I have clicked the below photo of a Leopard. As the photo is Clicked by me, the Photo is AUTOMATICALLY protected under Indian Law Copyright Act 1957, as an “Artistic Work”.
As a Photographer I have the Copyright over the photo, but it would if DSLR saves the auto Metadata of the Author.
Permission of using other Photos
Government Platform Public Photos
If a Photo is in Public domain like Government platform, then mostly it is free. You do not require to take up any Permission to use the Photo.
Personal / Individual clicked photos
As described above, Copyright Act 1957, automatically protects the author rights.
So, to use a Photo clicked by some other person, we need to take their permission. It depends on the Author, whether he has made it Free, purchasable, etc.
A proper documentation would be required for the Fair usage of the Photo.
But it would always be better, to once confirm the source and the Rights.
Steps to negotiate with the Owner:
1. We need to confirm if the Permission is required or not
2. We need to find the owner. It may be an individual owner/photographer, Institute, or Organization.
3. Communicate with the owner.
4. Check the owner requirements.
5. Discuss the payment/amount to purchase the photo.
6. Negotiate with the owner.
7. Proper documentation of the sale in Agreement in legal terms.
8. Use the photo.
So, this the entire procedure to own a photo.
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