Do Photographers Own the Exclusive Rights to Their Portraits? A Dive into the “Painer Case” and EU Copyright Law

The C-145/10 Painer case clarified that photographers have exclusive rights over their portraits, as long as the photograph reflects their creative choices. The European Court of Justice ruled that a photograph can be copyrighted if it shows personal intellectual creation. This decision strengthens photographers' control over their work and limits the use of their images by media outlets without permission, even for news reporting.