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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> Print donation, copyright protection.... Need help
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AuthorThread
 10/11/2005 01:39:33 PM · #1
OK, I've never done any "professional" photography and I need help from you guys with experience. For those of you who don't know my story, my son was born 5 weeks premature last May. Our local hospital has a jam-up neonatal intensive care unit and did a wonderful job of caring for my son (as well as my wife and I) during his stay. As a token of appreciation, I would like to donate this print to the hospital. I plan to order from DPC Prints in a 20 x 30 and will matte and frame the print myself.



My question is... If I donate this to the hospital as a gift, what rights do they have to use this image for marketing purposes? As a gift, does it automatically give them the right to copy and re-use this image? My intent is to give them something they can hang in the family waiting area that is specific to their facility. I do not however, want to be exploited. Should I have some sort of contract? I simply want to give away a print, not my rights to it. Advice is much appreciated.

Thanks,

-Lee
 10/11/2005 01:52:11 PM · #2
You can affix a "permanent" sticker to the back of the actual image, before putting it into the frame, detailing the terms of use for the image. That way it is highly improbably that someone could scan the print without seeing that they are breaking the terms of use for the image.

You could also affix a duplicate of the sticker to the back of the frame.

That way you have little to be fear from loss of your copyright because of lost contract paperwork.

Beyond that, I have no other suggestions. All I know is that hospitals can be hectic places and there could be some turn over causing any agreements you have to be lost or forgotten as people shuffle around or leave the hospital.
 10/11/2005 03:27:18 PM · #3
Do you have an example of the type of "wording" I should use?
 10/11/2005 03:54:02 PM · #4
just put (c) your name. that's all you need. an image with copyright protects it from reprinting or reusing. (among people who are trustworthy, I should say.) A hospital should know these rights, as they buy prints for their walls a lot.

edit to say, adorable image :0)

Message edited by author 2005-10-11 15:54:48.
 10/11/2005 04:01:02 PM · #5
Lee,

Start by speaking to someone in the development office of your hospital (the department that solicits and accepts donations). This will accomplish two things:

First, it will allow you to establish that the hospital can in fact use your donated print. If for whatever reason they can't, they will be able to work with you to come up with something that is beneficial to both you and them.

Second, it will allow you and the hospital to establish a clear understanding of the scope of your donation. They may be able to help you work out a way to convey the print and establish a clear understanding of rights - though they should understand that conveying a print of an artwork does not automatically convey the rights to reproduce or to use for commercial purposes.

-Terry
 10/11/2005 04:42:38 PM · #6
Thanks for the input guys. I had planned to contact the hospital prior to ordering and preparing the print, I just needed to have a plan together before I contact them. The hospital is very reputable and I work for an affiliated office so there shouldn't be any problems. There has just been so much talk about image theft and copyright infringement lately that I thought it would be best to protect myself just in case.
 10/11/2005 10:47:43 PM · #7
Originally posted by Palmetto_Pixels:
Do you have an example of the type of "wording" I should use?


I have only seen that once, on an image for a long ago closed photographer studio that had taken a family photo of my grandparents and mother way back in the early 50's.

On the back of the image was a simple statement that the image could not be reproduced without explicit permission from that studio, it included the name of the studio and the year the image was taken.
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