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I have (and sill in the process of) developed this "fair use" policy as a basis for my services, as such all clients (including clubs, team members and their parents) are bound by these terms of service. As the "photographer" I am acting on your behalf as an independent contractor. The first and most important item of the agreement is that "physical" and "intellectual" ownership and copyright to all the photographs is maintained and solely owned by myself. That is to say that I retain full ownership and copyright to all photos and only grant you, the players and their parents "fair use" of the photos and images for personnel use only. The obvious question is what does "fair use" imply and what impact does "copyright" have with respect to the photos and images?

What does "fair use" mean?
As the photographer and the copyright owner of these photos and images, I grant you restricted and limited use of these photos and images for your personal use only. Personal use of these photos and images is defined as the processing and printing of the images and photos for display in your home or office. Public distribution, display, "re-sale" of these photos and images to another party, or the inclusion of these photos and images in sales or marketing material is a violation of this agreement and copyright laws. As the photographer and copyright owner only those rights specifically listed above are granted to you, all other rights are retained by the photographer.

What does "Copyright" mean?

Copyright is a right under law, granted to the creator of intellectual property, to control the copying, reproduction, distribution, derivative use, and public display of their intellectual property (photographs and images), and to right to seek compensation for unauthorized use (infringement) of their work, and protects both published or unpublished works. This right begins at the moment the photographer fixes an image or "photographic expression" in a tangible form, that is, when the photographer creates the latent image, whether on film or digital media.

Copyright ownership is bestowed automatically when an image is created, does not depend upon or require registration with the copyright office or placement of a copyright notice on the image. The copyright acts of both Canada and the U.S. stipulate that ownership in copyright initially vests in the author (photographer) of the work. In Canada the law recognizes an author to be the creator, the person originally bringing the work into existence as the first owner of copyright in the work.

Link to: Canadian Copyright Act

Link: PDF format for contract of services (not available at present)