

If the photo was taken in a public place, with public access, there really is no issue. People with a secrecy agenda are quick enough to chase away unwanted attention and prevent pictures being taken.