I am running a small business consulting firm in Dubai. I am updating my website with a genuine image, so I took an image of the city with my own camera, a landmark without any people or logos of third parties in the picture. Can I use it directly? Or do I first need to make a copyright for these images?
I want to be legally safe side for my images and website. Can someone guide me?
If we go off common copyright laws, since you took the image, you own the rights to the image. However, Be wary of UAE’s photography laws, lawyers say.
“In most of the areas, like public areas, there is a sign that you cannot take a photo,” he said, referring to restricted areas.
People taking photographs should be aware of which areas are restricted, said Imraan Dudhia, a South African photographer and workshops manager at Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai.
Military areas, palaces, courts, Government buildings and certain bridges should be avoided, he said, saying this was similar to rules elsewhere.
So basically, if you take a picture of military areas, palaces, courts, or government buildingss, you might have to pay a fine (a man had to pay Dh500).
You should also ask permission before taking pictures of others.
It is not an easy question as we do not know what exactly will be on that picture as well as we do not know the purpose of your website. In general, you can use this picture for your website without any problem. However, in certain cases when there is a well known or famous architectural object in the frame, you may be limited in the rights to sell this photo.
You should be ok. You might need a property release if you plan to sell it as stock for advertising purposes.
