Photographers' rights neglected by UK copyright law, suggests BPC survey

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Existing UK copyright law does not offer sufficient protection to photographers, a survey by the British Photographic Council (BPC) has suggested.

In the BPC study, which questioned more than 1,000 photographers, press agencies and picture libraries, 72 per cent of those surveyed said their copyright had been infringed in the last three years.

Within the 72 per cent group claiming infringement, each respondent incurred an average of 26 different infringements, the study suggested.

While the majority said these infringements were cause for concern, only a quarter of participants said they pursued every case, with 71 per cent citing the difficulty of raising legal action.

Other key findings from the survey, which will be submitted as evidence to the copyright review being conducted by David Lammy MP , included:

• Of those photographers who pursued payment for copyright infringements, only 74 per cent said they received fair compensation; 88 per cent said the amount paid would not deter future infringements;
• Income has dropped for 76 per cent of those surveyed, because of a reluctance to give away rights for no additional fee;
• In the last five years, demands from clients for greater rights have increased for 74 per cent of respondents.

"We need root and branch changes that would make it unlawful to transfer copyright, and moral rights legislation that would ensure both the right to attribution and to protection of the integrity of images," said John Toner, chair of the BPC, in a release.

"Further, we need access to the legal system to ensure that small claims of infringement can be pursued speedily and at a cost commensurate with the scale of the claim."