Copyright Question (a weird one!)

cambsno

cambsno

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Ok, so this is a bit of a weird one, as I am unsure how this works personally rather than commercially. Gone through a messy divorce. Ex is now demanding I give her copies of my photos.

  1. Legally, does she have any right to them?
  2. The equipment was mine, bought by me. Obviously we were married. Most pictures were taken by me, some would have been taken by her (obviously of me and the kids). Does this mean she owns the copyright to those?
  3. What about pics of say just me and kids, or kids and my parents? I certainly do not want her to have pics of my family. The pics (if I had to give her some) would just be of kids on their own, as last year I had deleted the ones with her in

Yes, this is very petty, but she has been a total cow for the last 6 months or so and has lied to friends and some members of my family about me so feeling very bitter and angry about this. Am sure people will say I am being a dick, and I probably am, but the way she treats me is disgusting, so I do not feel bad for this.
 
Sorry to hear what you have been going through.

May not be what you would like to hear, but who owns the equipment is irrelevant, who took the pictures is the important thing, and whatever pictures your ex wife took, she owns the copyright to.

I would give her the pictures you think she may have taken, hope she doesn't query things too much, and walk away. And if she asks you whether you still have copy's of her pictures, you tell her of course not!
 
I would contest the rights granted to the copyright owner of a photo, in the context of your country's laws...I would NOT think that copyright ownership grants excliusive right to HAVE a copy of that photo, but that copyright ownship merely entitles the copyright owner exclusive rights (unless rights are granted to another entity/individual) to the 'commercial USAGE' of said photo. Your Ex seems to be overstepping her rights as defined by law! And what you do in response to her demand is purely a question of 'good will' or not, a bargaining chit if you will, to 'trade' in the 50/50 division of matrimonial property!
If all she wants are copies of photographs taken by you, give them to her, with the admonishment that he has no additional rights to license others to make money (nor to make money herself) thru commercial use of photos that you hold copyright.
 
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If she is just asking for copies ,then it’s not worth quarrelling over let her have them .. divorces are messy ,but memories last a lifetime .. not knowing what Has led to this is a mute point ..
having been through a couple of divorces myself it’s what you leave behind and can no longer recover that hurts the most ,that may be how she feels . ..it’s pointless once apart to carry on the hatred especially if there are children involved .. so best advice is calm down .if it costs you nothing to comply then just do it .
 
Give her raw files.
 
I share your pain. I had a truly awful divorce myself.
The simplest thing is to separate family photos (which you ought to give her copies of) from your personal hobby/pro shots (which are yours not joint). Or ultimately alternatively dump the lot into a zip file on a memory stick and draw a line. There's enough hassle, expense and sheer awfulness about these things. She's probably just trying to give you hassle, make it easy on yourself, because if it goes to the lawyers the cost will be out of proportion to the value probably.
 
I've been through a divorce myself and have to admit, although messy at times, its the best thing ever!!
Cost me a fortune but worth every penny.
I know my ex kept a lot of the photos of the kids when they were babies but to be honest I haven't missed them (photos, not kids ;) ) as I still have the memories.

If they are digital photos and you still have the original files could put them on a pen drive and give her that??

Good luck with the rest of your life and hope it turns out as well as mines has (y)
 
I'm with the others. In your case I'd just give her copies of the family photos and let it go, it's no loss to you and less hassle than a court case or whatever grief you'll get from her later.
 
Go and speak with a solicitor.

The law is different when it come to divorce, getting proper legal advice is the way to go
 
Vintage Racer said:
Look to the future......................my 4th wife is the best one ever! :ROFLMAO:

.
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Aah, the triumph of Hope over Experience strikes again, and again, and again...
 
cambsno said:
Ok, so this is a bit of a weird one, as I am unsure how this works personally rather than commercially. Gone through a messy divorce. Ex is now demanding I give her copies of my photos.

  1. Legally, does she have any right to them?
  2. The equipment was mine, bought by me. Obviously we were married. Most pictures were taken by me, some would have been taken by her (obviously of me and the kids). Does this mean she owns the copyright to those?
  3. What about pics of say just me and kids, or kids and my parents? I certainly do not want her to have pics of my family. The pics (if I had to give her some) would just be of kids on their own, as last year I had deleted the ones with her in

Yes, this is very petty, but she has been a total cow for the last 6 months or so and has lied to friends and some members of my family about me so feeling very bitter and angry about this. Am sure people will say I am being a dick, and I probably am, but the way she treats me is disgusting, so I do not feel bad for this.
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1) Under copyright law, no. However in a divorce they might be considered a joint asset.

2) Yes, the copyright of the images that she took belong to her. As above, the equipment may be considered a joint asset of the marriage.

3) Again, these might be considered a joint asset if not taken as part of your business.


Honestly I'd just give her copies of the images to save any grief. Better to walk away than prolong the dispute.
 
wiltw said:
I would contest the rights granted to the copyright owner of a photo, in the context of your country's laws...I would NOT think that copyright ownership grants excliusive right to HAVE a copy of that photo, but that copyright ownship merely entitles the copyright owner exclusive rights (unless rights are granted to another entity/individual) to the 'commercial USAGE' of said photo. Your Ex seems to be overstepping her rights as defined by law! And what you do in response to her demand is purely a question of 'good will' or not, a bargaining chit if you will, to 'trade' in the 50/50 division of matrimonial property!
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You might think that, but it is exactly what copyright does, with the caveat that the images may be considered joint assets in respect of the marriage.
 
Post #9 is the best advice so far, depending on how determined you are to do the legal minimum. My standard answer to legal questions posted in forums is "Legal advice from the internet is worth every penny you paid for it."
 
Reading over your original post you admit there is bitterness both ways. Being totally impartial and not making any judgements wouldn't you feel she was being petty if it were the other way around? Are your family images likely to be a real commercial asset? If you let her have the family photos would she be less likely to come after the photographic equipment? I guess what I mean is - if she sees this as you being really petty and vindictive she may feel like being even more of a cow and making your life even harder. The situation could just get worse and worse with you both going tit for tat and you could end up shooting yourself in the foot. Or are you saying she wants copies of all the business images?

If she is talking about the business images and she isn't actually part of the business there may be implications under privacy/data protection laws if you were to release them to someone not involved in the business. That's what you pay solicitors for. If it has gone to solicitors already you should seek their advice.
 
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Are these photos likely to have any commercial value or are they just memories? Will it do any harm to you if these images got out into the wild due to an spiteful ex-wife who has little interest in copyright.

Best to give her the photos and avoid further arguments as making it difficult could cause more problems if there is a claim on the equipment.

Edit: I'd suggest making sure that the EXIF/IPTC metadata is fully updated with copyright you or copyright her.
 
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Thanks all.

Of course I am talking about just pics with the kids and not of me with a beer or any of my hobby or commercial shots. And no, they won’t have any commercial value. They are holiday shots etc

I probably will end up giving them to her at some point, and yes I know I am being petty! Am just fed up with her demanding now as will take a while to sort through.
 
cambsno said:
Thanks all.

Of course I am talking about just pics with the kids and not of me with a beer or any of my hobby or commercial shots. And no, they won’t have any commercial value. They are holiday shots etc

I probably will end up giving them to her at some point, and yes I know I am being petty! Am just fed up with her demanding now as will take a while to sort through.
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Whatever happens I wish you the best and hope you both find a better life. Honestly, it's too short anyway - you gotta live it while you can! Good luck
 
can't you make 2 copies of the photos she wants so you each have one? get them on a monitor and yes print screen - put in a scanner - take a photo of the pictures on the monitor - run slides through a portable scanner- send away for professional copies to be made, or just email her some copies
nothing that can't be overcome by one means or another. If you did this on the photos she took copyrite would be questionable if you photographed her originals by adding a object alongside
being an old age pensioner that I am one learns how to be sneaky;) After all she doesn't need to know

thinking on a bit, if you wanted to be nasty, if you refused she would have to take legal action that would cost her, even a solicitors letter would set her back into a 3 figure sum
 
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cambsno said:
Thanks all.

Of course I am talking about just pics with the kids and not of me with a beer or any of my hobby or commercial shots. And no, they won’t have any commercial value. They are holiday shots etc

I probably will end up giving them to her at some point, and yes I know I am being petty! Am just fed up with her demanding now as will take a while to sort through.
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Your best bet in that case is to say yes of course you can have them .but you need time to sort them out .. then add it hurts you emotionally to even look at them again …
Not really worth being petty as unfortunately with children involved you will need to be in contact till there 18 ..
p.s speaking from experience see how her attitude changes once you find a long legged blonde with big tits
 
Been there, know what you are facing. I agree with posts above re: give her the pics.

But only family pics not business related.
Do a fast sort, copy relevent pics then...
...have them PRINTED as 4x6 color.

In the US, I would use Walmart during a "sale" when prints cost ten cents each.

Solves request, no EXIF to be concerned about.
 
cambsno said:
I probably will end up giving them to her at some point, and yes I know I am being petty! Am just fed up with her demanding now as will take a while to sort through
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Let me suggest you just throw that whole lot in the envelope and post via registered mail like today and be done with it forever. No matter who is right or wrong, this simply ensures this matter won't be eating at you any longer. Simple as that.

P.s. sorry to hear things got to this
 
gewb said:
Been there, know what you are facing. I agree with posts above re: give her the pics.

But only family pics not business related.
Do a fast sort, copy relevent pics then...
...have them PRINTED as 4x6 color.

In the US, I would use Walmart during a "sale" when prints cost ten cents each.

Solves request, no EXIF to be concerned about.
Click to expand...


I'm not certain that you understand the 'joint ownership' issue.

A random selection of 6x4 prints would not be seen as an equal division of assets.
 
I would give her all the relevent pics, i.e. familly, holiday snaps, pets etc all others which do not involve her are yours. Will she even want or know about the few thousand you took of the Sparrow trying to get a crisp shot :)
 
As above I would just give her copies of the relevent pics. Lets just hope your disc doesn't fail while your copying them for her cos it may take a while to track down the backups. (oooh is that naughty)
 
Milo King said:
Go and speak with a solicitor.

The law is different when it come to divorce, getting proper legal advice is the way to go
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As a happy divorcee; I’d assert the opposite is true.
Divorce is horrible, but the legal professionals see it only as a business. The more arguments and strife that exists, the more money they make, it’s not in their interest to be reasonable, they’re literally incentivised to make it hard for you.

When in reality, any professional help you really need is mediation, a calming voice to take the heat out of the situation and allow you to behave like reasonable adults.

I could bang on for hours about this. But almost no one going through a divorce thinks it through.
 
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@cambsno
Sorry you’re going through this, but you need to think what you want this relationship to be like in 10 or 20 years, and whether you’re helping yourself here or going with your gut (which will lead to loads of trouble down the line).

Happily divorced, can and do spend hours in the company of the ex wife when visiting the kids and grandkids, also had a lovely day at Christmas with my wife’s ex husband and his wife.
 
Been divorced approx 7 years or so now. Me and ex get on really well thank goodness. We were together for 31 years. I hate being divorced.

The divorce went ok. No real issues.

I would just put all the family pics on a drive for her. Be the better person.

Good luck with it all.
 
Like everyone else, sorry that it's been a tough time for you.
My feeling is to rise above it all and show her who is the biggest of the two of you.
Spend a few hours sorting out the ones she wants and let her have them.
You can then feel proud of yourself which I feel is important. This comes from experience (not divorce, just a relationship that went wrong many years ago) and I still take a little pride from the way I didn't stoop to her level.
Finally, I hope you can move on and enjoy your future.
 
As she is only after family pics I'd give them to here. Where is the harm and as other have said it makes you the better person.

If you really want to be a b*****d put them on a memory stick at 500px :banana:. Just joking, don't do that :)
 
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