diCorcia The man in this photo, Erno Nussenzweig, sued photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia for exhibiting and publishing his photo without permission. Most photographers, casual and professional, won’t ever get dragged into courts – let’s hope you won’t either. Remember, the courts are wacky and, depending on the charge, as well as local and state regulations, outcomes aren’t always the same even though cases might be similar. Most court cases involving photography and videography center around the First Amendment and issues of copyright infringement. There have been plenty of winners and losers, but here’s a look at some recent court rulings that have upheld your rights as a photographer.

For example, photographing a protest and sharing it on YouTube as citizen journalism might be OK, but taking pictures of a building from a public sidewalk for your own use might not be. Our Constitution’s First Amendment offers a lot of protection, but it doesn’t shield all photographic activities. However, because our judicial system is so complex and laws can be interpreted in many ways, that innocent thinking isn’t enough to keep you out of the courts and enduring a potentially long and costly process. Most people are under the impression that as long as they’re on public property, not invading someone’s privacy, and shoot for private enjoyment, then their photography is fair game. There seems to be daily reports of people getting into trouble with the law over photography. Of course, this isn’t the first time a photographer has gotten himself into hot water.

Pic of supreme