Photography forms - copyright/model release - help...?

[Just Me]

Had a Senior shoot recently, the mother has decided she wants to have graduation party invitations made with one of the photos - the graphic artist needs the high res file - I had the mother sign a model release saying I owned the copyright and could use the photos for advertisement (website) - if I sell the high res file to the mother, doesn't the copyright go along with it and if so, am I still able to use it to advertise if I no longer own it? I'm confused...Prob a stupid question I know but any help would be appreciated! thanks!

[Franklin R]

I think the big question is what the form said, and what did the mother buy from you? Did she buy a copy of a file or a picture? Was there any understanding of the rights when you gave her the data?

I'll assume you sold her a copy of the file, to me that doesn't mean you sold her the copyright and license, you just sold her a high resolution file containing the picture. I don't know what rights she has to that picture but you do not give up your rights just by the sale of a picture if you didn't sign any documents.

It's the same way if you sold a person a print of your artwork, just because they bought a print doesn't mean that you can't make more prints of the work. As well as the purchaser doesn't have the right to reproduce the print for profit. I do not know if the purchaser could use the print in an advertisement.

If this is an issue, I'd suggest contacting a lawyer to go over the circumstance and your rights, rather than asking on Yahoo.