Among other arguments. There was a moment on time when Slated owned the photograph in a very real sense. At that moment he had all the rights to the photograph

Among other arguments. There was a moment on time when Slated owned the photograph in a very real sense. At that moment he had all the rights to the photograph. It was in his possession. No one could have forced him to release it. He releases the photograph with the expectation of being protected by the copyright. If he looses the copyright then the copyright is not serving the purpose it was supposed to serve. To give certainty to people that invest their time and resources to create things and release them.