Photography constitutes one of the forms of visual arts. As such, all types of photographs are protected by copyright, provided that they fulfill the requirement of originality. Copyright protection not only allows photographers to preserve their creations and ensure that they will always be attributed to them (moral rights protection), but also to economically exploit their pictures by reproducing, distributing and communicating them to the public (economic rights protection). In any case, these powers should never undermine the protection of other rights deriving from photographs, such as the right to personal data protection and the right to personality. Given the possibilities that new technology offers (ease and speed with which pictures can be manipulated and disseminated even without the author’s consent), special measures should be adopted in order to safeguard the protection of copyrighted photographs in the digital, and particularly, the online environment. In addition to that, specific categories of photos require more specialised copyright protection. That is why, orphan photographs are subject to a particular EU Directive, whereas particular case-law has been also developed for photographic reproductions of public domain artworks. Nevertheless, despite their possible copyright protection, photographs can be used without the authorisation of the copyright holder when specific exceptions apply, such as the fair use and fair dealing rule of common law jurisdictions or the limitations to the copyright found in civil law countries. For instance, according to the Greek Copyright Act, certain exceptions and specific provisions apply in the case of photos published in the mass media. Further to that, due to their artistic value, copyrighted and non-copyrighted photographs are also used in several initiatives of the European Union aiming at enhancing the protection of artworks, as well as their communication to the public.
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