Why is it necessary to grant photographers copyright for their photographs? Are there special safeguards for consumers?
A. The author of a work is usually the person who creates it. Where the work is a photograph, the owner of the initial negative is deemed to be the photograph’s author (though this is often the photographer in practice). With respect to commissioned photographs, the owner of copyright is the person commissioning the photograph, subject to an agreement to the contrary. The existing rules on photographs will be repealed to harmonize the copyright treatment of photographers with those of other authors. With respect to commissioned photographs, those who commission photographs for personal purposes will be able to make private or non-commercial uses of the photographs unless they enter into an agreement to the contrary. Existing protections of personal information and privacy legislation at the federal and provincial levels will continue to apply, regardless of the ownership of copyright in commissioned photographs.
