Re: REPEAT: Internet and copyright

["Sandy Harris" <sandyinchina -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Copyright issues are, in general, on-topic here. I'm not certain this is.

heidi arnold <heidi -dot- w -dot- arnold -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:

> apparently ignoring a problem with the idea that most rational adults in the
> internet age are governed by a sense of decency and good taste is apparently
> not going to work in this situation.

Most are. That still leaves a problem with the others.

> if an individual's right to privacy and right to contract over video
> material that others publish on the internet is violated, what is the best
> way to remedy this. ...

There are a bunch of laws & precedents that might apply.

One is copyright. The photographer or videographer owns the material
he/she shoots, unless it is "work for hire" so the client owns it. So e.g.
a newspaper photog does not own the work, the paper does.

Then there's the "model release" photographers need to get people to
sign. There are exceptions. No release needed if the person is not
recognisable, or is not the  focus of the shot; you don't need 200
releases for a crowd shot. You may not for personal photos, only if
they are published. There's also some sort of exception in at least
some countries' laws for public places, e.g. street shots. There have
been long complex pasionate arguments on photography lists over
exactly  how that works. I have no idea how papparazzi get away
with what they do, given that the targets have money and lawyers.
Nor do I know why wedding photographers do not need a release
from every guest. Ask a lawyer or a pro photog

Also, various countries have laws specifically to protect personal info,
especially financial & medical. Some of those would appear to apply
in your example, but maybe not the real case.

All this depends heavily on where you are. e.g. at one point, some
US banks had a problem because under EU privacy laws it was
illegal to export customer data to juristictions with less strict laws.
US laws at the time (2000?) were less strict and the banks used
computers in the US.

Even if there is an applicable law, it may be poorly enforced or it
may be a civil matter, so all you can do is sue rather than being
able to get the miscreants prosecuted.

There is an advantage to that. In your example, you could sue
the doctor for negligence as well as suing the poster. The doctor
is both easier o find and more lkely to pay if you win.

It sounds as though you need a lawyer.

You may also need a computer forensics person to track down
whoever diseminated the material. I could help with that, but my
rates are steep. You might be better off dealing with someone
local to you anyway; if you end up needing to bring them to
court as an expert witness, that saves expense.

-- 
Sandy Harris,
Quanzhou, Fujian, China
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