Facebook’s New Terms of Service – Photographer Tips to Uploading to Facebook.

Facebook has updated it “terms of service” , here is a friendly reminder to Photographers.

I am sure not all of you read the TOS of the social networks you upload your photos to,  here is a little reminder. I decided to forward this  a senior photographer friend who was uploading his photos of a recent foreign trip… the photos were beautiful, stock photo material… I asked him if he read the TOS of facebook and  he said he wasnt aware.. I told him that there was a clause saying that you grant facebook free use of any of your photos you upload and he was skeptical till he checked the terms of service himself.

here is an excerpt of the Term of Service.

Licenses

You are solely responsible for the User Content that you Post on or through the Facebook Service. You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof. You represent and warrant that you have all rights and permissions to grant the foregoing licenses.

Your Content is theirs forever.. including your photos! added under the section Termination and Changes to the Facebook Service.. you will see that once you or if your account is terminated by facebook.. the data will remain even if there is a termination of service.

The following sections will survive any termination of your use of the Facebook Service: Prohibited Conduct, User Content, Your Privacy Practices, Gift Credits, Ownership; Proprietary Rights, Licenses, Submissions, User Disputes; Complaints, Indemnity, General Disclaimers, Limitation on Liability, Termination and Changes to the Facebook Service, Arbitration, Governing Law; Venue and Jurisdiction and Other.

User Content Definition – “User Content” means any photos, text, link, audio, video, designs, ads and anything else that you Post on or through the Facebook Service. “Post” means to upload, post, transmit, share, store, link to or otherwise make available on or through the Facebook Service.

Why Fret about the TOS? understand and it and work around the limitations!

Here are some  Photographer Tips to Uploading Photos to Facebook.

• upload your own content dont upload photos that arent yours.. in the first place.
• If you uploaded be prepared to give it away. (not that it is free.. but once you upload it is understood that you have read the TOS of any social network)
• If you are into Stock Photography, Think 2x, 3x before uploading photos that you may want to sell commercially since Facebook can do whatever they want with those photos.
• Leave a “big ass watermark” on the photo (use something that is hard to edit and will ruin the photo once it is removed) If they decide to use it somewhere, you may as well have free advertising.
• You may want to rethink about uploading your “best photos”… you best photos are better protected on your personal site since your copyright applies to each and every photo that is posted there.
• I read somewhere that a way out of the terms of service is before uploading your photos, have a legal contract assigning your photos to a third party but why go thru all the trouble? just select the photos you want to upload.
• Upload only photos that you would like to share with others (group photos, class reunions, birthday parties.. etc)
• Avoid uploading full sized images, best practice is to upload smaller resized watermarked photos.
• If you are a private person, dont upload photos you wont want others to see.. depending on your privacy settings, your network of friends can see your updates including your photos in the beach or the party you had last weekend.
• Derivative works can be made out of your photos.. if you are not comfortable with this dont post any photos that you want to keep for yourself.
• avoid uploading photos that are too personal, too revealing or obnoxious.. you are not the only one that owns it now.
• If the talk about the terms of service scares you, dont upload or share anything.
• no upload + no sharing = no problem
• READ THE Terms of Service for any site you join!

If you are already on facebook, here are some groups that may interest you.

My photos are MINE! NOT Facebook’s! Change the Terms and conditions!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5606823556

A Milion People Against the Orphan Works Bill
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18736567652

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UPDATE:

• Facebook Clarifies Terms Of Service: “We Do Not Own Your Stuff Forever”

http://consumerist.com/5154745/facebook-clarifies-terms-of-service-we-do-not-own-your-stuff-forever

• Facebook: “We have never claimed ownership” of members’ content

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/02/16/facebook-we-have-never-claimed-ownership-members-content