Photo Release Form

[OldGrayOwl]

With the advent of the Internet, and many Troops posting photos and movies on their web sites, do any of you have the parents fill out a Photo Release form?

 

This form could protect the troop from liability suits resulting from "unauthorized" publication of their son's images and or movies on the web or other sources.

 

What do you think?

[scottteng]

We have a talent release as part of our general paperwork that all boys parents sign that way their picture can be put on web site, given to CO, and even be put in the local free paper. Its not like we are making money out of the photo's either if they requested a royalty cut we'd give it to them. Whatever percentage of zip they need would be ok. The plus side is the avid shutterbugs make all the parents copies of the photos for the outings they were not on but their kids were.Most twelve year olds want to photograph things. We parents and the rest of the kin want to see photo's of people especially our own people.

[FScouter]

It seems supremely silly. Who has been damaged by printing a picture?? Who is making a big pile of money from a picture of Tommy Tenderfoot on the troop website? Who could possible afford to hire a lawyer only to told "you have absolutely no case"?

[Trevorum]

I believe Philmont requires all participants to sign a talent release.

[Beavah]

Yah, this is currently a hot item in some legal/policy/youth advocacy circles, eh?

 

It's a bigger issue for the camps and things that are chargin' money, or makin' money off of the sale of books/magazines and such. Then there is commercial gain, and a "model" might make some claim on the proceeds.

 

But there's other issues, eh? Custody issues and protection orders, where release of a photo gives information to a less-than-desirable family member that causes some grief. Witness protection (yah, well, it happens for schools anyway). Billy and dad are shown on the canoe trip, when dad didn't have any vacation left and instead had called in sick. These are mostly issues for large youth programs like schools, eh? Not so much for smaller programs like troops where people tend to know each other pretty well. But yeh never know.

 

Not worth payin' too much attention to, but perhaps worth adding a sentence to your permission slips if it's convenient. Remember, though, that sensitivity about youth information on web sites is runnin' pretty high right now, so at least keepin' your parents informed (and givin' them an "opt out" or a way to ask for somethin' to be taken off) is important.

 

Beavah