Copyright
The copyright in a photograph belongs to the person who took it:
Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 - the only exception being employed photographers, where it is his or her employer who owns the copyright unless they have a contractual agreement to the contrary.
Copyright lasts for 70 years after the end of the year in which the author dies and offers protection against unauthorized reproduction of the photographs and entitles the owner to economic benefit from it.
For this reason, it is essential that clients specify the uses to which images be used - preferably in writing - when briefing a photographer and requesting a quotation.
Model release form
A model release, known in similar contexts as a liability waiver, is a legal release typically signed by the subject of a photograph granting permission to publish the photograph in one form or another. The legal rights of the signatories in reference to the material is thereafter subject to the allowances and restrictions stated in the release, and also possibly in exchange for compensation paid to the photographed
