Legal Rights of Photographers in the USA

Here's a good guideline for taking photos in public.

http://www.kantor.com/blog/Legal-Rights-of-Photographers.pdf

PicApp now representing paparazzi imagery from Pacific Coast News

Picapp, a service of the Israel based technology company PicScout offering bloggers an ad-supported solution to use celebrity, sports, and news, images free of charge, has announced that it has added paparazzi content from Pacific Coast News(PCN). PCN is one of the more prominent sources for entertainment news and pictures. “We at Pacific Coast News are witnessing a substantial change in the photo industry, with a growing demand for the content by bloggers” Said Paul Harris PCN CEO “I believe that PicApp’s innovative and most scalable application will be able to meet the blogger requirements and therefore provide us with a new distribution channel.”

Picapp currently offers images for free use by publishers who are willing to embed the image with ads that Picapp uses to compensate contributors for the content. The company currently represents content from Getty Images, Corbis, Newscom, Image Source, Splash News, and many others. “Our team is pleased to have Pacific Coast News join the platform and add their content to a growing list of content partners” said Eyal Gura, PicApp CEO. “One of the major requests we receive from the blogging community is to increase supply of entertainment images and the PCN content answer this specific need.

Paul Andrew Hawthorne, 41

Paul Andrew Hawthorne, 41, of Jersey City, N.J., passed away on Dec. 20, 2008, after a courageous struggle with Primary Amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder.

He is survived by his wife of seven years, Amy Lambo Hawthorne; and his parents, William J. Hawthorne and Sandra Shroades Hawthorne of Chester, W.Va. He is also survived by two sons, Maxwell James Hawthorne, age 4, and Lucas Alexander Hawthorne, 7 months.

Paul was a beloved brother to Lori Hawthorne Pietrandrea and Luigi Pietrandrea of Hopewell, Pa.; William J. Hawthorne II and Darla Hawthorne of Ambridge, Pa.; Philip Bradley Hawthorne and Robin Hawthorne of Fleetville, Pa.; and Anne Hawthorne Miller and Jason Miller of Industry, Pa. Paul was a loving uncle to 10 nieces and nephews: Alyssa Pietrandrea, Anthony Pietrandrea, Noah Hawthorne, Emma Hawthorne, Jacob Miller, Jordan Miller, Kyle Miller, Ann Therese Lambo, Paul Lambo and Joey Mancz.

Paul and his twin brother, Philip, were born on Aug. 11, 1967, in Rochester, Pa.

During his youth, Paul played many sports. He was a member of the Little League champion Industry Yankees and lettered in high school baseball. He was a 1985 graduate of Western Beaver High School and a 1988 graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

Paul proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy from 1989 to 1993. During his military service Paul served as a still photographer with the prestigious Combat Camera Group Atlantic, photographing NATO forces during Operation Deny Flight over Bosnia. During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Paul served as a photographers' mate, supervising a team of six photographers aboard the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy.

After the Navy, Paul continued his work as a photojournalist working as a staff photographer for the Norristown Times Herald in Norristown, Pa., photo chief for the New Castle News in New Castle, Pa., international news photo editor for the Associated Press in New York City, staff photographer for Wireimage in New York City and a staff photographer for Getty Images in New York City. Paul's recent freelance work included regular photo assignments for the New York Times, New York Post and various corporate and media clients in the greater New York area.

In addition to his passion for photography, Paul was an avid golfer, a black belt in Kyokushin karate, a lover of hiking, mountain biking and the outdoors, and terrific cook of delicious, spicy food. He was most proud of his family, particularly his two young sons.

We'll all miss you my dear friend.

Our condolences to the entire Hawthorne family.

Nobody Wants To See Ashlee's Baby

Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz had a baby boy, Bronx Mowgli, last month, and the world is on pins and needles waiting for pictures of the little angel. Actually, no, not really. Page Six reports:

"ASHLEE Simpson and Pete Wentz are trying to drum up some cash by selling photos of their baby, Bronx Mowgli - but so far, no takers. A celebrity weekly insider told Page Six, "Pete and Ashlee have approached every single celebrity magazine with offers to sell their first photos, but nobody wants them. Covers of them tend not to sell well." A rep for Simpson denied it."

Rihanna and Brown face law suit by paparazzi photographer

A paparazzi photographer has filed $1 million dollar law suit against 'R&B' singers Rihanna and Chris Brown after their bodyguards allegedly assaulted him.

The photographer Luis Santana alleged that the bodyguards of the stars knocked him down and stole his camera outside a nightclub while he was trying to take the pictures of the rumoured couple, the ‘Contactmusic’ reported.

Reacting to the incident, Rihanna's publicist,

Jonathan Hay has called the lawsuit a "really unfortunate event" adding that the matter has been completely blown out of proportion.

Santana claims to have been working outside the Vintage Ultra Lounge in St. Petersburg when he clicked a picture of the pair through their limousine window. He says the stars' employees then assaulted him and took his equipment.

Santana's attorney, Paul Kimsey, claims that the stolen photographs were worth a fortune as they contained the proof of Rihana and Brown's romance.

Santana is demanding a compensation for the photographs and the stolen camera, as well as his own personal injuries and distress.

The 20-year-old singer Rihanna and the young hip-hop sensation Brown have been seen together for almost a year but neither of them have confirmed reports of being a couple.

Brad Pitt On Paparazzi: ‘I Hate These People’

Brad Pitt has some strong words for the paparazzi.

In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Pitt said: "Let me be very blunt: I hate them. I hate these people. I don't understand ... that they do that for a living."

Pitt said there should be laws against celebrity photographers who "climb over your walls wearing camouflage and calling out your kids' names as you're trying to take them to school."

Watch the video HERE.