>>>A while back we had a discussion about copying someone else's photos. I ran across a story in PDN that demonstrates that while an act of infringement might not result in a lawsuit, it might cost you your job and reputation:
The Richmond Times-Dispatch fired a photographer for copying an idea from another newspaper and printed a front-page apology, but has declined to explain exactly how the mistake happened.
The cover of the Times-Dispatch's Metro Business section on Aug. 22 bore an obvious resemblance to the Dec. 22 cover of Style Weekly, a Richmond alternative newspaper.>>>
I hate to be the disagreeable one, but this is nothing new and it bothers me. I think all photographers and writers should develop a style of their own and not copy another person’s style. The question is this: should a photographer be fired for it, and does the PDN story describe an isolated incident (the termination) or is it a trend. I am not too sure it is time for photographers to worry about their jobs; it is perhaps time for lazy photographers to learn a little more and discover new ways to approach the pictures.
I am sure with a little research, it is likely you will discover that this is nothing new and one photographer (or writer) copies the style of another. It would not surprise me to learn that this "Richmond alternative" might find themselves "guilty" of the same thing at some point. I am just guessing, not accusing.
The danger lies in the idea that you can be fired if you copy a style. And, what does that really mean? In my view, it is possible that quite innocently, a photographer might decide to take exception with another photographer that innocently copies their "style" and it might end up in court. I disagree with the publication describing some photographer’s work as "visual plagiarism." There is no such thing.
Am I forever banned from photographing custom motorcycles set at an angle view and draped by scantily clad women? Almost every bike magazine shows the bike at an angle.
The article mentions two similar sentences. There are not too many ways to rephrase it. I might say the same things. Am I guilty of plagiarism? Hardly. What was printed is essentially a fact and facts cannot be protected.
So let me ask every one on the list this: Should photographers be fired for copying a style? What do you all see as the possible repercussions?
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