Images, film and the law
How does the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) affect how you can use images or videos? When are you required to provide the photographer’s name in connection with an image? What do you need to bear in mind when using drone footage? Below is a summary of the legal issues that are relevant when working with images and videos.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law that governs how personal data can be used. Personal data refer to information that can be directly or indirectly related to a living individual, such as name, personal identity number and photos.
Legal basis
You are required to have a purpose for processing personal data. Your purpose must fall within one of the six legal bases set out in the GDPR. What your purpose is will determine which legal basis you should rely on.
According to the Higher Education Ordinance, all higher education institutions in Sweden are tasked with research, education and external engagement. For Lund University to fulfil that remit, our communication needs to be clear and effective. This is even more important when using images and videos. Our purpose in communicating with images and videos is thus to fulfil our remit as a public authority. The legal basis we are therefore relying on is designated as “task carried out in the public interest”.
Corporate Communications’ recommendations
Corporate Communications has produced a list of recommendations about how we are to approach GDPR when working with images and video. These recommendations are based on the University’s interpretation of the law. However, anyone who publishes content is responsible for ensuring compliance with the GDPR and should weigh up the circumstances each time. The recommendations may be revised according to how the GDPR is interpreted going forward. You can find the latest information on the website of the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection. This authority is responsible for ensuring compliance with the GDPR in Sweden.
About the GDPR in Sweden on imy.se
See also the University’s information on personal data and data protection
Always inform people about photography and filming
You must inform anyone you intend to photograph or film that you are doing so on behalf of Lund University. For those who agree to be included in photographs or video, you also need to provide them with information about how we process their personal data. Be very clear that the images may be used on social media.
All the information we are required to provide is summarised on the page below:
Processing of personal data in the form of images and videos – lunduniversity.lu.se
You can provide all the information to those people you want to photograph or film by giving them the document below:
Processing of personal data at Lund University (PDF, 139 kB, new tab)
When organising an event, it is preferable to state in the invitation that photography and/or filming will take place. Refer to the information page on LU’s website. Provide information at the entrance to the event too. Ask the photographer, as far as possible, to avoid crowd shots where people are recognisable and to use a short depth of field so that only the essential people are visible. If possible, you should also provide photo and video-free zones for those who do not want to be on camera.
The University’s contracted photographers are aware that the GDPR may affect the assignments they receive from us. Make sure you give them all the relevant information before the photo session, such as mentioning social media use to the people they want to photograph.
Images that are not the University’s own
Please note that people in images that are not the University’s own may not have given consent or entered an agreement. So, check carefully whether you can publish images bought from an image agency or downloaded from the internet without violating the GDPR.
Use outside the EU/EEA
In some cases, we transfer personal data to third countries outside the EU/EEA, for example through publication on social media. Think carefully before posting an image on platforms and systems based outside the EU/EEA.
Publication under licence
Publications made under a publishing licence (utgivningsbevis), for example when there is a responsible publisher, are not affected by the GDPR. Always provide information on how Lund University processes personal data, even when taking photographs for a magazine that has a responsible publisher, as the photographs may be reused in other contexts.
Frequently asked questions
EEA is an abbreviation for European Economic Area. The EEA countries are Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and they have an equivalent level of protection for personal data and privacy as EU Member States. The protection of personal data is equivalent in the United Kingdom.
Most social media platforms are based outside the EU/EEA and in the United Kingdom. Under the GDPR, we cannot actually use any images with identifiable individuals outside the EU/EEA and in the United Kingdom and guarantee the protection of personal data, but it is questionable whether we are fulfilling our remit effectively if we communicate without images and videos. Be especially vigilant with images and videos on social media. If you are unsure whether the people in the photos are okay with it, you can, for example, use photos without identifiable people or with as few people as possible.
We need to be able to show images from our core operations – research, education and collaboration. Doctoral degree conferment ceremonies, for example, include two of them – research and education – and are therefore a major event that we need to be able to show in images. In addition to our need to provide information about our activities, spectators must expect to be photographed when they are in a public place. Ask the photographer you hire not to include more people than necessary in the images and to use a short depth of field.
It is not possible to prove that anyone has read the information on how the University uses the images. What you can do is always be clear when asking about photography or filming and provide clear written information. Say both that we are from Lund University and that the images may be used in different channels and contexts, for example on social media. Corporate Communication has together with the data protection coordinators at the university concluded that this is a reasonable approach. However, there is no guarantee that our approach will work in all situations. Be careful to always refer to the detailed information at lunduniversity/images-GDPR
Corporate Communication’s recommendations are based on the University’s interpretation of GDPR, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach to following the GDPR to the letter. Based on those recommendations, each person publishing an image must make a judgement in each individual case. Images are published in an official capacity. It is the University that is ultimately responsible rather than an individual.
You can remove images from the locations you know they are published in, as well as delete them from the storage locations you know they are in. Contact Corporate Communication about images to be removed from the image and media bank. However, there is no way to guarantee that all images will be removed and never used again. This is also stated in the information we provide.
Copyright
Photos and videos are protected by copyright. This means, among other things, that the creator has the right to be credited in connection with their work. This right applies in all circumstances except where it is impracticable or technically impossible.
The Swedish Copyright Act sets out your rights regarding the use of a work. Part of the Act regulates what is known as moral rights. This includes the creator’s right to be credited in connection with the work. Under the Swedish Copyright Act, the name is to be written out “to the extent and in the manner required by good practice”. The following section explains how to proceed when publishing content online.
The second part of the Act, concerning finance, sets out the ways in which you may use a work. The agreements with our procured photographers set out the ways in which we are entitled to use the images we purchase. All images we have purchased since 1 January 2020 may be used as widely as we wish within the University and may also be shared with other parties wishing to provide information about Lund University. Older images may have been purchased under different terms. The Lund University image and media bank provides information about how each individual image may be used.
Read the terms and conditions carefully if you are buying a photo from a stock photo agency. These regulate both moral rights and financial rights.
How to credit the creator when publishing images online
You should always state the creator of an image as clearly as possible.
- State the name right next to the image if the web tool supports image captions or if there is another place for image information.
- If that is not possible, state the name of the photographer close to the relevant image or at the bottom of the page where possible.
- Alt-text as a last resort. If no other option is available, you should state the creator’s name in the image’s alt-text. This is an emergency solution that may still be considered acceptable when technology limits your options.
Under the Swedish Copyright Act, you must briefly document any deviations in a relevant place. The text should explain why you were unable to place the name next to the image and describe the solution you chose to use.
About copyright on the Swedish Parliament’s website (in Swedish)
Copyright of AI-generated works
Copyright can only arise in respect of works created by human beings. You can therefore never obtain copyright for works generated entirely by AI. For copyright to be applicable, you must have been sufficiently involved in the process to be regarded as the creator. The work is to primarily be the result of your efforts, not the tools you have used.
Any copyright for an AI-generated work could belong to the developer of the AI software rather than the person who used the tools. This depends on whose contribution is deemed to have contributed most to the work. There are no clear guidelines or established practices as to where the line is drawn.
If you use AI to create images or videos, there is a risk that you may be distributing copyright-protected material. A great deal of copyrighted material on the internet is used to train AI tools. You should therefore be aware that you are taking a risk that could result in the University having to pay compensation to the copyright holder.
Read about copyright for AI-generated works on digg.se, the Swedish Public Authority for Digital Government (in Swedish)
Read the University’s information on visual content created using AI
Copyrighted materials for educational purposes
Under the Swedish Copyright Act, it is permitted to use copyrighted material for educational purposes. Students are also entitled to use the materials.
Read the University’s guidance on using copyrighted material for educational purposes.
Read the University’s guidance on patents, copyright, publication and reproduction
Creative Commons licences
Many images online are marked with Creative Commons licences. Creative Commons is a system that allows individuals to share their images with others and control how those images may be used. There are different types of CC licences that individuals can use to share their images with others.
In total, there are six distinct CC licences, each granting different permissions. The licences specify things like whether you are free to distribute the image and whether you are allowed to edit it. Put simply, CC licences allow the creator to waive certain aspects of their copyright in various ways. In addition to the various licences, there are also two different designations, known as Public Domain designations, which are used when a work is not protected by copyright and may therefore be used freely.
Please note that the people featured in CC-licensed images may not have given their consent or entered into an agreement. So, check carefully whether you can publish images bought from an image agency or downloaded from the internet without violating the GDPR.
Read about CC licences and how to use them on creativecommons.org
Images and videos captured by drones
Images and videos taken using a drone must be approved before you can share them. Under the Swedish Act on the Protection of Geographical Information, it is prohibited to disseminate information depicting Sweden’s land areas from the air. The purpose of the law is to protect information that is vital to total defence.
For most photos or videos taken using drones, you must apply for a permit from the Swedish Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authority. There are a few exceptions, such as photos or videos showing public places. Most streets and squares are public places. In Lund, for example, you can take photos and film Sölvegatan without applying for a permit; however, you do need to apply for a permit to take photos and film in areas such as the Paradis area or the parkland on the LTH campus. If buildings along streets that are public places are visible, a permit may be required.
The definition of a public place is set out in each local authority’s local development plan. In Lund Municipality, it is the Department of Urban Development (Samhällsbyggnadsförvaltningen) that can confirm whether a site is a public place or not.
The three photographers we have contracts with have been instructed not to supply drone images without informing the client that a dissemination permit is required. For clarity, talk to the photographer before the shoot so that it is clear exactly what you want.
- About Dissemination Permits – The Swedish Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Public Authority, Lantmäteriet
- Exemptions from the rule on dissemination permits – the Swedish Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Public Authority
- Email Lund Municipality regarding public places via samhallsbyggnad [at] lund [dot] se (samhallsbyggnad[at]lund[dot]se)
Taking photographs or filming with a drone
You need a permit to take photographs or film using drones. In most cases, a drone licence is required. The rules that apply vary. For example, they may differ depending on whether you are taking photos in daylight or in the dark, in an urban setting or in the countryside. There are also special rules to bear in mind if you are near an airport or heliport.
Contact
Corporate Communications
grafiskprofil [at] kommunikation [dot] lu [dot] se
Nina Ransmyr
Communications officer
nina [dot] ransmyr [at] kommunikation [dot] lu [dot] se
+46 46 222 03 20
Maria Wendel
Communications officer
maria [dot] wendel [at] kommunikation [dot] lu [dot] se
+46 46 222 70 07
Petra Francke
Communications officer
petra [dot] francke [at] kommunikation [dot] lu [dot] se (petra[dot]francke[at]kommunikation[dot]lu[dot]se)
+46 46 222 03 16
Related information
Image and media bank
Download images, templates, logos, fonts and music files from the Lund University Image and media bank.