Do you need permission to shoot a building externally?

[Adam Gold]

Originally Posted by Chris Davis

I don't know anything about Thailand law, but in the US, copyright law explicitly allows photographing or filming the exterior of buildings from public places.

Chris, I'm sure you're 100% correct in this, but if the authorities are hassling someone, the absolute last thing on their minds is copyright violations. I doubt producing this quote will dissuade them from their security concerns, right or wrong though they may be. They're not hassling anyone because they are concerned about the architect's IP.

But certainly what you've pointed out is valuable in terms of the original question -- can he use the shots he's already taken. But as this thread seems to have veered into having trouble from authorities when shooting Federal buildings, the copyright issues don't really apply in that case.

[Josh Bass]

Question:

Define "public street."

What I mean is. . .where does the public part begin/end?

If you're in their parking lot, is that public or considered their property?

[Cameron Poole]

I conclude that people will get money from you wherever they can, and many in a position of power will wield it at any opportunity, especially if they are bored in their jobs and have a bit of power. Perhaps in this case, asking for permission is almost seeking hassle that could well be unnecessary unless you are shooting for a client who could potentially be liable in the unlikely event of any repercussions.

[Chris Davis]

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

Question:

Define "public street."

What I mean is. . .where does the public part begin/end?

If you're in their parking lot, is that public or considered their property?

A street is obviously public. A parking lot is more often going to be private (unless it's a city-owned lot.) However, in reading up on this, I found a few of the laws and ruling referring to "publicly accessible spaces". That does not mean "publicly owned", but rather a location that is accessible to everyone at all times. In that case an open parking lot, while privately owned, is still considered a publicly accessible space.

[Garrett Low]

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

Question:

Define "public street."

What I mean is. . .where does the public part begin/end?

If you're in their parking lot, is that public or considered their property?

Not always but in many cites the public R/W ends at the back of sidewalk or some set distance from the edge of road. If you are unsure whether a road is public or private you can find out by going to your county assessors office and looking up the parcel maps. They will define all areas that are privately held.

-Garrett

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Chris Davis

A street is obviously public. ...

Not necessarily. Some jurisdictions are selling off roads to private corporations who operate them as profit-making toll roads. Here in Toronto, our highway 407, stretching about 150 kilometers around the top of the Greater Toronto Area, is actually privately owned! Come to think of it, I wonder what effect that has on laws regarding photography along it or from it.

[Garrett Low]

Originally Posted by Steve House

Not necessarily. Some jurisdictions are selling off roads to private corporations who operate them as profit-making toll roads. Here in Toronto, our highway 407, stretching about 150 kilometers around the top of the Greater Toronto Area, is actually privately owned! Come to think of it, I wonder what effect that has on laws regarding photography along it or from it.

I'm not sure how they are doing this in Canada but generally in the US this done through a cooperative agreement between the company that will be operating and maintaining the toll road and the local jurisdiction. The Company enters into what essentially becomes an agreement where whey build, operate and maintain the road for a set amount of time. The actual land is still held by the state or federal government.

It does complicate things a bit for right of way issues but for the most part the same laws that govern public access have to be maintained as it is still public land and access rights need to be maintained by statute. However, in the US these types of arrangements are generally done for freeways which are controlled access roads (i.e. pedestrians and bicycles are not allowed on the road and stopping or your vehicle is only allowed in cases of emergencies) so it really doesn't matter. You can't stop and film from a freeway unless you get a permit anyway.

-Garrett