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09/04/2003 12:15:14 PM · #1 |
I notice that on the bottom of every DPC page is this little note: (quoting)All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Does this mean that we have copy rights on pictures that we post here? How else does one get there images (digital in particular of course) copy righted?
Also what are the benefits and necesaties of getting your material copyrighted???
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09/04/2003 12:17:22 PM · #2 |
Intellectual material (which is anything you create) is automatically copyrighted to you, as far as I know, although you have to register it legally before you can take any legal action.
Message edited by author 2003-09-04 12:17:37.
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09/04/2003 12:27:13 PM · #3 |
When I checked with the Copyright Office in Washington quite a few years ago and asked what I had to do to copyright an item I had invented, they told me the minute I put the following on it "© Copyright + Year, All Rights Reserved + Name" that it was covered.
He told me I could spend all the money and do it with legal paper work but it would still the same, and he recommended I not spend all the money.
Just my $0.02 worth;
Calvus
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09/04/2003 12:29:10 PM · #4 |
| I'll second that Calvus - anything you create is copyrighted as long as it's stated like mentioned below. |
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09/04/2003 12:30:02 PM · #5 |
I think anything you create is copyrighted anyway, the statement you put on it just warns people. At least that is how it is in the UK, not sure about America.
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09/04/2003 12:33:46 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Calvus:
He told me I could spend all the money and do it with legal paper work but it would still the same, and he recommended I not spend all the money. |
Then why is there "legal paperork" to spend money on??? What do you get for the money?
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09/04/2003 12:33:52 PM · #7 |
I can't be 100% certain, but I believe it has to be posted - this shows who the copyright belongs to. Without having it on there, I think it's harder to prove a copyright violation. To be sure, I copyright everything I do, and my web work gets copyrighted to my clients.
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09/04/2003 12:36:01 PM · #8 |
If you can produce the original photo file, and others similar would help too, that's proof enough that you are the copyright owner.
I'll stop posting now, cos I don't know what I'm talking about :P
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09/04/2003 01:03:18 PM · #9 |
The way I understood his explanation was:
It was going to cost thousands of dollars to do this with legal paperwork by the time you hired a lawyer and went through the entire government red tape.
All of this could only be justified if the item youu were copyrighting was going to bring in enough money to cover the costs.
In other words if you want to legally copyright a photograph it had better be dang good and worth the money and legal fees it would cost to do the legal paperwork.
Made sense to me.
Calvus
Originally posted by toocool:
Originally posted by Calvus:
He told me I could spend all the money and do it with legal paper work but it would still the same, and he recommended I not spend all the money. |
Then why is there "legal paperork" to spend money on??? What do you get for the money? |
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09/04/2003 01:24:46 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by Calvus:
The way I understood his explanation was:
It was going to cost thousands of dollars to do this with legal paperwork by the time you hired a lawyer and went through the entire government red tape.
All of this could only be justified if the item youu were copyrighting was going to bring in enough money to cover the costs.
In other words if you want to legally copyright a photograph it had better be dang good and worth the money and legal fees it would cost to do the legal paperwork.
Made sense to me.
Calvus
Originally posted by toocool:
Originally posted by Calvus:
He told me I could spend all the money and do it with legal paper work but it would still the same, and he recommended I not spend all the money. |
Then why is there "legal paperork" to spend money on??? What do you get for the money? |
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There is quite a difference between the paperwork required to patent an idea or invention and what is required to register a copyrighted image.
Patent disclosure is a long, involved and fairly pain-staking process, including a search for prior art and detailed description of the claims you are making. I've done it and it isn't much fun.
Any image you create is copyrighted immediately. However, if you wish to sue someone for copyright infringment and claim damages against them, the work has to be registered at the copyright office ( I think it costs $50 for each set of images you register or something in that order)
What isn't clear is if you have to register before or after someone infringes for you to be able to sue for damages ,related to lost earnings from the infringement. |
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09/04/2003 01:48:06 PM · #11 |
Heres another thing to think about. If your going to use a photo for commercial use you have to have model release signed if there is someone in the picture, or a property release depending on where you took the picture.
Most copyright stuff will only really apply if you are selling your photos to companies. (for ad campaigns or something like that)
I have a sample model release form and a sample property release form if anyone would like to see them. You can also get them online on a lot of photography information pages. They're pretty general, but if your going to be selling work w/ a model in them you should always get a release signed just to cover all your bases. |
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09/04/2003 04:51:40 PM · #12 |
Gordon is right, there is a substantial difference between copyrights and patents.
In the US, the work is copyrighted as soon as it is "fixed in tangible form." Putting the notice on it gives the infringer less grounds to claim they thought it was a public domain work. You can file the registration after an infringement, but you must do it before you can sue the other party. The laws will probably vary somewhat from country to country; see if your country is a signer of the international convention.
I believe the current registration fee is $35 US per registration (could be one image or a collection).
All of the documents and forms you need should be available as downloadable PDFs at the Library of Congress Copyright Office.
Additional info and books are available from Nolo Press. |
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