Photographs taken in the course of employment
If an employee takes a photograph as part of his or her job, the first owner of copyright will be the employer,
unless they have made an agreement to the contrary. This general rule is subject to two major exceptions, set
out in the following paragraphs.
Photographs taken by employees of newspaper and magazine publishers
For photographs taken by employees of newspaper or magazine publishers, different rules apply, depending on
when the photograph was taken.
• For photographs taken before 1 May 1969, the publisher owns copyright.
• For photographs taken on or after 1 May 1969 and before 30 July 1998, the publisher owns the rights for
newspaper and magazine publication and for broadcasting, and the photographer owns all other rights
(including the right to put the photographs online or in a book).
• For photographs taken on or after 30 July 1998, the photographer owns the rights to photocopy the
photographs and include them in books; the publisher owns all other rights.
These rules do not apply to freelance photographers, who are covered by the general rule that the person who
takes the photograph owns copyright in it (unless they make an agreement to the contrary).