A Photography: Intellectual Property, Personal Data and/or Information?

Abstract

Intellectual property is as diverse in its objects of protection as no other branch of law. Copyrights, patents, trademarks, etc - they all result from intellectual activity and at the same time they are so different. Both a poem as a work of literature and the diesel engine as an invention are intangible results - creations of the human mind. But works of literature and inventions enjoy special protection. Photographic works are a small part of what is protected by copyright. And yet can we count the pictures published daily on the internet and printed in newspapers and magazines? There is almost no news without pictures, any event – public or private would be captured by cameras. Recently it has become fashionable to take a self-portrait photograph - "Selfie". We have seen thousands of pictures of celebrities, sportsmen, politicians and so on. Portrait picture images are copyrighted, but they also are personal data. And such photography is often designed to inform us about certain events. Copyrights are exclusive, but in case it is not a "selfie", in photography it is not the one whose picture is taken to be the copyright holder. The individual whose portrait is taken has the fundamental right of personal data protection. Three different interests seem to be affected by the use – that of the individual whose personal data is taken, that of the photographer and copyright holder and the interest of the society to have access to information and to the works of art. This article attempts to illustrate the complexity of the problems of intellectual property, data protection and information law and to emphasize the need for an integrated regulative approach to those problems.