Digital Photos Too Professional?

If your digital photographs look too professional, you may have a challenge in getting them printed by some photofinishers. Digital cameras and photo-editing software allow amateurs to produce more professional-looking pictures. However, digital photography has also made it easier to make unauthorized copies of professional photos. Photofinishing labs are concerned about infringing the copyright of professional photographers, especially after Kmart Corp paid US$100,000 in 2000 to settle a suit that alleged it had violated US copyright law by copying images without permission from the copyright owners. Most labs have policies in place to protect against unlawful copying but, in some cases, the policy goes farther than the law requires. As a result, some US consumers are having digital picture files returned, and labs are refusing to print their pictures without a copyright release form signed by the photographer, if the pictures have an appearance of having been taken by a professional. Copyright in photographs protected in Canada by the Copyright Act. A Bill to Amend the Copyright Act, Bill C-60, was introduced on June 20th and addresses issues of photograph authorship and ownership and term of protection. For an article on the topic which appeared in the San Diego Union Tribune, see: http://makeashorterlink.com/?R3C91473B Summary by: Clare McCurley