Copyright in the field of digital photography, judicial practice of protecting visual content in the context of global digitalization, and ethical challenges of using photographs without identifying authorship on global media platforms

Abstract

The purpose of the article is a comprehensive study of the features of the legal regulation of copyright in the field of digital photography, an analysis of the judicial practice of protecting visual content in the context of global digitalization, and an outline of the ethical challenges that arise in connection with the mass distribution of photographs in the digital environment. To achieve this goal, an interdisciplinary approach was employed, combining the analysis of international and national regulatory legal acts with a generalization of judicial practices in Ukraine, the USA, and the EU, as well as ethical concepts related to the use of visual works without authorship attribution. The research methods, which include comparative legal analysis, case studies of court cases, and theoretical generalization, enabled us to identify key patterns and trends in the field of protecting photographic works. The results of the study demonstrate that in the modern information society, photographs remain vulnerable due to the ease of copying and distribution, the lack of proper identification of authors, and the imperfection of mechanisms for compensating for damage. Case law indicates the growing importance of technical evidence, such as metadata, digital watermarks and data on publications in social networks, which are used by courts to confirm the fact of authorship. At the same time, international experience indicates different approaches to determining the amount of compensation and protection of the author's moral rights. Particular attention is paid to the ethical aspects of digital anonymity, the conflict between the right to access information and the right to authorship, as well as the risks of cultural appropriation in global media platforms. The conclusions emphasize the need for a comprehensive approach to solving the problem, which should combine legal mechanisms, innovative protection technologies and educational initiatives aimed at forming a culture of respect for copyright. Promising areas for further research include the legal regulation of NFTs and art created by artificial intelligence, which opens a new dimension in the protection of visual works.