Photograph

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photo is the oldest name for a photograph (also: photography, in short: a photo). At the time of the invention of the photographic process around 1839, photographic images were called light images in Germany ; the term photography was only established later on the suggestion of the astronomer John Herschel .

Today, in common parlance, a photograph is more of a passport photo , less often than any photo taken through photography in the past .

Legal term

In legal jargon , the term photo is used to delimit the image rights of photo works .

Initially, photography was valued less than painting and graphics and was only given a short term of protection from the date of creation. Over time, the term of protection became longer and longer. After the Second World War, people wanted to protect the pictures of professional photographers longer, but not every simple snapshot. In Austria, for example, with the amendment to the copyright law in Federal Law Gazette No. 106/1953 and in Germany with the amendment and summary of the Copyright Act 1965, the new category of photographic works for sophisticated works was created. The values ​​shifted further due to the adaptation of the design, most recently standardized by an EU directive, whereby even minor design interventions lead to a photographic work today. For example, only machine photos (without special design), images from surveillance cameras, satellite images and the like are considered to be simple photos.

In Germany and Austria photographs enjoy protection according to § 72 UrhG (Germany) or § 73 and § 74 UrhG (Austria) for 50 years after the first publication or 50 years after creation if the picture was never published. The copyright protection of the photographic work, however, lasts up to 70 years after the death of the author.

Web links

Wiktionary: Lichtbild  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations