A Digital Photographer's Guide to Model Releases

INTRODUCTION: HOW WE GOT HERE 1
PART 1: EVERYONE'S DOING IT. SO WHAT'S WRONG? 9
Preempting Misinformation 12
How to Think About Model Releases 24
Hey, You're Not a Lawyer 28
Remember: It's Just Business 32
Working with Your Clients' Lawyers 36
PART 2: WHAT'S A MODEL RELEASE? 41
Getting on the Same Page 44
Who is Responsible? 51
Litigation in a Nutshell 56
Minimizing Your Involvement 63
The Licensee's Responsibility 69
How was the Image Acquired? 70
Was the Release Status Understood? 72
The Practical Approach 77
The Role of Ethics 82
War Stories from the Muddy Middle 83
When the Best Intentions Go Awry 84
Pay the Quarter to Avoid the Parking Ticket 86
The Bottom Line in Business 88
PART 3: UNDERSTANDING "USE" 93
Defining "Publishing" 97
Understanding Commercial Use 103
Understanding Editorial Use 106
Satire and Humor 108
Artwork 110
Blurred Lines 112
The Perils of Publicizing 114
Self-Publishing and Self-Promotion 126
PART 4: ANALYZING THE NEED FOR A MODEL RELEASE 131
Risk Analysis: The Three Key Questions 131
How is the Photo to be Used? 133
Is the Subject Clearly Recognizable? 134
How Did You Take the Picture? 136
Model Releases and Compensation 145
PART 5: DISSECTING A MODEL RELEASE 151
Contract Authorship and the Spectrum of Risk 154
Your Own Model Release 158
Boilerplates Gone Bad 159
A Simple Sample Model Release 162
Revising a Release 166
Considerations for Editorial Uses 171
PART 6: DEALING WITH PHOTOS OF PROPERTY 173
Understanding Copyrights 180
Copyrights Protect Expression 180
When Being Inspired Is Not Copying 183
Establishing Copyright 189
Understanding Trademarks 192
Trademarks Protect Identity 192
Limits to Trademark Protection 195
Assessing Value 198
Implications for Model Releases 202
Testing the Trademark System 211
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 211
Hearst Castle 212
Navigating the Trademark and Copyright Office Web Sites 216
Considerations for Copyrights 218
Editorial Use 224
Public Display 226
Art and Commentary 226
Found Art 228
Satire 228
Special Considerations for Photos of Buildings 231
Commercial Buildings 234
Personal Homes 236
PART 7: THE BUSINESS OF LICENSING 243
Who Owns What? 247
Work-for-Hire Contracts 250
Non-Work-for-Hire Contracts 252
Licensing Agreement Basics 255
Signed License Agreements 256
The Indemnity Clause 257
Negotiation 101: The Quid Pro Quo 264
The Unsigned "Implicit" Agreement 267
INDEX 274