Rights

[Crush]

Ok here is the senerio.

You and a friend form a partnership and give it a name. You both cover local events, and put pictures up on your website with a copyrite watermark( company name). Both partners take wages from the partnership bank account. You have yourself put the copyrite watermark on the pictures you have taken and upload them to the partnership site. You a few years later decide to form a different partnership with someone. Once the other partner hears this, they change the passwords on the website and also emails and say conflict of interest sorry your done. Now they refuse to remove the pictures you have taken claiming the said pictures were taken under the company name, and you drew a wage from the company. They tell you because of size and watermark, they can only be showcased anyway and will continue to be showcased under the business name. If any interested people want to purchase any pictures the contact will be forwarded to you.(that has happened)

Thats about it. I am eager to hear what you have to say.

Thank-You

[MJPhotos24]

Isn't there anything in writing that states what happens during a separation of business? Myself and another POTN member have started a business together and every photog under us has a contact that has terms if they choose to leave and want there images removed as we take no rights, then we have a certain time limit before we have to get them off as it can take awhile.

Who owns the rights to the business? Who's name is it under? Where's the business contract? What kinda deal was it? Lotta questions unanswered before can really give an opinion. Though I can understand, I worked with one very unprofessional person in the past when young. When I left he changed the passwords to my accounts - I had to contact the companies and tell them this and if it wasn't for a detailed history in there logs of me as there contact and who it was opened under they could have shut me out instead of him. One was a online payment system and he asked for the money from them - they caught it just before sending the check and sent it my way instead since my address was the one all previous checks had been sent.

So, first question is was there anything ever put in writing and is the business registered?

[Crush]

It is not a registered company as we both had day jobs. Nothing was ever said, it was suppose to be a 50-50 deal. There wasn't alot of money, but it paid for small stuff like light meters ect. The only account would be the bank account, no others. We did split any money 50-50. If one wanted to purchase something, the other could spend the same amount on whatever.

Thanks

[MJPhotos24]

...this is why you get everything in writing, I still fail to do this sometimes and just end up kicking myself in the arse cuz sometimes it still goes wrong. If you were doing a 50/50 then probably would have asked for 50% before leaving and all images to be removed within a time limit unless you wanted to keep them up there for future sales in which you'd just have to trust him to be on the up and up.

Really since there's nothing in writing saying the company even exists legally, the argument of shooting under the company name won't work as you weren't under work for hire. I'd ask for them to be taken down personally, and legally with nothing in writing he can't keep them up there unless Canada is different. There had to be some kind of falling out for you to go start a partnership with someone new and not end this one first?

[T2000]

I'm sympathetic to your partner. But I don't really understand your post clearly. You have a partnership. And without notice to your partner you set up another partnership which would compete with existing one ? Are you kidding?

And the photos. You want your photos back but you took them for the business? They are assets of the partnership? Did you have a prior agreement that if one partner wants to leave he gets his photos back?

Anyway, when people form a general partnership they usually write a general partnership agreement which covers, among many areas, what to do when one partner wants out.

Because you don't have one, you need to look elsewhere. Start reading.

http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/documents/acts/P03.CFM

[Crush]

Well actually I'm the other guy. My buddy went behind my back and started a business with someone else. I locked him out. Any image on the site was taken under the formed company name. He himself put on the watermark as the company name and uploaded. Alot of the images posted had been taken with my equipment and for the company. 100 percent of the start-up was out of my pocket, printers, paper, ink, food and beverages at events ect. So I'm a little bitter and have decided that I will showcase all pictures on the site as the company. Well until a court order is given.

[sspellman]

Crush-

If your partnership has no contracts, then the pictures are property of the authors, and not transfered to the business. Reguardless of if your provided equipment, expenses, etc. there is no agreement that either one of you transfered ownership of anything to your shared business.

By investigating differences in Candadian vs US Copyright laws, there is an indication that copyright of photographs may belong to the owner of the film, which today could be interpreted as the owner of the equipment. This is specified in the Wikipedia entry for Canadian Copyright Law. Much more research by a real lawyer would be needed to make a firm decision on that information.

Still, your actions seem silly and unprofessional. You did not operate a professional business, and now are suffering the concequences. If he is no longer your partner, there is no fair reason to represent his creative work as belonging to the company. Get rid of his stuff and move on.

-Scott

[amfoto1]

What I don't understand is why one couldn't participate in more than one partnership?

It's not like we're talking about a marriage here.

Well, if the partnerships were in direct competition with each other, then it would make sense. Most businesses hammer out some sort of non-compete language to prevent just that sort of thing. Standard practice.

The first partner *might* have been wrong to not discuss the matter in advance with the other partnet.

The second partner *might* have been wrong to lock the first one out and claim his or her images as owned by the firm.

Both are at fault for not putting everything in writing in advance, to prevent just this sort of problem.

At this point, the partners should meet and discuss the matter, preferably with a cool headed, neutral third party to help them through it. Someone you both agree upon. Forget email, letters, blogs... Sit down face to face and work it out. May not be pleasant, but needs to be done and trying to handle it any other way will just lead to more and bigger problems.