batwister
Member
Another argument for analog.
can someone please summarize for those not legally minded?
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So now a © symbol isn't good enough on a photo? We have to "register" it with a company?
~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk
it was never enough stone.
unless images are REGISTERED with the copyright office
the creator has no legal leg to stand on, and no lawyer
will take the case on contingency and no court will hear the case.
I don't know about that. I have certainly licensed multiple images in the UK under Rights Managed contracts and I didn't register anything with anyone. I've done some Royalty free stuff under special circumstances as well but that was in a different country.
So you are saying if you can prove it is your photograph and someone appropriated it for their own commercial purposes you don't have a leg to stand on if you didn't register your copyright?!
That would mean any commercial processing lab could just look through your negatives and chromes and cherry pick out the ones they like and start licensing them for advertising. I really don't think that's the way it works.
YES, in the USA you NEED the registration.
i was in a similar situation where i worked for a company, and they stole my work.
i found out the hard-way i had no legal leg to stand on, no lawyer will take the case no judge will hear it ...
The article was about a proposed bill in the UK. Which is why my remarks were tailored for the UK.
So just to clarify it seems you are saying it is difficult to prove it is your work without a copyright in the US. Not that without a copyright you have no recourse. Am I understanding you correctly?
I guess you are making an argument for digital. Use your own camera and each image is automatically stamped with your name on it. Some of the fancier ones also include GPS information so if you shoot at your studio that is further proof the work is yours. I guess that is where part of the confusion comes in for me. All my images I've sold were produced electronically and have my named embedded in them and I keep the RAW files. With negatives and chromes its a bit trickier. I can see where things would be hard to prove. How do your register the copyright on negatives and chromes? Do you scan everything in and upload the files somewhere?
As I understand the thought (overly simplified not to be taken as legal advice), in the US everything is automatically copyrighted. But registering and marking with the copyright symbol makes you eligible for damages. Without the extra money that might be involved, no lawyer would bother with you.
When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”
Who Can Claim Copyright?
Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is cre
ated in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship
immediately becomes the property of the author who cre
ated the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights
through the author can rightfully claim copyright.
In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not
the employee is considered to be the author.
As I understand the thought (overly simplified not to be taken as legal advice), in the US everything is automatically copyrighted. But registering and marking with the copyright symbol makes you eligible for damages. Without the extra money that might be involved, no lawyer would bother with you.
in the USA ...
if you don't register your work, you are screwed.
in the USA ...
if you work for someone,
This is not true. You own the copyright the instant an image is created. You can sue for actual, provable, economic losses. You will only receive those funds that you can prove are losses, plus legal fees.
If you register, the court can award punitive damages above economic losses. You can register multiple images, even online. Registration provides added benefits, as well.
Check out the copyright site, they have all the information you need.
there used to be something called a "poor man's copyright"
which involved mailing everything to oneself
the date/stamp acts as the registration-date and
the duplicated items ( contact sheets, cd maybe a formal note
saying what was in the envelope/cd &C ) ... everything in the UNOPENED envelope
works the same way as a federal registration,,
i have only heard of the poor man's copyright, and i don't know how it holds up
in court or if lawyers &c take it seriously ...
unfortunately, this is only in the USA .. who knows what it is like elsewhere,
probably even more confusing and murky ...
Ive heard about a poor mans copyright. What is it?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a poor mans copyright. There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.
it IS true ...
court system will no longer see copyright-cases where there is no proof-registration
this is what a consulted-lawyer told me and what someone at the ASMP told me 8 years ago.
you are welcome to try but you won't get far.
If your work is a work for hire, which it is if it's created in the process of your job, the employer can claim copyright. Including, in most cases, a client unless otherwise specified.
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