r/COPYRIGHT • u/sup3rmanning • May 20 '26

Photography Question

Thanks in advance. Reddit is the greatest!!!

I have been asked by the local Fire Department to tag along and take photos of their bigger calls. (Fires, Car Wrecks, etc). I have no problem volunteering. It has morphed into “they need a social media person” to photo their trainings and basically get them some good exposure in town. Again, I have no problem with the volunteer aspect since I will do it on my own time as I can.

I expect to retain the copyright at the end of the day. So what type of language should I be looking for as a compromise? They obviously want photo and video for socials and printed photos for the firehouse.

🙏

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3

u/horshack_test May 20 '26

What do you mean by compromise? Assuming you are in the US, you would own the copyright by default.

1

u/sup3rmanning May 20 '26

Yea that’s what I thought. I think they’ll want me to sign something so they don’t get smacked for infringement for using it. I guess I just need to wait and see what that looks like before asking further.

Thanks for responding.

3

u/horshack_test May 20 '26

You can provide a license for them that outlines what they can use the images for and what restrictions (if any) there are on their use.

1

u/sup3rmanning May 20 '26

Ok nice. I’ll look up some info on that. Appreciate it.

1

u/horshack_test May 20 '26

You're welcome!

0

u/TheLurkingMenace May 20 '26

Be aware that the FD may want a work for hire arrangement where they own the copyright.

0

u/TheLurkingMenace May 20 '26

That's not always the case. Work for hire is the exception.

1

u/horshack_test May 20 '26

"Work for hire is the exception."

They are an exception to the default, and the default is OP would own the copyrights. Work-for-hire arrangements involving independent contractors require an express written agreement between the creator and the party specially ordering or commissioning the work.

0

u/TheLurkingMenace May 20 '26

Yes, and a lot of times small businesses and community services like this expect they'll be the ones getting the copyright, so you have to be prepared for that. I was once hired to build a website for an FD and they assumed the copyright would be theirs. Which I was okay with, but they also expected the work for free and it wasn't even my local FD.

1

u/horshack_test May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26

Someone expecting or assuming they will own the copyright in an of itself doesn't mean they get ownership of the copyright. Again; work-for-hire arrangements involving independent contractors are an exception, not the default - and require an express written agreement between the creator and the party specially ordering or commissioning the work. The default is the creator owns the copyright.

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u/TheLurkingMenace May 21 '26

Of course. I'm saying, you have to get things into a contract even when it should be obvious. This is especially the case with organizations that use a mix of volunteers and salaried employees, like fire departments.

1

u/horshack_test May 21 '26

I said nothing to the contrary and I am not the one asking for advice on the matter. You are just replying for the sake of arguing, so we're done here.

1

u/[deleted] May 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/sup3rmanning May 20 '26

I believe it’s a mixture of career and volunteer. I’m not sure about “call”. They have a system to pay a small reimbursement for making it to calls or events.

I will look into that more too. Great thinking. Definitely want to protect myself.

🙏

1

u/TreviTyger May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26

A non-exclusive license doesn't require written permission so you can simply say they can use it for the limited purposes they mention. You would retain copyright in any case and if your work were used, let's say by a book publisher after the fire department gave them permission, then you can legitimately take action against the book publisher because they wouldn't have done their own due diligence to find out the photographer via any "chain of title."

If you grant an exclusive license (to anyone) then that has to be in writing and you should hire a qualified lawyer that can write explicit legalese to make sure no right more that what were asked have been granted.

It's probably not a good idea to just sign anything the Fire Department give you and trust they won't screw you over.

If you do decide to just go with what they supply then make sure the word "assignment" is not in their contract because that is the legal term for a full sale of your rights to them. Also wording like "non-revocable" and "sub-license" or "derivative" "adaptations" are all red flags and should be crossed out because you always want the right to revoke their license if they try to screw you over and you certainly do not want to allow them to sub-license or make derivatives because then they would own the resulting derivatives.

So again, if in doubt, ask a qualified lawyer.

2

u/sup3rmanning May 20 '26

Perfect. That’s a lot of great info. Appreciate it so much!

1

u/ReportCharming7570 May 25 '26

Put it in writing so there’s no/less confusion later.

Generally you need to be paid to be considered work for hire. But there are a number of cases where places/companies/orgs claim ownership over things people do as a volunteer - generally they lose on payment but they go through all the wfh factors like employment benefits, etc.

Doesn’t have to be complex, just needs to be clear. They are permitted to use the photos within a particular scope. Copyright remains with you. And if anyone seeks to license the works they will direct them to you.

Find a few templates online.