If I purchase images slides, negatives and digital images from an estate sale, can I license those images through Getty Images or another large stock photo agency?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If I purchase images slides, negatives and digital images from an estate sale, can I license those images through Getty Images or another large stock photo agency?
My question centers on owning the rights to the photos without a contract stating
I have been assigned the rights. I would be purchasing these photos from an
individual in California who purchased them from an estate sale in California.
The images consist of boxes of slides, negatives and a personal computer of the
photographer with 50-100k image files.
Are the rights relinquished when images are sold at an estate sale?
Thanks,
Brian Humek
Asked on June 1, 2018 under Business Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
No, the rights are not thereby relinquished. Buying physical copies of images does not convey copyright: after all, if you buy a print from someone, you don't get the copyright to the print--you only get the physical copy you purchased. Copyright can only be transferred by an agreement specifically assigning or transferring it to another. Otherwise, without such an agreement, buying the physical images, even the negatives or digital files, gives you copies of the images, but not the right to license others to download, reproduce, publish, etc. them.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.