In Britain, Copyright Law Implodes

In a court case that’s being talked about all over the interwebs, a bizarre British ruling has stipulated that if you photograph anything that someone else has already photographed in any similar way, you’re violating the original shooter’s copyright.

Shock. Fear. Paranoia has swept through the industry.

But another article, this one on the British Amateur Photographer web site, has a little more detail in it. The devil is in the details here – is it possible that part of the judge’s reasoning is that the infringer (Temple Island Teas) had tried to license the original image (controlled, apparently, by Temple Island Collection) and, having failed to acquire a license essentially recreated the image they wanted?

It’s a mess, for sure.