Getting A License To Photograph Items You Already Own

UK Citizens May Soon Need Licenses to Photograph Some Stuff They Already Own

Copyright strikes again, with photographers and publishers hit particularly hard.

Glyn Moody | December 12, 2015

Changes to UK copyright law will soon mean that you may need to take out a licence to photograph classic designer objects even if you own them. That's the result of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, which extends the copyright of artistic objects like designer chairs from 25 years after they were first marketed to 70 years after the creator's death. In most cases, that will be well over a hundred years after the object was designed. During that period, taking a photo of the item will often require a licence from the copyright owner regardless of who owns the particular object in question.
The UK government is holding a consultation into when this change should enter into force: after a six-month, three-year, or five-year transitional period. An article in The Bookseller puts the starting date as October 2016 without citing a source. In any case, the change is definitely coming, and it'll likely be quite soon.

Sculptural wooden furniture by Josheph Walsh. Source: http://blog.gessato.com/2011/10/25/sculputural-wooden-furniture-by-joseph-walsh/

<more at http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/12/you-may-soon-need-a-licence-to-take-photos-of-that-classic-designer-chair-you-bought/; related links: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transitional-arrangements-for-the-repeal-of-section-52-cdpa (Transitional arrangements for the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.) and http://boingboing.net/2015/12/12/britons-will-need-copyright-li.html (Britons will need copyright licenses to post photos of their own furniture. December 12, 2015)>