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Photographing the Eiffel Tower at Night Deemed Illegal
Despite living in Paris for the last few months, I haven’t taken any photos of the Eiffel Tower at night (yet). It seems that I probably won’t be able to, or at least I shouldn’t if I want to stay within the boundaries of the law, as it seems that Eiffel Tower is actually copyrighted! The the lighting display which adorns the tower at night is copyrighted by SNTE, the company who mainitain it. Technically speaking, both amateur and professional photographers aren’t allowed to publish photographs of the Eiffel Tower at night without permission from SNTE. Bonkers.
Thanks to Sanj for the link.
Website: The Fast Company Weblog - Eiffel Tower: Repossessed
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#1 Donncha O Caoimh
I heard about that a while back - what they actually own is the the copyright of the lighting display at night.
So, if there's ever a power-cut in Paris rush down to the Eiffel Tower and snap a pic of it!
10:24 am - Friday, February 4, 2005
#2 le Ffrench
From what I understand, the French law protects artists, giving them (and their heirs) rights on their creation for 70 years.
These rights include:
- control over public display of their work
- control over profit made from their original work
So in fact and even though many were paid with public funds, all the recent buildings in Paris are indeed copyrighted.
You CAN generally take photos from non-private places, as long as you do not make them public and of course, make no profit with them.
I have heard that in some places (Louvres Courtyard), security guards prevented people using a tripod to take photos, but never had any problem myself.
The company running the Eiffel Tower does not oppose public display of photos taken at night, as long as credit is given and is no profit is made from the photos.
A quick search for "Eiffel Tower night" on Google will show dozens of site selling posters. I wonder how many have been formally authorized to do so...
2:40 pm - Friday, February 4, 2005
#3 el capitan
another french act that really defies all logic. typical. socialist-fascism at work kids...
4:08 pm - Friday, February 4, 2005
#4 Donncha O Caoimh
Eh? It's a business decision, nothing to do with the nationality of the owners of the tower.
In the good ol' USA you can have the same restrictions on photographing copyrighted buildings.
Disclaimer - I'm not French, I'm Irish!
4:12 pm - Friday, February 4, 2005
#5 Mike
"Eh? It’s a business decision,"
Its the Effiel Tower, not some business. National monuments should NOT be copyrighted. Or at least that's the way I see it. What's next? Pictures of the Statue of Liberty can't be sold either? The Great Wall of China is off the list as well? How about City lines? Can I no longer sell a shot of New York from far away because I might be infringing on someone's IP? This is a slippery slope and yes the French are being idiots if they let this stand.
If this company wanted to produce some sort of copyrighted lighting display they shouldn't have picked a freaking world famous monument.
btw I'm not unloading on you personally. This craziness about what one can and cannot photography has gotten out of hand.
7:46 pm - Friday, February 4, 2005
#6 Philippe
Just along the same line: I got stoped using my tripod on the Champs Elisee in Paris by the police on a trip a 2-3 years ago.
Australia is discussing to restrict commercial picture taking of the Ayers rock / Uluru.
And there for shure are more of those crazy restrictions around. The french are known for it, others are not much better, no matter if that's a socialistic country or not.
9:37 pm - Friday, February 4, 2005
#7 Keith
This is getting to be too much. The New York Subway, now this. One can photograph the Chrysler Building in New York, but it too is copyrighted and cannot be used without permission. There are other buiidings as well, like the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, anything Disney, etc..
1:41 pm - Monday, February 7, 2005
#8 Andrew Zolnai
Photographing public buildings get harder every year. It has historically been prohibited in Islamic countries to take photos of religious buidligns and streets (lest you photograph women which is an absolute no-no). More recently public edifices esp. tall buildigns due to security concerns in the US and EU (lest such photos land in the hands of terrorists). Some situations are clear (military installations are off-limits) but others are less so (airports are not in fact military but can be considered that).
4:24 pm - Monday, February 7, 2005
#9 Mark
I have been stopped by a security guard from photographing The Louvre at night, when using a tripod (my one and only visit). This was despite being one of only a handful of people there...
11:10 am - Tuesday, February 8, 2005
#10 Carlo Schüller - Photographer
Yaeh, the Eiffel Tour can't be photographed at night because of the art work behind the light. Even if you can photograph it, you should be not use the photo commercially.
3:30 pm - Thursday, March 19, 2009