{"id":9720,"date":"2026-01-13T15:32:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/?p=9720"},"modified":"2026-01-13T15:32:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:32:33","slug":"extension-of-the-protection-of-so-called-simple-photographs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/extension-of-the-protection-of-so-called-simple-photographs\/","title":{"rendered":"Extension of protection of so-called &quot;simple photographs&quot;\u201c"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><u>A premise: types of photographs and protection regime<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&nbsp;<strong>Law 22 April 1941, n. 633<\/strong>&nbsp;on copyright (\u201cLdA\u201d) recognizes and distinguishes the following three types of photographs, in decreasing order of protection:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u201cCreative\u201d photographs\u201d<\/strong>, the subject of a real\u00a0<strong>copyright protection<\/strong>\u00a0pursuant to art. 2, n. 7, LdA;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>\u201cSimple\u201d photographs\u201d<\/strong>, defined as \u201c<em>images of people or aspects, elements or facts of natural and social life, obtained by the photographic process or by a similar process, including reproductions of works of figurative art and frames of cinematographic films<\/em>\u201d, which do not reach a sufficient degree of \u201ccreativity\u201d and to which the law attributes certain\u00a0<strong>so-called related rights<\/strong>, ensuring protection, albeit less than that for creative photographs, to the author of the photograph (articles 87 et seq. of the Copyright Law);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>\u201cDocumentary\u201d photographs\u201d<\/strong>, which do not give rise to any rights in the hands of the creator. These are photographs which merely reproduce &quot;\u201c<em>writings, documents, business papers, material objects, technical drawings and similar products<\/em>\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Protecting creative photographs<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<strong>creative photographs<\/strong>&nbsp;constitute works of the mind pursuant to the\u2019<strong>art. 2, n. 7, LdA&nbsp;<\/strong>and are protected for&nbsp;<strong>70 years since the author&#039;s death<\/strong>. The protection arises&nbsp;<strong>automatically<\/strong>&nbsp;with the creation of the work and attributes to the author both&nbsp;<strong>property rights<\/strong>&nbsp;(including publication, reproduction, communication to the public, distribution, processing and modification, rental and lending), both&nbsp;<strong>moral rights<\/strong>&nbsp;(authorship, integrity of the work, right of unpublished work, right of disclosure and right of repentance).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>The protection of simple photographs<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The protection of simple photographs is&nbsp;<strong>subordinate<\/strong>&nbsp;to the indication of the&nbsp;<strong>name of the photographer and year of production of the shot<\/strong>. In the absence of such indications, the use of the image is&nbsp;<strong>free<\/strong>, unless it can be demonstrated that the user was aware of such data. The author is recognized&nbsp;<strong>some property rights<\/strong>&nbsp;(reproduction, distribution and distribution), while the recognition of a&nbsp;<strong>moral right of paternity<\/strong>&nbsp;is the subject of a jurisprudential orientation&nbsp;<strong>not unique<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>The distinction between creative and simple photographs<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The distinction between creative photographs and simple photographs depends on the presence or absence of the CD.&nbsp;<strong>creative character<\/strong>: jurisprudence offers a rich overview of&nbsp;<strong>criteria for recognizing the presence of creative character <\/strong>in photographic works, giving particular emphasis to the following elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the ability to\u00a0<strong>to capture certain expressions and attitudes<\/strong>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the ability to\u00a0<strong>to arouse emotions<\/strong>\u00a0and evoke suggestions that transcend the common aspect of the reality depicted;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the ability to\u00a0<strong>convey the author&#039;s personality<\/strong>, his imagination, his taste and his sensitivity;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the ability to\u00a0<strong>seize the moment<\/strong>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the ability of photography to\u00a0<strong>stand out from the others<\/strong>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the<strong>undoubted technical accuracy<\/strong>\u00a0(to be found in the methods of realization, in the particular and original framing, in the chosen perspective, in the play of light and shadow, in the contrasts, which go beyond the mere reproduction of the chosen subjects;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the consolidated and\u00a0<strong>enduring success of photography<\/strong>\u00a0in the community;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>there\u00a0<strong>fame of the professional photographer<\/strong>\u00a0author of the shot.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>The recent extension of the term of protection of simple photographs<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With reference to the temporal regime of protection, the Copyright Law originally provided for a duration of 20 years from the production of the shot for simple photographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>THE&#039;<strong>art. 47<\/strong>&nbsp;of Law no. 182\/2025, entitled \u201c<em>Amendment to Law No. 633 of 22 April 1941 regarding the exclusive right to photographs<\/em>\u201d, instead extended this term to&nbsp;<strong>70 years since the production of photography<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new discipline&nbsp;<strong>Not<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>provides<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>transitional provisions<\/strong>; therefore, to precisely define the temporal scope of application of the modification and its concrete effects (in particular with reference to the photographs already taken), it will be necessary to wait for any&nbsp;<strong>interpretative clarifications<\/strong>, including those of a jurisprudential or regulatory nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Content edited by Avv. <a href=\"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/lawyers\/silvia-mondini\/\" title=\"Silvia Mondini\">Silvia Mondini<\/a> Lawyer.<a href=\"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/lawyers\/francesca-milani\/\" title=\"Francesca Milani\"> Francesca Milani<\/a> Dr.<a href=\"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/lawyers\/ilaria-paradiso\/\" title=\"Ilaria Paradiso\"> Ilaria Paradiso<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A premise: types of photographs and their protection Law 22 April 1941, n. \u2026 <a title=\"Extension of protection of so-called &quot;simple photographs&quot;\u201c\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/extension-of-the-protection-of-so-called-simple-photographs\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Extension of protection of so-called &quot;simple photographs&quot;\u201c\">Read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"slim_seo":{"title":"Estensione della tutela delle c.d. \"fotografie semplici\" - Studio Legale Milano | MBG Legal | Mondini Bonora Ginevra","description":"A premise: types of photographs and protection regime The Law of 22 April 1941, n. 633 on copyright (\u201cLdA\u201d) recognises and distinguishes the following"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diritto-dautore","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9720"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9721,"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9720\/revisions\/9721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbg.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}