A few days ago, I found out my work is being used without my permission

I’ve been a photographer for quite some time now. I know the basics of copyright. I have contracts. I mean, I take this seriously.

And yet, just a few days ago, I discovered one of my images being used to promote a commercial venture - without my authorisation, without a licensing agreement, without being credited, and without so much as a heads-up.

Here’s what happened

Earlier this year, I did a model call. For those unfamiliar: a model call is when a photographer offers free sessions in exchange for creative freedom and the chance to make images they're genuinely proud of. Also, since most clients prefer their images not being used for marketing purposes, this is how a photographer gets portfolio work. No money changes hands. The person being photographed gets professional photos, for personal use.

However, even though free, this exchange is specific. It is not a blanket permission to do whatever you like with the images afterwards. Contracts are being signed, even for free shoots.

So, the person I photographed shared one of my images with a third party. That third party then used it publicly to promote a commercial project that they were launching and did involve the person of the model call. The issue? I wasn’t consulted on this, I was not even informed, I was not credited, I never gave permission for commercial use. And this all happened even though every part of this was clearly stipulated in the contract.

Copyright and what people get wrong about it

There is a widespread assumption that if you're in a photo, you have a say in what happens to it. Under Swiss law, that's partly true. People do have a right to their own image, meaning they can control how their likeness is published. But that is not the same as owning the photograph. The image belongs to the photographer, unless the photographer explicitly transfers the copyright.

There is also an assumption that "free" means "no strings attached." It doesn't. A model call is a creative collaboration with clearly defined terms, agreed to in writing by both parties. One of those terms in my contract is that images cannot be passed to third parties for their own use, or commercial use.

What happened here is actually two separate problems. The person I photographed breached our contract by sharing the image without my permission. The third party who received it and used it commercially committed copyright infringement under Swiss law — regardless of how they got hold of the image. Receiving a file from someone does not give you the right to publish it.

Am I nagging?

Maybe it sounds like that. But for me, this is not a small thing.

Photography is my livelihood. Yes, I love my work. No, that does not mean it is a hobby. You don’t get to diminish my hard work just because it is not a corporate career.

Every image I make represents time, skill, equipment, editing, and years of learning. When someone uses that work without permission to promote their own commercial project, they are taking something with real monetary value and using it to generate value for themselves — at my expense.

What makes it baffling is the thoughtlessness of it. This was not a faceless corporation lifting an image from Google. These are people who know me, who came to me, who signed a contract with me. And somewhere between the signed agreement and the LinkedIn post, the idea that my work has value simply did not register.

That is what I find genuinely hard to understand.

Because here is the thing: asking takes thirty seconds. A quick message — "hey, can I share this with someone?" — would have been enough. I might have said yes. I might have said no. But I would have been part of the conversation about my own work.

Are they still going to like me, or even recommend me?

I contacted both parties in writing. I was clear, professional, and firm. I did not apologise for knowing my rights.

I'm sharing this not to publicly shame anyone, but because I know I'm not the only photographer this happens to. And I want the people who work with me — and especially those who respond to my model calls — to understand what they're agreeing to, and why those agreements exist. They're not bureaucratic box-ticking. They exist because my work is my livelihood, and that deserves to be treated accordingly.

Will they still like me? I don’t know. Will they still recommend me to others? I don’t know. Do I care? Obviously I do. But I care more about being treated correctly and fairly and if that bothers someone, they are not my audience.

How it ended?

I don’t know yet, I’ll keep you posted.

No, this was not the image from the copyright infringement :-)