Ove the past three days I have been photographing horses and riders at a local horse show here in Ontario.
The show was held at a facility that is open to the public and the event was not ticketed. I've photographed at this facility on many occasions, as have a number of other photographers I know.
The shows at this facility are put on by many differerent organizers who simply rent the facility for the number of days they require for a show.
Today, I recieved an email from the show organiser ( not the property owner ) insisting that I cease and desist from displaying the photos I have taken on my website and also that I do not sell any of the photographs.
They stated their reason as being there was another photographer on site who had 'exclusive' rights to the show. There were no notices/signs on site, or on their website indicating that photography was prohibited, and no announcements were made over the loud speaker system to indicate that this other photographer had 'exclusive rights'
In fact, during the course of the second day, the other photographer was standing and shooting less than 5 feet away from me and never indicated that he had exclusive rights. Part way through the second day I was also joined by another photographer I know and the three of us were all standing and shooting photos within feet of one another. It was clear to anyone that we weren't just snapping photos of friends as we photographed many different riders over the course of the three days.
The photos that I took would only be sold to the riders themselves, and used for some editorial work for websites and magazines.
Since no attempt was made during the three days to stop me ( or a number of other photographers ) from taking photographs and since there were no notices/announcements etc saying that photography was prohibited, is there anything the show organizer can do now after the fact?
From what I can remember from the quick course I did in business law many years ago, any kind of terms or conditions need to be stated or available in advance and can't be retroactively applied. Much like when you enter a concert venue and the signs state 'No photography alllowed'.
Any advice, thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Al
The show was held at a facility that is open to the public and the event was not ticketed. I've photographed at this facility on many occasions, as have a number of other photographers I know.
The shows at this facility are put on by many differerent organizers who simply rent the facility for the number of days they require for a show.
Today, I recieved an email from the show organiser ( not the property owner ) insisting that I cease and desist from displaying the photos I have taken on my website and also that I do not sell any of the photographs.
They stated their reason as being there was another photographer on site who had 'exclusive' rights to the show. There were no notices/signs on site, or on their website indicating that photography was prohibited, and no announcements were made over the loud speaker system to indicate that this other photographer had 'exclusive rights'
In fact, during the course of the second day, the other photographer was standing and shooting less than 5 feet away from me and never indicated that he had exclusive rights. Part way through the second day I was also joined by another photographer I know and the three of us were all standing and shooting photos within feet of one another. It was clear to anyone that we weren't just snapping photos of friends as we photographed many different riders over the course of the three days.
The photos that I took would only be sold to the riders themselves, and used for some editorial work for websites and magazines.
Since no attempt was made during the three days to stop me ( or a number of other photographers ) from taking photographs and since there were no notices/announcements etc saying that photography was prohibited, is there anything the show organizer can do now after the fact?
From what I can remember from the quick course I did in business law many years ago, any kind of terms or conditions need to be stated or available in advance and can't be retroactively applied. Much like when you enter a concert venue and the signs state 'No photography alllowed'.
Any advice, thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Al