Special offer

Law: What you need to know about copyright in Real Estate

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with StoneHome Photo & Video

 

In my research, I come across many realtor websites that use nice, professional looking photos in their banners, advertising, etc. As a photographer and videographer in Toronto, when I see these I wonder whether they are actually the realtor's own photos, purchased, or stolen. Judging by the quality of property photos posted, it was more than clear that they simply couldn't have shot the good photos themselves--the discrepancy was too great.

As a photographer who spent the last 10 or so years fine tuning my skills, it irks me to think that people would steal photos and use them without permission. For fun, I put myself in those "peoples'" shoes and imagine just how easy it is to take photos from the net. And value? Whatever. "After all", my imaginary criminal thinks, "these photos were simply the result of a person pointing a camera at the subject and clicking a button, right?" Wrong!

Good photos are a result of years of practise and small fortunes worth of gear including lenses, cameras, tripods, heads, computers, software, and more. A perspective correcting, for instance, cost me just under $2000. A full-frame digital camera with cinema grade video: $3500. Software: over $2000. And the list goes on. But that's just the gear, folks. How do you put a price tag on ten years of studying and practice? Just as a writer spends years developing his/her style, just as a realtor spends years studying and training and marketing, so do us photographers spend years learning and perfecting our style, our business. And just as writers make their work seem effortless, just as effective realtors "magically" sell properties with apparent ease, so to does a photographer produce publishable work with ease. Picture it: a photographer stops, looks at some building you passed a thousand times without noticing, maybe squats down, composes, thinks a bit, waits for some light, adjusts aperture, focuses, checks exposure, and, click--it's done. That's it. And yet, he sells the piece for thousands of dollars, sometimes more. You can do that, right? After all, you have a really nice point and shoot with a big zoom, right? So where is the worth in the few seconds it took the photographer to shoot the photo? It's in the years behind him, the gear that almost bankrupt him, etc. 

Fines

So what are the fines of copyright infringement, you might wonder Well, to put it into perspective, a recent mortgage company was sued over $19,400 for simply using two photos in their advertising without the photographers permission: http://www.cgstock.com/essays/copyright_lawsuit

If that doesn't impress you, this piece of news from yesterdays paper should:

 "Italian photographer Paolo Pizzetti filed a suit against Leibovitz in U.S. District Court in New York, claiming that she had taken his photos and used them in an advertising campaign. According to Pizzetti, he was hired by Leibovitz to take photographs of scouting locations for advertisements to be run by Italian coffee company LavAzza in April 2008. The Trevi Fountain in Rome and Plaza San Marco in Venice were among the sites he shot. The photos were allegedly used in a LavAzza calendar of Leibovitz photography released last October – including the cover.

Pizzetti cites weather conditions, cloud formations and the appearance of a particular bird in the photographs according to the complaint filed. He continues that Leibovitz never said she planned to use his photographs and never sought permission to do so. Pizzetti is looking for a court order requiring that Leibovitz cease using the images, as well as pay $150,000 per infringement and other unspecified damages." (source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/09/06/renowned-photog-annie-leibovitz-could-face-more-lawsuits/

I recently came across www.tineye.com, a website that lets photographers input their photos which are then searched online for occurances. The interesting thing about this is that the program even recognizes the photo if it was altered or cropped. Of course, if a photo has been found to be used without permission and owner of the work is keen on collecting, fines are likely to result. 

From Tineye.com

"TinEye is a reverse image search engine. You can submit an image to TinEye to find out where it came from, how it is being used, if modified versions of the image exist, or to find higher resolution versions. TinEye is the first image search engine on the web to use image identification technology rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks. For some real TinEye search examples, check out our Cool Searches page."

Cool, huh?!

Avoid the trouble--I can provide you with professional photos and videos of your current or next listing. My name is Peter and you can reach me at (416) 488-3295 or peter@stonehomephoto.com

 

Posted by

_____________________________________________

Stone Home Photo + Video is a real estate photography and videography company serving the Toronto and GTA real estate community. We offer: Property photos, HD video tours, MLS photos, Virtual tours, Panoramas, High-resolution photo, Head shots/portraits, Feature sheets, Brochures, Fliers, & general Real estate marketing.  

Email us. Call us (416) 488-3295. Follow us: Twitter  LinkedIn YouTube

 

Comments (10)

Carla Muss-Jacobs, RETIRED
RETIRED / State License is Inactive - Portland, OR

Interesting lawsuit against Leibowitz . . . she's not much left anymore.  I use "public domain" photos -- can't go wrong there.

Sep 10, 2009 11:40 AM
Peter - Toronto Real Estate Photo & Video
StoneHome Photo & Video - Toronto, ON

No. She's really struggling. Well, she had a very nice career overall.

Thanks for reminding about public domain photos. Do you have any specific sites you use to get your public domain images?

Sep 10, 2009 12:52 PM
Brian Madigan
RE/MAX West Realty Inc., Brokerage (Toronto) - Toronto, ON
LL.B., Broker

Peter,

I have drafted 25 page contracts (all original) that were just "stolen". So, I know hat you mean.

 

Brian

Sep 10, 2009 01:48 PM
Sylvie Conde
Sutton Group-Associates Realty Inc., Brokerage - Toronto, ON
Broker, Toronto Real Estate

Peter, you've already seen the quality (or lack thereof) of my photos.  Good or bad, they're mine.  If, however, I need professional services in the future, I will give you a call.
(My REAL camera, with all the expensive lenses, hasn't been used in over 10 years, because it's so heavy and of course, it's not digital ... but I do miss THAT quality.)

Thanks for the info.

 

Sep 10, 2009 02:04 PM
Peter - Toronto Real Estate Photo & Video
StoneHome Photo & Video - Toronto, ON

@Brian: I know how this feels. 

@Toronto Real Estate: Actually, I thought some of your photos were good! But, yes, do give me a call if you need some help. We'll work out a deal.  Yes, film is just too expensive these days so it's best to go with digital. And, if you used nikon, you should be happy to know that your old nikon lenses will work on the new digital slr bodies!

Sep 11, 2009 02:52 AM
Lorena Westervelt
Van West Realty - Greenville, SC
Co-Founder/Co-Owner

Hello, welcome to Active Rain! This seems like a wonderful environment to network as well as learn from others. I hope you enjoy yourself and participate often in the Active Rain environment!

Sep 11, 2009 04:42 PM
Kirk Westervelt
Van West Realty - Greenville, SC Realtor -Short Sale Expert! - Greenville, SC
Kirk Westervelt, Broker In Charge, Van West Realty - CDPE - Short Sale Agent - Home for Sale - Greenville, Simpsonvil...

Hello and welcome to Active Rain! Enjoy yourself, learn from others and share your experiences and knowledge with all of us! I look forward to reading your blogs in the future!

Sep 11, 2009 04:48 PM
Peter - Toronto Real Estate Photo & Video
StoneHome Photo & Video - Toronto, ON

@An West: Thanks for the welcome. 

@Kirk: Thanks--it seems like a good community here. I look forward to it! 

Sep 12, 2009 02:03 PM
Eva Erdmann
Lion International Inc. - Holiday, FL
interior decorator

Hi Peter,

I like the subject,it's actually one of my hobbies.Wouldn't you agree,that good Realtor wouldn't take a chance of using someone else's photos,as someone already said good or not so good but mine.

Zijuzijazijana 

Sep 13, 2009 08:31 PM
Peter - Toronto Real Estate Photo & Video
StoneHome Photo & Video - Toronto, ON

@Eva: Yes, I agree--a good realtor wouldn't take a chance of using someone else's photos as their own. Actually, I'd take it a step further and say that that a good realtor, a serious realtor, would not take a chance of using their own photos for marketing their properties, but rather use a professional to do it for them. 

With professional photos and videos at affordable rates, it's curious why they aren't.

Sep 14, 2009 04:49 AM