On the other hand, I wondered why someone could go buy a ticket, stand around the track, and sell his photos. Well I got the answer. They can't either!
Ignorance of the law, has never been a defense. They don't have to warn us, or display public notices that selling protected material, such as, trademarks, logos, or personal likenesses of the contestants, is illegal.
However, if I can find one of the forms I had to sign for one group, to be a media representative, you would get a big laugh. They basically claimed rights to everything, and then the race facility also claimed rights for resale, and the sanctioning bodies, each claimed they owned the rights. It was like someone cutting 10 full pieces out of one slice of pie.
The folks who do sell images to the public and the drivers, have to buy a vendors permit from the tracks. Media representatives don't.
Oh by the way, one more place you can sell your photos from events, other than news outlets, is stock photo sites that carry editorial content. The third is educational materials.
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