So what is the legal situation when someone releases an image under an open license when they don't have the right to do so? Taemyr (talk) 06:50, 13 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
It is a breach of contract between the photographer and the venue, but it doesn't affect Commons ability to legally use the photograph. Kaldari (talk) 15:11, 13 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
That's assuming, of course, that they legitimately own the copyright to the work and license it merely a matter of breaching an independent contract. Photos get deleted if the person licensing it doesn't actually have the right to license it at all.--ragesoss (talk) 15:20, 13 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
So long as they are actually the photographer they own the copyright to the work and the ticket restriction is a contract law issue. When people don't have the right to license a work, it is (most often) because they are not the author.--BirgitteSB16:44, 13 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
That's not true in general. They could have sold or given away the copyright, either before or after taking the photograph. Copyright is completely transferable under US law. Also, under US law, they don't hold copyright by default if they took the photograph as part of their job as someone's regular employee – copyright is held by the employer in that case (barring agreements to the contrary). —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 16:51, 13 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I added a qualifier. The things you say are true but not really very common reasons to delete a photo uploader to one of the wikis. People in those situations generally understand that they have transferred their rights and don't try to claim otherwise. In this particular case, I am not sure whether these were uploaded from China or perhaps from the US or even from Europe. US law on transfers may not be relevant.--BirgitteSB17:25, 13 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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