DIY Boatyards a dying breed?

[Bolo]

When in Guyana, the Govt collected all investigation photos (normal process), made them open to the press, and mine was picked up by Agence France Presse, who put their AFP copyright mark on before publishing it.

Tin Kicker, Very interesting. So you were working for Guyana, someone else or yourself? When anyone takes a photo they automatically owner the copyright and sometimes back that up by registering the image with the copyright office. So when AFP took your image and put their copyright on it they violated your (or Guyana's) copyright which is grounds for you to sue.

 

[Tin Kicker]

Hiya Bob,

There's an international agreement (UN ICAO Annex 13) describing the steps to take and what happens after a major aircraft accident. One aspect is that certain countries can send investigators to become part of the host country investigation. Those countries generally represent the country of manufacture, country of passengers, etc, and that's how I got to see the world for 32 years. I was there leading the US NTSB team (Boeing, engine mfg, etc) to assist the Guyana Investigator In Charge with her national team.

It's routine for the host investigation agency to collect all photos and do distribution, so they by assignment own the rights even if I took the photo. By making the big batch available to the media, a Guyanese stringer for AFP sorted through to pick that photo, went to the press briefings, and then worked with a French writer who actually wrote the article. Technically the Govt of Guyana could sue AFP but this was all so far removed from the real issue of figuring out why the plane crashed that it'd never happen.

Bob