Considering Copyright

In the fifth part of our AOP series, Nick Dunmur examines how copyright enables creators to safeguard their work

The Association of Photographers (AOP) celebrates is 50th birthday in 2018 and we remain as passionate about promoting and protecting our members as we did when the association was first established in 1968. We fought tirelessly for the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act that thankfully came into force in 1988. But what does copyright actually mean for a commercial photographer today?

Copyright underpins the nature of how nearly all photographers make a living. As a form of intellectual property and enshrined in legislation (the aforementioned Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988), it is a property right and gives creators the ability to generate income by licensing the use of their endeavours, as opposed to selling ‘units’ of photography, as if they were factory owners shifting boxes of widgets. The words ‘copyright’ and ‘licensing’ are equally applicable to all forms of creative output, not just photography.