Examples
Examples and cases
Conflicts in creative work are rarely unique: most often people argue about what was promised, who owns the result and whether people in the photos can be shown. Below are a few typical scenarios and the first steps in each.
In a dispute, first gather the messages and files, then put your demands into words. Order matters more than emotion.
All situations are hypothetical: they are not real cases, stories of real people or court practice. They show a line of reasoning; a decision on a real case is made together with a lawyer. Rules differ by country — check your local law or a local lawyer.
Situations
Each scenario is a hypothetical example built from typical questions.
Hypothetical example: a client demands all rights to wedding photos
After delivery, the client writes that since they paid, they may forbid the photographer from showing the shots. Reread the contract: if it contains only a licence, the author remains the rights holder, and portfolio use depends on what you agreed. If the rights were transferred in full, that must be done through a written assignment agreement.
Hypothetical example: an illustration appears on someone else's website
An artist finds their work in the design of someone else's page with no credit and no permission. First take screenshots and save the address, then send a calm message to the site owner offering to remove the image or take out a licence. If there is no reply, the next step is a claim letter and a lawyer's advice.
Hypothetical example: a person in the frame asks to remove a reportage photo
At a street festival a photographer took a wide shot, and one of the guests asks for the photo to be removed from the publication. If the person is not the main subject of a shot taken at a public event, consent under article 152.1 of the Russian Civil Code is not required. But if the frame is built around her, it is a different situation, and it is wiser to accommodate her.
Hypothetical example: a mural on a cover
A designer wants to put a photo of a large wall painting on the cover of a paid publication. Article 1276 point 1 does not remove the need for the author's consent if the work is the main subject of the use or the use is for profit. Here you need to find the artist and get permission.
Hypothetical example: the client neither accepts the work nor pays the balance
The files have been sent, but the client is silent. Check what the contract says about delivery and acceptance, send an acceptance certificate listing the files and ask the client to sign it or set out their comments. If the silence continues, discuss a claim letter with a lawyer.
Hypothetical example: a year later the client asks for the originals
The client asks again for unprocessed files that the photographer has already deleted. If storage was not agreed, nobody usually promised to keep the archive indefinitely, but a dispute is still possible. The lesson for the future: state in the contract whether originals are handed over and how long the archive is kept.
Related sections
- Guides
Step-by-step notes: a photo shoot contract, consent to use a person's image, a licence for a photo, and what to do if your work was used without asking.
- Documents
Shoot contract, licence agreement, assignment agreement, consent of the person in the frame and acceptance certificate: why each matters and what to check.
- Questions
Short answers to common questions about rights to your work, commissions and payment, people in the frame and shooting in public places.
- Basics
How copyright arises, how a licence differs from an assignment, when you need consent from a person in the frame, and what you can shoot in the street.
Sources
- Russian Civil Code, articles 152.1, 1234, 1235, 1259, 1276
This summary is based on the Russian Civil Code. Article wording changes over time, so check each rule against the official text, check current conditions with your country's tax authority, and take a real dispute to a lawyer. Copyright and image rights differ by country — check your local law or a local lawyer.