In all fairness, the photographer included the copyright release on either the CD or the CD jacket. The problem I had was that Wal-mart had not enforced this requirement in the past, and the online submission site and process did not make it obvious that we would need to physically carry the copyright release to the store in order to pick up the prints.
In the past, we submitted the pics and picked them up, no questions asked. Since we don't steal stuff and don't violate photographer copyrights, we thought that this was "normal". We've used this wal-mart print shop and printed images from the same photographer before, so it was a big surprise when they suddenly started enforcing a rule that wasn't obviously posted anywhere.
Take it as a sign to stop getting Wal-Mart prints.
In my experience Wal-Mart prints suck anyway, you will no doubt get far better prints, and better customer service if you find a decent photo lab. You may not notice it unless you compare side-by-side with a good print, but when you do you'll notice Wal Mart prints have lost shadows, blown highlights, blacks that aren't really black and even messed up color temperature.
I got some quick prints I needed on the road once from a Wal-Mart, and could tell immediately the color was way off (average Caucasian skin was orange). When I got home and compared them with prints from the same file I got from my regular lab (Bay Photo online) I was blown away with how poor they where.
I'd stay away from the Ritz/Inkleys/Wolf chain as well, I've had miserable experience with them, including lost 6x7 negatives on 2 separate occasions with no compensation, and sales people that flat out lied and made stuff up.