Copyright and reproduction of photographs

Thursday October 19th 2023

The Church of Ireland Press Office has issued guidance on copyright and photography.

In doing so, the Press Office has revealed that in recent months, several church organisations on the island of Ireland have been required to pay charges of up to £2,000 / €2,300 for infringing copyright by publishing photos without permission.

These have included news photos taken by agencies such as Getty, Reuters, Press Association, AP and AFP.

The guidance states that agencies use regular online searches to check how and where their photos have appeared.

The Guidance Note states that it is therefore important for all parishes, and similar ministries, to:

Review their past and present content on social media feeds and websites;
Remove all photos taken by professional photographers for which permission has not been given;
Inform their diocese if an infringing photograph been shared with them for further publicity.

Download the full Guidance Note.