Use of photographs from sporting events

[sportsphoto]

Question regarding the use of photographs on a website.

I have a number of photographs that were taken in a baseball stadium prior to the start of the game. I have been told the stadium is considered a public place and that I can post these photographs on a website without permission so long as the following is true:

- No baseball player's face or anyone else's face is in any of the photos
- No logos are present in any of the photos

Is this true? Are there any other conditions that I should be aware of?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'm not 100% sure. Photographs take of the stadium are photographs of a public place and currently seems to be fine per my reading of a New York Law Journal article although it does raise some interesting questions of whether owners of unique buildings might try enforcing protection in the future. What you are talking about, though, is inside the stadium and not necessarily a public place. You'd need to be granted entry in order to get the pictures. I can't say with certainty without researching the matter but I'd find it difficult and highly unlikely (especially for publicity purposes) for the team to sue or demand a takedown from fans where no logos or players faces are present in the photographs.

 

[sportsphoto]

Thanks for the reply. I'm assuming that the team is not going to object to it but I wanted to check on it.