Finnish Parents Use AI to Remove Watermarks from School Photos

Summary

Some parents in Finland are using AI tools to remove copyright text from preview images of their children’s school portraits, allowing them to use images without buying the photographer’s version. The Finnish school photographers’ association says it has learned of isolated cases, while photographers stress that they are generally paid by families’ purchases rather than by schools or daycares. Finnish intellectual-property specialist Emilia Hodge says photographs receive at least 50 years of related-rights protection, and copying or publishing them generally requires the photographer’s permission; qualifying works can receive longer copyright protection. AI has expanded an older practice of removing watermarks with software by enlarging preview files enough to produce printable copies. Photographers’ organisations say businesses are developing new methods to protect images and identify unauthorised use. They also warn that uploading portraits, especially of minors, to external AI services creates personal-data risks because the images may not be easy to remove afterward. The issue has renewed concern about whether Finland’s 160-year-old school-photography tradition can remain commercially viable.