Photo releases for pictures of peoples property

[shane_c]

So I came across a great shot of some fishing boats that were out of the water and being 'stored' along the road in the woods. One of the boats has a name on the front so would be easily identifiable by the owner. Would I need a photo release of some sort to sell copies of it?

[PhotosGuy]

I don't see why you would. OTOH, here anyone can sue anyone for any reason. Doesn't mean that they would have a good case, & as I understand it, nobody ever sues anybody on Canada? :D

[Mike R]

In the US, if the property is identifiable, you need a property release. If you sell the print, the owner of the property can go to court to collect and probably will if the shot was used in a major way such as in an ad. I would check Canadian law.

[mikep00]

Canadian Law is pretty forgiving. Here are a few exerpts
http://ambientlight.ca/laws.shtml

-To Sum it up. You don't need a model release form in Ontario, most other provinces you do for identifiable people.
- You DON'T need one for objects/buildings. So for you you would not need one. You can even take and use photos of copyrighted art as long as it is a different media (ie. sell a photo of a statue, but not take a photo of a copyrighted photo and sell that)

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Photography of Buildings and Public Art

It is not against copyright law to take a photo of any architectural work, for example, a building, or a permanent piece of public art.
Copyright Act (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-42/text.html#Section-32), 32.2. (1): It is not an infringement of copyright

(b) for any person to reproduce, in a painting, drawing, engraving, photograph or cinematographic work

(i) an architectural work, provided the copy is not in the nature of an architectural drawing or plan, or

(ii) a sculpture or work of artistic craftsmanship or a cast or model of a sculpture or work of artistic craftsmanship, that is permanently situated in a public place or building;


People Visible in Photographs

The industry standard for commercial photography dictates that any identifiable person in a photograph should sign a model release. However, in Ontario, the Privacy Act does not protect it's residents against unwanted commercial use of their image. Other provinces, for example, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Quebec have provisions in their Privacy Acts (or similar regulations or statutes) for allowing a person to control their image or likeness, voice, and other attributes. Note that this does not disallow you from taking photos of them, only what you do with the photos (such as publishing them).

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[shane_c]

thanks everyone!