The Wales Tourist Board was notorious among Welsh freelance photographers for operating a Copyright Grab, and this abuse of photographers rights has been extended to the entire public sector in Wales. In other words no freelance will be employed unless s/he agreed to hand over copyright in the images s/he supplied.

No amount of persuasion by photographers could persuade the WTB that their practice was contrary to the spirit of the Copyright Act, unfair, or that they could get what they needed without it. This attempt at persuasion extended to a probably rather disorganised campaign of letter writing to the relevant Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government.

A couple of years ago the WTB was absorbed into the Welsh Assembly Government. As the WTB had been the biggest user of photographs in the enlarged WAG, the WAG took as its model for dealing with photographers that previously used by the WTB!

In other words the Copyright Grab is now officially endorsed, and used, by Welsh Government in all its many guises. A major potential source of income for freelance photographers in Wales has been lost if they are unwilling to hand over their copyright.

Many thanks to EPUK for pushing for the acceptance of the Copyright Act; what a pity it is that individual photographers don't stand up together to prevent this kind of abuse of their rights.