According to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law of many countries around the world, the photographer will be the copyright holder of the photographic works he or she took, and the artist will be the copyright holder of the photographs or pictures drawn by them. However, for photos or paintings of people, does the model appearing in the photo/painting have any rights to that painting or photo? Please follow VCD’s article below for more detailed information.
1. What are image rights?
An individual’s image right is an individual’s moral right. Therefore, when using anyone’s image, you must have that person’s permission and consent. This right is specifically stipulated in Clause 1, Article 32 of the 2015 Civil Code as follows:
- Individuals have the right to their image. The use of an individual’s image must be approved by that person.
- Using another person’s image for commercial purposes requires compensation to the person with the image unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
Therefore, if arbitrarily using a personal image, the person with the image has the right to request the Court to issue a decision forcing the violator and other relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals to recover, destroy, terminate the use of images, compensate for damages and apply other remedies according to the provisions of law.
The photo or painting model also has image rights to the painting/photograph in which they are present. However, if the author of the photo/painting has given consent to use the model’s image, the model does not have ownership rights to this photo/painting.
2. The model’s rights to the painting/photograph containing their face
A photo or painting can create a copyright conflict between the person being photographed and the photographer or artist. Both sides have reliable and solid arguments about why they have the right to the photo or painting, one side is the creator, and the other side is the main object of that painting.
The answer to who the copyright belongs to will depend on whether the individual’s image has been approved by that person or not, and whether the modeler has been compensated or not.
An artist spends hours drawing a professional poser hired to pose, standing still for hours on end. In this case, the rights to the resulting painting will belong to the artist, not the subject of the painting.
Likewise, the rights to the photo will belong to the photographer and not the person being photographed. However, whether the photographer has the right to take photos of the person being photographed is another matter. If a picture is drawn or taken without the permission of the subject being photographed, it can lead to lawsuits from the person being photographed or drawn because their privacy has been violated or their honor has been violated (if any)…
Accordingly, the rights to the photographs/paintings belong to the photographer/artist in the absence of any other conflict of nature. If the subject being photographed uses the photo without permission, they have violated the photographer’s copyright.
Above is the article “Does the model of a painting/photograph have rights to the painting or photo that includes them?“. We hope this article is useful to you.
