A question for those of you with IP legal experience or opinions on such matters...

In the late 90's I worked in the art department of a busy NYC television commercial production company. During my tenure there, one of the young directors made what is known as a "spec spot" featuring a BMW motorcycle. (For those unfamiliar with the biz, a spec spot is basically a demonstration of the director's talent made for potential clients, and is usually paid for by a management or production company who represents the director professionally.)

In this particular commercial, a fancy BMW motorcycle weaves through the streets of downtown NY while its rider is engulfed in FLAMES. In a testament to the attractiveness of the motorcycle, when the burning rider dismounts, a crowd gathers, not to enquire about the rider's health, but to salivate over the sculpted lines of the bike. Intellectual stuff, I know.

During the three 16 hr days we worked on that spot, I snapped a few frames with a little Nikon P&S I had at the time. I made an enlargment of one of the more dramatic shots and gave it as a gift to the director. A nice guy, he expressed his deep gratitude and promised to hang it in his office. Not long afterward I left New York to attend to family matters and lost touch with most of my former co-employees, including the director.

Recently, however, I was perusing the website of a certain large American film manufacturer, and it turns out they liked my photograph, too. In fact, they're using it, uncredited, in the director's bio:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/inCamera/july2002/directingP.shtml#p

Judging by the url, it appears to have been up since 2002. The irony here is, of course, that the image was made using a certain 50ASA film made by their main competitor... obviously not the appropriate stock, but all I had at the time. I still have the original in my archives.

Occasionally I work on commission or license pictures I have made for specific uses, and think I have somewhat of a handle on the legalities regarding such, but I'm a little unsure how to proceed on this one.

I was never engaged to shoot stills by any party involved, and no rights were expressed or implied. By giving the enlargement to the director as a gift, I wasn't allowing rights for re-use, was I? If not, any suggestions for what I should do?

Thanks in advance for all replies.