The Law on pics and vids

C

Colin

Administrator
Administrator
I take a lot of footage in both categories, some on job sites, some of others jobs sites, some of public, buildings, hacked trees etc.

Recently I was parked up correctly videoing another companies jobsite and the customer was going off, he grabbed the off duty cop next door to get rid of me. The cop and I had a chat whilst the camera was running and he couldn't do a thing about it. No law was being broken.

I also had a ranting security guard threaten me when I was taking pics of the hacked trees at some factory's front yard but I was on the road and he couldn't do a thing about it, I told him try harder to get into the police force coz everyone knows why they are security guards (either failed cops or failed to get in)... he got really pissed off with that.

It wouldn't be the first time I've had a ranting person demanding me stop or hand the camera over so it pays to know the law on a couple of sensitive issues.

1. You're rights to taking the pictures/video

2. Your rights to publishing it ... on the net lets say.

Now there may be some different laws across the continents so I've done a bit of research for USA and Australia.

Here's the link for the USA guys

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2005-12-29-camera-laws_x.htm

And here's a few links for the Australians, and an extract from the first link.

The publication of a person’s photograph without their consent is not in itself proof of defamation. The unauthorised use of the image would need to either lower the public’s estimation of the person, expose the person to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or cause the person to be shunned or avoided.

http://www.artslaw.com.au/LegalInformation/UnauthorisedUseImage.asp

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RN/2004-05/05rn37.pdf

http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/Your_right_to_take_photographs

So, for the above two countries you're pretty right to shoot away. There's a couple of things you need to watch and that's defamation and tort invasion of privacy ... also, if you are on private property in a private place ... like the customers place they do have the right to ask you to not take pics or vid and even have the right to remove you with reasonable force but not battery if you do not comply.

I think that first link for the USA guys covers it well. But I've been sitting here 3 hours now reading up on this and am most confident that I haven't stepped outside the law and can "snap" away.

But I suppose you gotta watch that defamation one if you have some footage of people doing the wrong thing and publish it ... could be messy. If you were embarking on a TV ad where you had some rough nuts carrying on doing the wrong thing you might want to make it a "staged" event with consenting people or actors coz heck ... if it was real footage you might find yourself in a defamation case ... especially if they lost a lot of business over it.
 
You are like the paperiazies of tree hackers cool. Now that I read about it form you I do not feel that I do the same foe knowledge on what not to do. Keep takin Pics.
 
Last week I saw someone driving and taking pictures of every house on my road. I knew it was within their legal right to do so, but I was suspicious so I called the cops. Probably a realtor, but what if my kids were in the front yard?

Who knows, maybe it was DYFS,.....whatever.
 
Sure, I have to edit it down first as it's way too long but I was a bit sneaky.

The cop was questioning if I was concerned about the customer or contractor ... I put it all on the contractor knowing that if it were the customer it could be deemed

1/ Harrassment
2/ Public Nuisence
3/ Offensive behaviour etc etc.

Now the likelihood is that it isn't any of those but if the cop asks you to stop under one of those "allegations" and you refuse then he can get you for failing to take a police order. So I turned the focus onto the contractor and the OHS rules being breached.

Right near the end of the vid, cop standing by my window, I started to get to the end as the cop was really checking out my truck and the next thing would have been a search/defect notice on some BS like no mudflap or something. And I think I said soemthing like "I'll see you later" which is a common way of saying goodbye around here and he replies something like "I will" being an upstart pushing his weight around.

Now I believe if I show this vid, edit out the companies details and make no comment or derogatory remark how could it be defamation? Also watch the customers turn around when the camera stays out, at first he was waving being smart but then realised I wasn't going away and started to spin a yarn to the camera that I may have got the tree around the back if I didn't hassle him ... sure, and pigs fly. That ground was covered well before I pulled the camera out.

Remember, this all stemmed from me being called out to do a bid and when I get there the job is underway by another company ... has it happened to any of you?

It'll be a good show, keep your eyes peeled in the Buzz Video section.
 
Excellent re-search thanx!

Should include that info on that big video library page you must be making for your site! /forum/images/graemlins/propeller.gif

Also, OverClockers.Com can tell you how to get a lot more out of some processor chips, video chips and mutha boards. Sometimes, pretty easily, or sometimes telling you to short things out, frying a junction with a 9 volt battery and other such novelties to remove limiters etc. placed on the hardware so that the same chip/board can be sold at different prices and still massively produced! Of course more cooling is all ways recomended for anything that you are running hotter/more clock cycles thru. /forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
Ekka
Due to new laws and regulations resulting from 9/11 If you video tape outside a refinery and the polce are called expect a trip to the police station. Expect to be questions on why you are filming the refinery while they check on your police record. Expect to spend a few hours at the station, by the way its not against the law.
 

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[quote jerseywild]Ekka
Due to new laws and regulations resulting from 9/11 If you video tape outside a refinery and the polce are called expect a trip to the police station. Expect to be questions on why you are filming the refinery while they check on your police record. Expect to spend a few hours at the station, by the way its not against the law.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe Russia doesn't even do that anymore. /forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Yes, the USA is worried about everything isn't it?, we may all be a terrorist, informant or pyromaniac looking for a good bang out of life ... check everybody, then double check some more, gotta be sure you know, confiscate the tape just in case too ... land of the free eh?
 
Yeah Eric, remember all the problems we had with that check? Same stuff. But like Jersey said, a guy with a camera in a sensitive area, or even just looking out of place will draw alot of attention nowadays. After 9/11 and we look back at how much of it may have been prevented had just one or two guys asked, "Hey, who are you and what are you doing here?"

Hindsight 20/20. We're now taught to question everyone.

Jeff
 
Over here they say if you see something unusual or conspicuous simply report it, for example, a bag left unattended at a train station etc but no-one is taught to confront ... you may just come across me! /forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If in doubt just take some notes etc and pass it on, heck, imagine if it were a real terrorist and you're hassling them, err, no thanks ... leave that to some-one else.

Anyway, another vid is up of today's confrontation. I could do this for a job, do this town some good.
 
I was taking pictures of a tree in a field across the highway from oil storage tanks. The police stopped me to ask what I was doing. I told them that I was taking pics of the tree. They said that I couldn't in that area. WHY? Because of the oil refinery...What refinery? The one on the other side of the road... I didn't even 'see' it because the only thing that I saw was an interesting tree. They took my film, and gave me another roll. The film was printed and I got the pictures back.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Expect to spend a few hours at the station, by the way its not against the law.

[/ QUOTE ]

John's advice is good.

Ekka does fit the terriorist profile.......

if you are a tree hacker!

As Tom's post points out if you are not doing anything wrong you don't have anything to worry about.
 
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