A recent string of lawsuits featuring celebrities being sued by paparazzi photographers for copyright infringement after the celebrities posted paparazzi photos on social media have received increasing media coverage. Khloe Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, Jessica Simpson and Gigi Hadid (twice!) have been sued for copyright infringement based on this legal position.

Many people assume that a photograph of one’s self is their property and they have the right to share that photo in any way that they see fit. Copyright law in Canada is very clear that the owner of the copyright a photograph is the photographer, and not the subject of the photo. For celebrities, the solution is fairly simple: hire a photographer to take your photos, obtaining a written license agreement assigning ownership of the copyright from the photographer to the celeb. If a celebrity simply must post a paparazzi photo to their social media accounts, they should look into licensing the photo ahead of time, paying a fee, and avoiding the cost and headache of a potential lawsuit.

Most people will not face this exact scenario, as they are not followed around by the paparazzi daily, but the same principle applies in more universal scenarios. In any situation in which you are paying someone to take photographs for you, whether that be product photos for a website or advertising, headshots, or even family photos, the owner of the copyright in the photographs is the photographer, unless you have a written license agreement that says otherwise. Negotiating and drafting a simple license agreement at the beginning can save a lot of time and money by avoiding a potential lawsuit and making sure that you own copyright in photographs of you.