From: Jeffery Kahn (jbk@pa.urel.berkeley.edu)
Date: Fri Dec 06 2002 - 09:44:50 PST
Here in Public Affairs, we do not have a boilerplate legal release that we use or
could share with the rest of campus. In fact, we don't even have a staff
photographer!
However, here are some rules of thumb:
a) When you have a juvenile in the photo, you should get a release from their
parents.
b) If you are doing a story about a generic situation that could hold a person in a
negative light and you want to publish a photo to illustrate the piece, you probably
should get a release. Somebody at the horse track at the $20 window, an
innocent person photographed to illustrate a story about stalkers -- you should
get a release from these folks before you publish their photos.
c) Different rules apply to photos that will be used for commercial purposes. In
general, we don't use photos for commercial purposes. But if you are using a
photo for commercial purposes, then you probably need a release, and you must
resolve the complex issue of rights.
My best advice on this issue is not to make a mountain out of a molehill. Two of
us here on the Public Affairs web team worked for many years on newspaper
staffs (30 years combined). Between us, we are hard-pressed to remember
instances where newspaper photographers felt the need to get signed releases of
their subjects.
But if you have a concern in a particular case, either don't publish the photo, or
get a signed release.
Jeffery Kahn
**********************************************
Jeffery Kahn
Web Manager, http://www.berkeley.edu
UC Berkeley Public Affairs
jbk@pa.urel.berkeley.edu
510-643-0706
***********************************************
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