Copyright of Home Photos

Dear Rich: If I were to attend an open to a public home show that allows photography of the space, do I own the copyright of the photographed spaces? Or are there restrictions on use? You own copyright in your photos but there may be restrictions for the following reasons: (1) if the photo includes copyrighted artwork -- for example a painting or sculpture in one of the rooms -- you may need permission from the copyright holder of the art (unless your image was permitted as a fair use), or (2) if the photo violates a policy or contract to which you had agreed -- for example, as a condition of the open house, photographs were prohibited -- then you could be sued for non-copyright violations, or (3) if the photos invade the privacy of the home's occupants, you could face a civil suit. We wrote about these architectural photo issues previously and you can always get photo copyright information from Carolyn Wright's photoattorney blog.