Who owns the portrait right of documentary photography?

Stills actors have the right to portrait, but producers can use the authorization of their portraits. Right of Portrait Article 10 18 of the Civil Code, natural persons have the right to make, use, disclose or permit others to use their own portraits according to law. Portrait is the external image of a specific natural person that can be recognized on a certain carrier through images, sculptures, paintings, etc. When a film and television actor agrees to participate in a film and television drama performance, unless there is a special agreement, he cannot claim the portrait right of the whole work. The actor's consent to appear means that he authorizes the producer to make and use his portrait, which is the transfer of the actor's right to use his portrait. In fact, this kind of behavior itself is also the performance of the actor exercising the right to portrait. The assignment and transfer of the right to use the portrait only happens between the actor and the producer, and it can only be partial and limited. However, it doesn't mean that actors can never exercise their portrait rights in film and television stills. Through the analysis, it can be seen that actors in drama, especially film and television characters, can enjoy the right to portrait in film and television stills without damaging the copyright of producers and the right to shape the roles of directors and artists. This is not only because the film and television stills that show the outstanding image of the actor have the legal characteristics of portrait and conform to the legal definition of portrait, but also because as a still image independent of film and television dramas, it highlights the external image characteristics of the actor and the personality interests of the actor himself are more obvious. Judging from the function of guiding social value orientation, protecting the actor's portrait right at this time is more significant than protecting copyright. At the same time, we should also see that film and television stills are actually a synthesis of multiple rights. Therefore, even the producers of film and television dramas who are copyright owners have a problem of rational use when using film and television stills. Beyond this reasonable range, it can constitute infringement. If producers are allowed to use film and television stills without restriction, or have the right to license businesses to use them for free, I am afraid that some producers will sell a large number of film and television stills for improper benefits. Therefore, it is also in line with the requirements of the times to make it clear that actors have the right to portrait in film and television stills. Portrait is a work that uses plastic arts such as photography and painting to reflect (reproduce) the appearance of a natural person, including the five senses. Portrait is also the embodiment of a natural person's personality interests. The image of actors in film and television stills also reflects the personality characteristics of actors. Even for the same role, different actors create different artistic images, so they must bear the personality interests of the actors. Therefore, if the film and television stills can reflect the appearance characteristics of the film and television actors themselves and enable others to identify which actor is the main performer, they should be regarded as portraits and legally as portraits of actors. Portrait right is a kind of personality right enjoyed by natural persons with the personal interests embodied in their portraits as the content. Personality interests embodied in portraits include spiritual interests and material interests. The main contents of portrait rights include the right to make portraits, the right to maintain the integrity of portraits and the right to use portraits. Portrait right means that a natural person has the right to decide whether to use it, how to use it, by whom and why. Without the consent of the portrait owner, others may not use his portrait, and the portrait user may not use his portrait in violation of the authorization of the portrait owner. Using a portrait without the consent of the owner of the portrait, or using a portrait beyond the authorization of the owner of the portrait, is considered to be an infringement of the right to portrait. Because film and television stills conform to the legal characteristics of portrait right, the actors in them naturally enjoy portrait right. It is obviously illegal to not protect the portrait rights of actors just because they are film and television stills, not life photos. To sum up, actors have the right to portrait, and still actors also have the right to portrait. Producers can use portraits of actors, but not beyond a certain range.