“I want to put a customer's photo on my website”
Can I use a photo of a customer in advertising
Answer
Yes, but
Yes, with the permission of the person shown. § 12(1) of the Civil Code makes both the making and the use of a likeness conditional on permission, and the exceptions in paragraph 3 are meant for scientific and artistic purposes and for news reporting, not for promoting your own service.
Allowed only if you meet the conditions; miss one and it becomes unlawful.
A photo of a satisfied customer is one of the strongest formats in a small company's marketing and, at the same time, the point where the law touches something more personal than a contract. The Civil Code protects a likeness as part of personality, so this is not about copyright in the photograph, but about the right of the person in it.
What matters is that § 12(1) makes not only the use but already the making of the record conditional on permission. The photographer's consent and ownership of the camera change nothing.
The conditions the answer rests on
- 01
The permission has to cover the use you are planning
§ 12(1) speaks of permission for the making or the use. Consent to being photographed at an event therefore says nothing in itself about whether the photo may appear in paid advertising.
- 02
The exceptions in paragraph 3 do not reach advertising
§ 12(3) allows use without permission, in a proportionate manner, for scientific and artistic purposes and for press, film, radio and television news reporting. Promoting your own goods or service is not among those purposes.
- 03
Even permitted use must not run against the interests of the person shown
The last sentence of § 12(3) limits even the uses the exception covers: they must not conflict with the legitimate interests of the natural person.
- 04
Alongside permission you need a legal basis for processing
An identifiable person in a photograph is also personal data, so the use is assessed under Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. That is an EU regulation, an act applicable in the Slovak Republic directly, and its conditions stand on their own alongside § 12 of the Civil Code.
- 05
It pays to have the permission in writing
The act prescribes no form for § 12, so oral permission is valid. Evidencing it a year later is a practical problem, however, and it is solved by one sentence in an email or a short consent signed at the shoot.
Where we will not answer for you
§ 12 of the Civil Code protects personality, which is a different question from the protection of personal data. A photograph in which a person is identifiable is also personal data, and its use needs a legal basis under Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. These are two separate conditions and meeting one does not replace the other: permission under § 12 of the Civil Code is not automatically consent under the Regulation, and the other way round. The wording of § 12 also does not resolve borderline cases, for example shots from the premises with a customer in the background. Such use has to be assessed against the particular photograph.
How to do it in practice
A reference without a likeness
The text of a review, the company name and the result of the work are not a likeness under § 12(1). When publishing reviews, however, the duty under § 11(6) of Act 108/2024 Coll. applies to state whether and how you verify their origin.
A photo of the result instead of a photo of a person
A finished building, a refurbished interior or a plate in a restaurant carry the same evidential value and do not raise the question of permission, provided no identifiable person is in the shot.
Consent agreed in advance as part of the deal
Where the shoot is part of the service, permission belongs in the contract or the order before the record is made. § 12(1) covers the making as well, so an agreement concluded only after the shoot deals with half the matter.
What the statute says
Wording taken from the official register. Every excerpt is machine-compared against the statutes in our database, so it cannot drift from what the law actually says.
Písomnosti osobnej povahy, podobizne, obrazové snímky a obrazové a zvukové záznamy týkajúce sa fyzickej osoby alebo jej prejavov osobnej povahy sa smú vyhotoviť alebo použiť len s jej privolením.Podobizne, obrazové snímky a obrazové a zvukové záznamy sa môžu bez privolenia fyzickej osoby vyhotoviť alebo použiť primeraným spôsobom tiež na vedecké a umelecké účely a pre tlačové, filmové, rozhlasové a televízne spravodajstvo. Ani také použitie však nesmie byť v rozpore s oprávnenými záujmami fyzickej osoby.Spracúvanie je zákonné iba vtedy a iba v tom rozsahu, keď je splnená aspoň jedna z týchto podmienok: a) dotknutá osoba vyjadrila súhlas so spracúvaním svojich osobných údajov na jeden alebo viaceré konkrétne účely; b) spracúvanie je nevyhnutné na plnenie zmluvy, ktorej zmluvnou stranou je dotknutá osoba, alebo aby sa na základe žiadosti dotknutej osoby vykonali opatrenia pred uzatvorením zmluvy;tom, či a akým spôsobom obchodník zabezpečuje, že hodnotenia produktov pochádzajú od spotrebiteľov, ktorí produkt skutočne kúpili alebo použili, ak obchodník poskytuje spotrebiteľom prístup k hodnoteniu produktovFrequently asked questions
The customer sent me the photo themselves, is that enough?
Sending a photograph says that they made it available to you, not necessarily that they permitted its use in advertising. § 12(1) makes use conditional on permission, so it is sensible to have it confirmed that they agree to the particular use.
I took photos at my own event, can I use the shots for promotion?
Both the making and the use of a likeness are subject to permission under § 12(1). The exceptions in § 12(3) are for scientific and artistic purposes and for news reporting, which promoting your own event is not.
Can the customer withdraw the permission?
§ 12 does not deal with withdrawal, and the answer depends on how the permission was given and for how long. Consent to the processing of personal data under Act 18/2018 Coll. has its own regime and can be withdrawn. Assessing a particular case belongs to a lawyer.