17 May
Copyrights: Protecting My Photography
Posted in Copyright, News & Current Events, Photography by JimAs an offshoot to my article “Flickr + _Rebekka + Availability of High Resolution Images = Nightmare” I thought it might be beneficial to go into greater detail about what I do to protect my work using copyrights and why.
First I will say that I am no lawyer and if you have questions about copyright infringement reference the Copyright section of the Library of Congress web site and consult with a legal expert in this area.
Secondly I will say that of all the information I’ve shared to date and likely will share on my blog, I think this is the most important for photographers to familiarize themselves with and add to their work flow.
As you’ll see below the steps I take are quite simple, but to understand why I take these extra steps you MUST read everything in this blog entry.
With in 90 days of a photo shoot I will…
1. Batch process an entire photo shoot, downsizing my RAW files to low resolution JPEG files (usually with a maximum height or width of 1024 pixels)
2. Sort and organize the low resolution JPEG files in well labeled folders
Note: Currently there is no limit to the number of images submitted per collection.
3. Burn the labeled folders containing the low resolution JPEG files plus a “read me” text file with my contact information to a CD or DVD
4. Label the burned CD/DVD with the name of the collection(s) I will be copyrighting along with my name, phone number and email address.
5. Download a copy of the Form VA (PDF) from the Library of Congress web site
6. Print and fill out the Form VA being careful to use the same collection name(s) I’ve labeled my CD/DVD with.
7. Write a check for $45 to the “Register of Copyrights.”
8. Make a copy of the filled out copyright form and check for my records
9. Package and send my CD/DVD(s), filled out Form VA(s) and check to the Library of Congress.
Why go through all of this?
Plain and simple to maximize my legal protection afforded by the law against those that attempt to use my work with out permission.
The Biggest Misconception
“Adding a copyright statement on my image will maximize my protection against infringement” - WRONG
Perfecting your copyright” (filing with the Library of Congress) will enable you to seek up to $150,000 per infringement, if proven it was committed willfully.
§ 504. Remedies for infringement: Damages and profits” - Library of Congress web site.
Only with this level of protection will a photographer have a meaningful chance of stopping someone infringing their copyrighted work. The hard fact of life is that lawyers will be much more eager to take a case with the prospect of winning these types of damages. Without perfecting your copyright it becomes a much more challenging proposition to get someone to stop infringing your work and to recruit a lawyer to take your case.
Important Copyright Facts
#1 At the moment you snap the shutter of your camera you have become the copyright holder of that image.
Note: Exceptions may exist if you’re in a “work for hire” agreement
#2 It is best practice to identify yourself as the copyright holder of an image either through image watermark or text adjacent to your image (the former being best). “© *your name* , All Rights Reserved”.
Learning from the outcome of previous copyright infringement cases, clearly disclosing that an image is copyrighted will refute the “I didn’t know it was copyrighted” or “the identity of the artist was not clearly defined” defense.
#3 File your copyright with in 90 days of the capture of our photograph(s).
“Unless a work is registered before a copyright infringement takes place OR within ninety (90) days of first publication, damage awards may be limited to “actual damages”. This is often the fee a creator would have been paid for the work had it been licensed properly.” - Copyright Registration Made Easy
#4 Creative Commons is based upon Copyright law and is NOT a replacement for it. “Creative Commons licenses give you the ability to dictate how others may exercise your copyright rights”
“In most jurisdictions, registration is not required. However, for creators in the United States registration can be obtained and is advisable so that you can enforce your copyright in court. For US-based creators, you should check out the U.S. Copyright Office’s ‘Copyright Basics’ page, which explains more about copyright registration.” - Creative Commons FAQ
Recommended Copyright Resources
Copyright Office Basics - Library of Congress
Editorial Photographers Copyright Resource page - Editorial Photographers (editorialphoto.com)
Photography, Trademarks and Copyrights by Dan Heller
Technorati Tags: copyright, how to, creative commons, law, protection, visual arts, photograph, photography, photographer, Form VA
photographyVoter.com
on May 17 2007
Copyrights: Protecting My Photography
How to formally pursue copyright protection & why. A must read for all photographers particularly in light of the recent story about Rebekka & Flickr.
Raoul
on May 17 2007
Thanks for this, Jim! Appreciate that you answered my question in such detail, and hope that others can benefit from this important information as well.
jim
on May 17 2007
Anytime Raoul. I hope the information proves to be useful.
Trevor Carpenter
on May 17 2007
Jim,
I’ve been reading your blog occaisionally. This post has convinced me that you have valuable information, that I need.
You’ve gained a committed reader.
Trevor
ComeAcross » How many of my photos were stolen?
on May 21 2007
[...] I may also start to watermark my images. As much as I hate this (it uglifies an image, imo), I’ll do it, just to make it harder to pass my photos around without crediting them properly. I may also start to copyright my photography with the Library of Congress, and pursue damages to the full letter of the law (up to $150,000 per incident). Finally, I may also stop uploading at full res to Zooomr. I keep waiting for them to push out the Mark III upgrade, and it seems that every time Kris is ready to do it, something happens to stop it. This week was the third time the promised upgrade didn’t materialize, and I’m pretty disappointed. Mark III is supposed to have this really nice image theft prevention built in, so I could continue to upload a full res, but restrict the sizes available to casual visitors or even my contacts at certain resolutions, and only make the full res size available to buyers. But if Mark III doesn’t materialize any time soon — and since Zooomr has no photo replace feature like Flickr — I may just delete all of my photos, or make them all private. I do not want to see my hard work go to waste. [...]
JMG-Galleries - Photographer’s Rights: Know Them When In The Field
on May 22 2007
[...] Most frustrating is that those harassing photographers in the name of security are often rude, act like bullies, are trained to intimidate photographers into providing information that is illegal to demand and have an unchecked ability to exploit security paranoia to bring authorities into the mix for completely legal activity. In this case there was no escalation of conflict. We knew our rights and we refused to provide our ID. Why would we possibly offer that up? We were on public land, photographing a structure clearly seen from afar and confronted for ID by someone that was not authorized to. As before with my article on Copyright protection a photographer must educate themselves to the law. As it stands the law still protects the rights of photographers, but only so far as a photographer’s knowledge of those protections. [...]
Landscape Photography and Nature Photography by Jim M. Goldstein - JMG-Galleries - Today Marks the 1 Year Anniversary of the JMG-Galleries Blog
on September 10 2007
[...] Articles (in no particular order): 1. Copyrights: Protecting My Photography 2. Why I Hate HDR: Photo Technology Porn 3. Top 10 Most Annoying Photo Critique Comments 4. 5 Most Common Digital Photography Mistakes 5. The 5 Biggest Pitfalls of Digital Photography [...]
Landscape Photography and Nature Photography by Jim M. Goldstein - JMG-Galleries - Creative Commons: A Great Concept, I'll Never Employ
on November 12 2007
[...] As a photographer I view this discussion on user generated content & copyright protection in different terms. I view this discussion in the terms of securing the means to make or try to make a living from my photographic efforts. Copyright law affords photographers the means to reserve rights to their work and obtain damages for improper use of that work. It is this protection that allows photographers to pursue a variety of business models or marketing strategies that center around the Internet with out fear that their work will be used improperly. As I’ve discussed in the past maximizing the protection afforded to you through the law requires that photographers formally file their copyrights with the Library of Congress (see Copyrights: Protecting My Photography). [...]
Whatever-ishere
on November 21 2007
thanks for the GREAT post! Very useful…
Landscape Photography and Nature Photography by Jim M. Goldstein - JMG-Galleries - Here Comes Another Fair Use Dispute
on December 12 2007
[...] In many regards I feel for both parties involved. In my blunt opinion the Richter Scales pursued this in a dumb fashion and took a gamble by not citing everyones work. The Richter Scales would be plenty pissed if their work was being used with out citation and/or was being used with out permission. In regard to the photographers, including my friend Lane, whose work was used but not cited the images should have been more heavily watermarked or on a site with greater protection (assuming it was taken off of Flickr). As noted in my latest podcast Ken Light makes a great point that the only sure way to protect your photography is to not have it out in the world and that includes the web. We all know that isn’t necessarily the best business decision as the web is a key marketing tool. As pointed out in the example of Ken Light’s John Kerry photo the best way to protect your images is to file your copyrights with the Library of Congress (see Copyrights: Protecting My Photography). I’m curious to see how the claim of Fair Use is interpreted in this case and whether photographers should start to fear satirists who feel they don’t need to credit the property of photographers or for that matter anyone who looks to claim a defense of “Fair Use” to bypass copyright protection. [...]
TranceMist
on May 6 2008
Excellent post Jim.
However, part of me believes that this is already a very outdated model.
For those who rely on photography for their primary income, I can see why this model can’t readily change.
For us amateurs who do it more “for the enjoyment” sharing is worth way more than copyright.
Something about copyright smacks of protectionism in the sense of “it’s mine and you can’t have any”. Share and we’ll all be the richer (if not financially).
Jim Goldstein
on May 6 2008
@TranceMist The level of protection provided by the current law and filing process gives a photographer leverage. Leverage that is non-existent if copyrights are not filed. By default we own the copyright to an image once its taken, but if you have a problem with someone using that image in a way you do not approve of then you will have little power to address the problem you face. For better or worse lawyers are less prone to help you unless you pursue a copyright filing. In the end it comes down to payment for services. I would argue that the leverage provided by current copyright law is of benefit to those that are amateur as well as professional.
I am curious if someone decides to use an image of yours without permission and in a way you find offensive… what then? What do you do? Even in Creative Commons literature they recommend perfecting your copyright (aka filing with the Library of Congress). Not doing so just forfeits your rights. Isn’t it better to have the full protection behind you and then you can opt to license or distribute as you feel fit? After all we don’t forfeit our right to Free Speech if we don’t feel we need to speak our mind, we just choose not to.