Expert: Don Wood - 5/24/2004

Question
Hi,

I am thinking about getting into selling postcards to local shops, consisting of her own artwork as well as photography. I think it would be neat to take pictures of local landmarks- shops, the county courthouse, statues, etc. but I have one question: do you need the business owner's permission to publish a picture of their establishment, even if it's on a city block and it's not the main focus of the image? Also, would you have to pay some kind of royalty for this sort of thing? Basically she is wondering about the fees that go along with taking a photograph- aside from materials, production costs, etc. Any information on this subject would be greatly appreciated!

susan

Answer
If you take pictures of public buildings, statues, etc, it's my gut reaction that these are not affected by the copyright law, but if you take a picture of a business and make it the focal point of the picture it may be a different story. Of course, this is a moot point if you sell postcards to the owner for sale. They will conceive this as advertising. I don't think you should offer it to another business. I doubt that another like business would like to be selling a picture of their competitor. I would prepare a pitch for a sale of 500-1000 cards for their business. If you have postcards of other public buildings, statues, etc then you would have to foot the bill as I rather doubt a small business owner would want to stock 500-1000 cards of each scene. Your likely sale would probably be in the neighborhood of 10-25 at a time. You could then offer the deal to other business owners of your collection of pictures. Generally, if you take a picture on public land, (sidewalk) than the business becomes part of the city block and no royalty would be required.
What if the houses you're photographing are part of a historical district that people would be photographing such as Yorktown, Williamsburg, Monticello. This would be a different scenario as you are offering for sale what they are offering for sale. They would probably object to it.
I wish you the best of luck. Does your city have a tour which features architecture and not have any pictures to sell as keepsakes? This might be a possibility for a partnership. But if you are really bothered by it perhaps you could consult privately with an attorney friend who might advise you for free.
Don