Quote:
Originally posted by Lensman
It's wrong to use the images, but I don't think APIC has any standing to make demands. Most likely, they don't represent the copyright holders.
And on this "name not being associated" shit, what the hell is that? Unless you are holding them in a false light, I believe there is no basis for that demand. These people chose a public lifestyle, they can't have it both ways.
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I have no idea whether APIC has the right to send these cease and desist letters. I can only comment on the general ethics of using celeb content.
As for the name association thing, this is how I see it... I don't think it is about reutation, libel, and related concepts. I think it is still about copyright. I, for instance, own the rights to the pics I take. So I decide when they can be used, and when they can't. This means that if someone steals them, I can tell them to take them down. Now, one reason for such a demand might be the associations from being on their site. In the end, though, the reasons don't matter, just my ownership of the photos.
I suspect something similar is going on with these photos. The "models" may have some rights, because it is likely that they signed a limited release. However, I suspect that the actual copyright holder (the photographer, magazine, agency, etc.) has a lot more rights in such matters than the celebrity.
So, yeah. APIC may not have the rights to complain in all cases, but the celeb sites have even less rights to use the photos.