What happens when/if I die?

[Digidave]

I know this is a grim topic that nobody likes to think about but we must at some point. After reading about those supposed Ansel Adams negatives I got to thinking. Because I do that every now & then. Most, if not all, art has something that is tangible. A painter has his paintings. A sculptor has his sculpture. A poet has his poems on paper. A song writer has his songs on paper or a recording on a disc. I think you get my point. We, on the other hand, as photographers have an electronic file. Whether it be in jpg or RAW format it's still a file that is on your computer. Sure, you may have printed it out but the "Negative" is still an electronic file. Now, if your like me, you have a copyright written into the file so that nobody else can claim it as theirs. I know that you can eliminate that copyright with software, but for the sake of argument, let's say you want to do everything by the book & legal. There are a few scenarios I see as problematic.

Scenario 1:
I'm a world famous photographer. I make millions a year selling my prints( just dreaming). If I have a wife & family I assume that they would retain the rights to my photo files by default but can they legally be making prints with my copyrighted files? Do I need to make a will that turns over the rights-of-usage to my wife? What if I don't have any family? Who has the right to reproduce my prints now?

Scenario 2:
It's just little 'ol me. I'm the family photographer. I take snapshots of all the family events. I give everyone a copy but sadly my brother has a devastating house fire. Now, before he has a chance to get new copies from me, I pass away. They come over & take possession of my computer which has all my photo files on it(with three backups of course). Remember, I have the copyrights imbedded in the files. Will Wal-Mart be able to make new prints for him? Can anyone in my family use these files to make prints for personal use? Can they then start selling prints of my photos? I'm talking legally now.

Scenario 3:
I'm a professional photographer. I have no family of any sort. I just completed a wedding assignment & on my way home I have a fatal car accident. Seeing as how I own a Nikon camera, it makes it through the accident without a scratch. The bride & groom have already paid for the photos & are expecting something in return. Can they legally take possession of the files & have someone else do the post work on them? Are they out of luck?

These may not be the best examples but do you see what I'm getting at here? We have all these electronic files. What happens to them when we die? Can anybody that runs across them just start printing them & making money from my work? How do we assure that rights-of -usage is handed over to the appropriate people. How do we assure that all our past clients have access to the photos that we took for them in case they need more prints for any reason?

What do you all think? Am I thinking to hard about this? Do you think I've gone completely over the edge? Do I need a vacation?

[RichardTaylor]

Made out a will?
I believe the beneficiaries are now owners of your assets after due process of law.
Check with a lawyer or solicitor.

[Athas_orm]

Originally Posted by Digidave

What happens when/if I die?

Wow love your optimism on the "if".
I thought that this was going to be a philosophical question.

Anyway I imagine that the law is different in different countries. In general though you should make a will. Also I believe copyright defaults to your next of kin.

[zetson]

Digidave, I like your reflections but I know to little to give an answer on any of these scenarios. You are right, things have become more complicated with digital. It doesn't sound right to compare digital negatives with film negatives, but it should. It's the same content, only different media. Will these scenarios, especially number 3 be just as problematic if you had paper copies and/or film negatives instead?

I started thinking about MY digital negatives when I read your post. I have everything on my computer and on a backup disk at home. I also have everything backed up and encrypted on Jungledisk (Amazon S3). What if my house burns down and I die with the computer and backup disk? Nobody else knows the password on the S3 server nor the encryption key, hence all my negatives are lost forever. I won't become rich and famous post-mortem and my photographic legacy consist of a few low-res images on Flickr. Depressive thougts

[Henry Wilt]

You're thinking too hard, make a will and leave it in the hands of your solicitor, then take a vacation. (If your a Buddhist and therefore sure of coming back, you might want to leave a codicil in the will to provide for yourself in the next life! )

I also love your optimism regarding the "if" part of dying.

[candleman]

Originally Posted by Digidave

I have a fatal car accident. Seeing as how I own a Nikon camera, it makes it through the accident without a scratch.

LOL


......good food for thought though.

[Digidave]

I won't become rich and famous post-mortem and my photographic legacy consist of a few low-res images on Flickr.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I die & therefore the value of my photos would go up but there is no way to retrieve the negatives. They are locked away inside my computer depriving future generations of my art, skills, & knowledge. Quite a shame actually.

[dakwegmo]

I'm not a lawyer, but from my experience with family that have died. If you have a written will you can determine who gets the rights to your images. If you don't have a will, then your stuff usually goes to your spouse and/or children. If you don't have any heirs, then it's up to to the courts to decide what happens to it. If it's important to you, make a will. There are plenty of inexpensive resources for doing it and it could save your family some hassle after you're gone.

[dakwegmo]

Originally Posted by Digidave

Can anybody that runs across them just start printing them & making money from my work?

No. Copyrights persists long after your death. If you never published the images, then your digital files will by protected for 70 years after your death.

Originally Posted by Digidave

How do we assure that rights-of -usage is handed over to the appropriate people.

The only way to be assured of this is to make a will. It's not a guarantee, but it gives you better chance than left up to the courts.

Originally Posted by Digidave

How do we assure that all our past clients have access to the photos that we took for them in case they need more prints for any reason?

Are you a sole proprietor, or have you incorporated to protect your asserts? What does your contract say? If your contract is silent, then your clients may have to sue your estate for the photos or their money back.

[ShantDotMe]

Imagine, 500 yrs later... a that-day breaking news media "writes" in bold, "a 80GB HDD found when robots were digging for water!! it is the archaeological finding of the human kind" and after a lot researches, scans they will be able to unscrew the HDD, read the disk & get your photos out of it, you will be a hero!!

Now back to earth. These days it is a serious problem, maybe we do not pay a lot of attention to it as we are the "first" generation of people that will live (die) it.

Other than the photographs, I do have my clients' web sites, that do face the same problem. What happens to those clients/websites when I die or get very ill & couldn't log on to the net!

For the photographs, my family to inherit them just like any other asset that I might have at that time, but for the web sites I can't do so, as non of them do/can work in that domain!

Since I'm a freelance designer/developer, I have made a script, that will email my clients all their usernames/passwords/info that they will need to maintain their site, if I don't log in to the script for 30 days!!

Moreover, I do have printed version of those emails, in separate envelopes & have told family, a close friend (just in case something happened to the whole family) & my clients about them. This is an additional step to make sure the clients' will get their info, if something happens to the server/script during my illness/death.