Photographs

All photographs are afforded copyright protection under UK law, from the holiday snap to high art photography.

The exact nature of that copyright depends on when the photograph was taken, however. Whereas under current legislation copyright remains with the photographer (unless they signed an agreement to the contrary or the photo was taken in the course of employment), different rules apply if the photograph was taken before 1989 and under earlier Copyright Acts.

Who owns the copyright in photographs

Photographs taken on or after 1 August 1989

On the whole, the photographer will own the copyright in their photograph for their life plus 70 years, unless they have created the photograph in the course of employment or signed an agreement to the contrary.

Where a photographer works by commission, they will own the copyright in the photograph unless they have assigned or sold it to the commissioner.

Photographs taken between 1 July 1912 and 31 July 1989

The person who owned the material on which the photograph was taken, for example the negative, also owned the copyright.

In the case of photographs taken under commission for “valuable consideration” (money or any equivalent payment), the commissioner was the copyright owner, unless there was an agreement to the contrary.

Photographs taken before 1 July 1912

The photographer owned the copyright in the photograph, unless it was taken under commission for “good or valuable consideration” (money or any equivalent payment). In such circumstances the commissioner owned the copyright.

How long copyright lasts

Photographs taken on or after 1 January 1996

These are automatically protected for the life of the photographer plus 70 years. Photographs taken on or after 1 August 1989 but before or on 31 December 1995

These were originally protected under the 1988 Act for the life of the photographer plus 50 years. Copyright in these works has now been extended by the 1995 Regulations. They are therefore now protected for the life of the photographer plus 70 years.

Photographs taken between 1 June 1957 and 31 July 1989

The length of copyright protection for photographs created in this period depends on whether or not they had been published as at 1 August 1989.

(A) PHOTOGRAPHS PUBLISHED BEFORE 1 AUGUST 1989

Where the photographer died more than 20 years before publication, copyright will expire 50years after first publication. In all other cases, copyright will expire 70 years after the deathof the photographer.

(B) PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH REMAINED UNPUBLISHED AS AT 1 AUGUST 1989

Where the photographer died before 1 January 1969, copyright expires on 31 December2039. In all other cases, copyright will expire 70 years after the death of the photographer.Photographs made before 1st June 1957

These photographs were originally protected for a period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which they were taken (regardless of whether they were published or not).If the photograph was still in copyright as of 1 July 1995 however, the period of copyright was extended to the life of the photographer plus 70 years. If copyright protection had expired before 1 July 1995, there was still the chance to "revive" the photograph. An eligible photograph would then be protected by the new term, ie the photographer's life plus 70 years.

Find out if a photograph is eligible to be "revived" below.

Whether copyright can be revived in old photographs

The 1995 Regulations allowed for the copyright in some old photographs to be "revived" if they were in copyright somewhere in the European Economic Area (EEA) as of 1 July 1995.

For example, if a photograph was taken in 1930 in the UK and the photographer died in 1940, then under the 1911 Copyright Act and until the 1995 Regulations were introduced into UK law, copyright in such a photograph would have expired in 1980.

Some European territories such as Germany already protected photographs for the life of the photographer plus 70 years. If this new term of copyright protection were applied to the photograph, then copyright would not expire until 2010.

This meant that although the photograph had been in the public domain since 1980, its copyright could be "revived".

Who owns copyright in a revived work

The owner of the revived copyright will be the former owner (ie the person who owned the copyright immediately before it expired).

If that person died before 1 January 1996 or was a company that ceased to exist before 1 January 1996, then the revived copyright will pass to the photographer or the photographer's heirs.