John Allan wrote:
Who cares - copyright is automatic and doesn't require registration.

John

It's very important if someone infringes on your copyright and you need to sue - as I found out!

Full Sun Photography wrote:
I was just in this very same discussion last night on here...It's my understanding that your signed model release give you copyright...and that came from loads of photographers and models...all a model can do with the pics you've given to her is own the prints or CDs..can't sell em , can't even photoshop them...

A signed model release has nothing to do with it. A photographer owns the copyright to all images they create, except for "works for hire". It's not necessary to register a copyright but if you intend to sue for copyright infringement then having it registered means you can collect punitive damages which are usually much higher than actual damages and/or loss.

Instinct Images wrote:

A signed model release has nothing to do with it. A photographer owns the copyright to all images they create, except for "works for hire". It's not necessary to register a copyright but if you intend to sue for copyright infringement then having it registered means you can collect punitive damages which are usually much higher than actual damages and/or loss.

Regarding "works for hire"......when you agree on the job, whether the client pays
the full tab or not, a useage agreement should be decided upon.  Is the image a
ONE-TIME useage, will is be USA only, etc..  When you contract for a job you don't have to give away all your rights....if they want 100% they should pay for that right.....

Harry Forsythe wrote:
Regarding "works for hire"......when you agree on the job, whether the client pays
the full tab or not, a useage agreement should be decided upon.  Is the image a
ONE-TIME useage, will is be USA only, etc..  When you contract for a job you don't have to give away all your rights....if they want 100% they should pay for that right.....

Good point - just because it's a "work for hire" does not mean you have to give up all of your rights to the image. If they want full ownership/copyright of the images then they should be paying more!

John Allan wrote:
Who cares - copyright is automatic and doesn't require registration.

John

I sincerely hope this was a joke. Copyright is automatic, but your ability to defend your copyright against infringement requires registration. If your image is infringed and registered, you get a minimum $150,000 in statutory damages -- per infringement -- plus possibly attorney's fees.

If your image is not registered, you will get thrown out of court with nothing to show for your efforts.

Jim Lafferty wrote:
I think you can file works online now for $35:
http://www.copyright.gov/eco/

Thanks for this link! I had not heard about this yet, now I have no excuses...

Jim Lafferty wrote:

I sincerely hope this was a joke. Copyright is automatic, but your ability to defend your copyright against infringement requires registration. If your image is infringed and registered, you get a minimum $150,000 in statutory damages -- per infringement -- plus possibly attorney's fees.

If your image is not registered, you will get thrown out of court with nothing to show for your efforts.

You'd better link to some reference material for the part I bolded, or share your legal credentials that allow you to make such a statement.

Full Sun Photography wrote:
I was just in this very same discussion last night on here...It's my understanding that your signed model release give you copyright...and that came from loads of photographers and models...all a model can do with the pics you've given to her is own the prints or CDs..can't sell em , can't even photoshop them...

I must have completely missed the Act of Congress that conferred upon models the right to grant copyright to photographers.

That's going to come as a big surprise to loads of photographers.

Jim Lafferty wrote:
...  you can file a ton of images for $45 -- all the low res jpegs you can fit on a dual layer DVD ...

Does anyone know if the copyright office copies files from DVD's/CD's to their own secure storage? I ask because if they don't, and the DVD/CD you filed with the copyright office eventually becomes unreadable, it would seem you no longer have the protection you paid for. A small percentage of media fails alarmingly quickly.

larsen222 wrote:
Does anyone know if the copyright office copies files from DVD's/CD's to their own secure storage? I ask because if they don't, and the DVD/CD you filed with the copyright office eventually becomes unreadable, it would seem you no longer have the protection you paid for. A small percentage of media fails alarmingly quickly.

A behind the scenes of the copyright office.

http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/ … ffice.html

John Allan wrote:
Who cares - copyright is automatic and doesn't require registration.

John

You're right... however if some one uses your work harder to prove infringement if it is not registered.

Phillip D Breske wrote:
You'd better link to some reference material for the part I bolded, or share your legal credentials that allow you to make such a statement.

I'm not going to do your homework for you... Google it. Check out Chase Jarvis' roundtable remarks at the PhotoShelter meetup in NYC last year -- there's a video around. Both he and the SAA rep there said the same thing -- but by all means, don't take any of our words for it.

And drop the "you'd better" attitude already...

Phillip D Breske wrote:
You'd better link to some reference material for the part I bolded, or share your legal credentials that allow you to make such a statement.

Since I know this by heart and EVERY photographer/artist should as well...


Statutory damages for copyright infringement range up to $150,000 per copyrighted work. The statute gives three ranges, $750-30,000 for ordinary infringement; up to $150,000 for willful infringement, and down to $200 for "innocent" infringement where the work was unmarked with copyright notice and the person had no reason to know his activity infringed. (source : http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/504.html)

(a)  In General.— Except as otherwise provided by this title, an infringer of copyright is liable for either—
(1) the copyright owner’s actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, as provided by subsection (b); or
(2) statutory damages, as provided by subsection (c).
(b) Actual Damages and Profits.— The copyright owner is entitled to recover the actual damages suffered by him or her as a result of the infringement, and any profits of the infringer that are attributable to the infringement and are not taken into account in computing the actual damages. In establishing the infringer’s profits, the copyright owner is required to present proof only of the infringer’s gross revenue, and the infringer is required to prove his or her deductible expenses and the elements of profit attributable to factors other than the copyrighted work.
(c) Statutory Damages.—
(1) Except as provided by clause (2) of this subsection, the copyright owner may elect, at any time before final judgment is rendered, to recover, instead of actual damages and profits, an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work, for which any one infringer is liable individually, or for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally, in a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 as the court considers just. For the purposes of this subsection, all the parts of a compilation or derivative work constitute one work.
(2) In a case where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $150,000. In a case where the infringer sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that such infringer was not aware and had no reason to believe that his or her acts constituted an infringement of copyright, the court in its discretion may reduce the award of statutory damages to a sum of not less than $200. The court shall remit statutory damages in any case where an infringer believed and had reasonable grounds for believing that his or her use of the copyrighted work was a fair use under section 107, . . .

Robert Cooper wrote:
A behind the scenes of the copyright office.

http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/ … ffice.html

Robert, Thanks for the link - interesting reading. It looks like they check DVDs/CDs when they come in, but nothing in the link hints they copy the contents to servers.  If they don't copy the contents to servers, suppose a few years pass between registering a batch of photos via CD and someone uses a photo of yours without permission. You then ask the CO to certify that an image was registered, but they can't because they CD became unreadable in the intervening 3 years. That would be frustrating! Until I learn they copy CDs/DVDs and maintain the data, I'll use paper.

larsen222 wrote:

Robert, Thanks for the link - interesting reading. It looks like they check DVDs/CDs when they come in, but nothing in the link hints they copy the contents to servers.  If they don't copy the contents to servers, suppose a few years pass between registering a batch of photos via CD and someone uses a photo of yours without permission. You then ask the CO to certify that an image was registered, but they can't because they CD became unreadable in the intervening 3 years. That would be frustrating! Until I learn they copy CDs/DVDs and maintain the data, I'll use paper.

Quite welcome. 

Part of my Copyright workflow is to keep a copy of the forms and materials I send in. I send everything via UPS or Fedex so that I can print out the signature for being received. All that gets filed in my Copyright folder. When the Registration letter arrives it goes in there with the other items.

They also have a database you can search to see what's registered under your name, but the update time is pretty long.

larsen222 wrote:

Robert, Thanks for the link - interesting reading. It looks like they check DVDs/CDs when they come in, but nothing in the link hints they copy the contents to servers.  If they don't copy the contents to servers, suppose a few years pass between registering a batch of photos via CD and someone uses a photo of yours without permission. You then ask the CO to certify that an image was registered, but they can't because they CD became unreadable in the intervening 3 years. That would be frustrating! Until I learn they copy CDs/DVDs and maintain the data, I'll use paper.

That is why you also send in a printed contact sheet of the images on the disk, and keep one for your records wit a copy of the paper work you send it.

Scott A Miller photo wrote:
That is why you also send in a printed contact sheet of the images on the disk, and keep one for your records wit a copy of the paper work you send it.

If you want to do that, that's up to you. But when I send in a CD with 2000 images on it, how many contact sheets - with images large enough to be recognized - do you think that would take, and what would it cost to ship? I realize there are probably issues with CD deteriorization, but I don't know of anyone in the pro community of APA, ASMP, EP, etc, that is still sending contact sheets. That is why I specifically use the gold CDs that are rated for 100 years. Even if they don't they'll still last longer than I will.

John Allan wrote:
Who cares - copyright is automatic and doesn't require registration.

John

Jim Lafferty wrote:
I sincerely hope this was a joke. Copyright is automatic, but your ability to defend your copyright against infringement requires registration. If your image is infringed and registered, you get a minimum $150,000 in statutory damages -- per infringement -- plus possibly attorney's fees.

If your image is not registered, you will get thrown out of court with nothing to show for your efforts.

Actually the statue is up to $150,000, not a minimum, and that's only in the case of a proved willful infringement (otherwise it could only be $30k, but that still would be for each infringement). And yes you can get attorney's fees, and possible actual damages, all to be decided case by case. However as you correctly point out (but I'll clarify) if you don't register them, you'll never get to court. The federal court, which is where copyright cases are heard, won't even take the case if they're not registered. It is allowed to register them after the infringement, but without registration prior to infringement, you remove the possibility of statutory damages and attorney's fees. Whether you can get an attorney to take your case (which would be necessary for federal court), would depend on how willful, how provable the case is (paper trails help), what the potential recovery (and penalty) might be, and how deep the pockets are of the defendant. There's no point in suing someone with no money and if your infringement occurred before registration, with no attorney's fees to be awarded, it will be highly unlikely you'll get an attorney to represent you.