Brother tried to get prints made from a memory card @ WalMart

[CJsNvrUrly]

My daughter works at a Walmart photo lab and is forbidden to print any photos with nudity.

[C(-)ris]

graylocks wrote:
[quote=richorlin]
Since when did Walmart become the copyright police? It's not their job to protect anyone. I think the clerk was overstepping his authority. The only time he has any say in what gets printed is if it's child-porn. Even then, all he can do is call the police.

perhaps liability has been extended to establishments in lawsuits. walmart has deep pockets - it wouldn't surprise me if there have been attempts to go after businesses with assets to tap.
Yep, many lawsuits against the companies that print the copyrighted works. Most people won. There is a standard release for that you can get filled out by the photographer and then you will have no problem getting the prints done.

[richorlin]

graylocks wrote:
[quote=richorlin]
Since when did Walmart become the copyright police? It's not their job to protect anyone. I think the clerk was overstepping his authority. The only time he has any say in what gets printed is if it's child-porn. Even then, all he can do is call the police.

if they spot you, even my local library will stop users from copying copyrighted material beyond use limits. perhaps liability has been extended to establishments in lawsuits. walmart has deep pockets - it wouldn't surprise me if there have been attempts to go after businesses with assets to tap.
I can understand the library stopping you from copying books, but since when did the minimum-wage clerk at Walmart become knowledgeable as to what pictures ALREADY have a copyright on them. "Oh sir, that photograph is too good. You, a rank amateur never could have taken that, so therefore, you must be stealing that". This is BS.

[C(-)ris]

If it doesn't look like your average crap picture, assume it is professional. Just like IDing for alcohol and cigarettes, better safe than sorry. The fines/lawsuits that result from copying a work cost way more than you never coming back ever again.

[Michael]

Yep. The one great picture I've ever taken of my wife was blocked by the WalMart technician because he thought it was professional. He told me the photographer could sign a release and then he'd print it. I told them since I was the photographer, I'd be happy to sign the release right then. That brought us back to the, "but it's professional." Fortunately, one of the other techs was a student in my class at the time and he intervened and I got the pictures. That should have been worth some extra credit!

[RAMd®d]

I remember when a couple around the Bay Area/South Bay (San Jose?) were arrested for taking child-porn because a drug-store photo person found pictures of their one/two year old-boy running around their pool, nekkid.

No end of grief for the family. I don't remember how it turned out; that wasn't news. But they suffered a great deal.

So not only to parents have to worry about what gets to the photo labs, but professional photographs are not permitted at Wal-Mart? Or you just have to prove your ownership?

"If you were really any good and these were really your pictures, why would you bring them to us to print?"

Or is it that Wal-Mart doesn't want to give cheap printing to pros?

And how to you tell somebody you *think* they're stealing copyrighted material and can't have the work done at Wal-Mart?


These are Walmart employees paid on the cheap, they are not copyright experts. They are only doing what they are told so they don't get fired.

Ain't that the truth!

I guess that wasn't much of a problem with film? Welcome to the brave new digital world.


That should have been worth some extra credit!

And a discussion of the pitfalls of taking good pictures.

[richorlin]

I always thought Walmart was a crappy place to shop and this proves it.

[onthedownlow]

Wal-Mart is a great place to shop and the employees were just following policy. The lab folks are decision makers too and can make that call if they wish, obviously it depends on who you are dealing with.

[space-time]

onthedownlow wrote:
Wal-Mart is a great place to shop ...

could you please explain why? have you seen that jib-jab a few years ago, I think it was called BoxMart.

[CJsNvrUrly]

So I asked my daughter, and she said that...
it's all about copyright infringement. Federal law. The Walmart employees are required to ask if it's copyrighted. You can't, for instance, take a picture of an Olan Mills photograph and get prints made.