Images transferred?

[Eliot_Z_Cohen]

OK, we all know that things are getting tough out there in the economy.

I've had a couple of clients go into voluntary administration.

I own all the images I shoot for them. It's very clearly laid out in my Terms.

My question is, if the company gets bought, or their assets do, what are my rights in regards to the images with any new owners of the company, or its assets?

Is the administrator allowed to sell/trade/give the images without me getting a royalty, or my permission?

How does it work?

Please keep in mind, I'm in Australia.

Thanks in advance.

[Noel_Carboni]

I should think making your ownership clear to the Administrator would be a first line of defense. This is based on common sense rather than any legal knowledge.

I can't see how the failure of a business could expose any assets of anyone else not in the same situation. But then, the law isn't based on common sense, generally speaking.

Best of luck.

-Noel

[DougAxford]

Australian Copyright laws are fairly good from my recollection but as Noel says, you need to make sure that everyone knows who is the real owner. An 'accidental' misuse by someone who 'thought' they owned it will not be worth pursuing in court. Better to make everything clear ahead of time.

[Eliot_Z_Cohen]

I've been making some enquiries with some family who are lawyers, who agree that notifying the administrators would definitely be the place to start.

It's not so much copyright law, as it is insolvency law.

I agree that pursuing accidental usage would be counter-productive.

[Eliot_Z_Cohen]

Just a quick update:
I have spoken to the administrators of a company which is in voluntary administration, and explained the situation.

He understood entirely, and asked me to outline my intentions in a letter/email, and include my terms which states that the property and IP rights remain with me. In regard to the company, my intentions are to not stand in the way of management trading out of the problem, and if the images need to be sold on, then I'm amenable to something being worked out, as long as I'm informed. Of course, it's in my interest to keep a working relationship alive with management, or new managers/owners if there's a chance of ongoing work.

I am at the same time, not going to give away images on the off chance that sometime in the future, there might be a slight possibility of work. I'm not that stupid. I think.