Most companies use photography on their web sites, social media sites, corporate blogs, printed brochures and marketing materials, in-house publications, trade show displays and probably in several other ways. As such, it’s very important that companies have a policy regarding the handling and storage of these photographs.
• By law, almost every picture is copyrighted. Permission to reproduce such photos needs to be in writing. Does a business have written permission for every picture it uses? Where are these written permissions kept?
• Professional photography is licensed for use and rarely, if ever, sold outright. Where does a company keep copies of these licenses and how are they tracked?
• Are employees acquiring pictures legally for the company blogs and social media sites? Are employees aware that pictures cannot just be swiped from someone else’s web site? (The minimum statutory damages in Canada for copyright infringement is $500 per infringement.)
• Should sub-contractors such as a public relations firm or an ad agency have to follow a company’s corporate photo policy?
• How does a company catalog and archive its pictures? Are these pictures properly captioned and keyworded for easy retrieval in the future?
• How does a company keep track of which images are used, (or can be used), as media handouts?
• If a company has a corporate photo library, (and it should), who can access this library?
Most newspapers, wire services and picture agencies have had photo policies in place for decades. Every business needs to develop a proper strategy for its handling of photography so as to avoid copyright infringement, the loss of photographs or the misuse of photos.
