Who is right? Get your documentation in order.

Who took this??

I came across this little photo rights story and realized I need to go through all my model releases and get them in order.  With how many images I create I need to have them protected from wrongful use and also ensure I protect myself for how I choose to use them.

Here is a quick summary of the story. 

• The band Vampire Weekend bought the rights to use the photo above for $5000 from photographer Tod Brody for their CD cover.  The photo was taken in 1983.
• The model in the photo, Ann Kirsten Kennis, states the photo was taken by her mother (who may have sold the image), not Brody, and she had not signed any model releases for using the photo.  She is suing the band, record label, and photographer for using the photo without her permission for $2,000,000.
• Tod Brody claims he took the photo and has a model release for the image.

Please read the whole story to get more details.

Here is my non-legal-expertise-based thoughts.

1.  If the mother sold the photo she took, then Ms. Kennis may have little ground to stand on.   Technically, shouldn't the mother have had to gather model releases before she sold the photos? Who owns the rights to unclaimed/unattributed photos?  How responsible is a commercial user in determining this? 
2.  The photographer's credibility is in question.  His misspelling of the model's name is odd.  There are other awkward parts to his story.  Supposedly he has the model release forms and I assume he either showed them to the record label or has them available.  If that is true, then at least the record company should be released from liability.  It should not be up to them to have go and dig through the whole back story of the photo.  If the photographer did anything wrong (i.e., stole the photo, did not have a model's release, forged papers, etc.) then he is liable.  If his papers are legitimate and he is the photographer, he is free of liability. 
3.  If he bought the image and yet claims to be the original photographer, that seems dirty.  He should have known better than to claim it as his.  I am not sure if he is liable for selling it to record label, but may be for stating he took the image.
4.    I would expect any company that deals in the sales and distribution of artistic property (music) to have a smart legal staff to ensure artistic property rights are taken care of in agreements.  Sadly though, the record company is a larger target with deeper pockets than the photographer, so they will have to pay through legal fees and maybe fines.
5. In my humble opinion,  I don't consider this image damaging to the model's character.  The band and label did not intend to malign her by using it.
6.  This photo was taken with a Polaroid camera, the fastest image and printing system of the day.  With the speed and proliferation of digital cameras and the instant availability of the images, we (models and photographers) need to be very careful in how we use the photos.  If we intend to use them for any potential money-making purposes, we need to get everything down in writing.  Don't assume a handshake will protect you.  I took the photo below with my iPhone camera before I wrote the first sentence of this paragraph and uploaded to here before writing this sentence. 

Instant Me

Here is a Vampire Weekend video.   I'm not a big fan, but it is light and pleasant.