Copyrights for photographs?

Question

How do I go about on getting a copyright for my photos? How much does it cost? Can I have multiple photos done over time with out having to pay for every single one? Or is there just one sum i can pay? Im new to this copyright deal, any info or experience is helpful

Answer 1

For the most part, it's already copyrighted if you take the photo. You already have the film, negatives or digital files to prove that you shot them. The only restriction is if you take a photo inside a sports arena, or of particular people, in which case you'd need permission from the sports team, venue, and/or people who are subjects in your photos. (The latter, also known as a model release.) If, in your photos you are not violating anyone else's trademark or brand copyright, you have nothing to worry about.

See more info:
http://www.photosecrets.com/tips.cantsell.html

If you have them displayed on something, like a postcard or website, you can put a copyright symbol with your name and date. "© 2006..."

What's more important if you are trying to make money off of them, is how to license them. But, that is a different question...

Answer 2

Copyright law is very interesting. Actually, as soon as you create the photograph, you have the copyright. You own the copyright by virtue of creating the photograph. There is no cost involved. The purpose of copyright is to ensure that the person who created something has a reasonable amount of control over how the work is used and who can make money off of it.

If you need to establish that you own the copyright in the future (for legal purposes) you need some way to prove that you created it first. You can stamp a copyright on the photo, as has been suggested. This is typically done in this fashion: " Jane Doe 2006". Again, just putting your name on something doesn't give you the copyright (I can't call someone else's work mine just by putting my name on it), but it makes it more clear who holds the copyright when it's time to make copies. Hopefully, a reputable copy place would not make copies of your work that was stamped in this way without your permission.

You can also mail an envelope or box of photos yourself in a sealed package, and don't open the package, just keep it sealed. If you ever needed to prove that you had the photos before a certain date, you could open the sealed package and show that the photos in question are inside. The package would have been dated by the post office, so that will establish that you had the photos before a certain date. (You can have the postal clerk stamp a date around on a couple of places on the package so it will be clear.)

You can also simply be careful with who you give your negatives or files of your photos to, since having the negative means that they can easily make copies. If you control the negative, you can more easily ensure that you'll make the money you deserve off of your work.

If you feel that someone has violated your copyright, consult a lawyer, who can give you advice about what to do.

The answer above mine says that mailing the photos to yourself is not a copyright, which is technically true. But what it does prove is that you had them before anyone else. That, in combination with another form of evidence that you created the photos, is good evidence that they are your work.

Answer 3

A great source for this information is:
http://www.editorialphoto.com/copyright/

Editorial Photographers is a group of professional photographers who are especially interested in the business of photography. This site is a wealth of information about copyright and many other facets of the photography business. You can copyright a group of photos but there are specific requirements. Go here and learn all you need to know....probably more than you want to know.

Answer 4

"The poor man's copyright," which is where you send the original copy to yourself in the mail, is not a valid copyright. Sorry to burst your bubbles. But the good thing is, any image that you have taken is yours and your own the copyright to it. As long as you haven't posted that image in any public domain forums or stock photography, all you have to do is put a little watermark with your name and the year along with that little c in a circle and you're good to go.

There are programs or photoshop plugins that will do batches of images at a time and put the watermark on there for you, Digimarc being one such plugin. Digimarc will also put digital copyright info on the file itself and will protect your image from being used by the wrong people if it's posted on the net, or presented to a professional printer as a digital file.


Hope that answered your question.

Answer 5

You can always just send a copy to yourself by registered mail and leave them unopened. The date on the letter will prove that you had the picture before the other person did. \
However, if you feel your pix are going to make you rich and famous you might want to get info from the site below.

What is Copyright Protection?
http://www.whatiscopyright.org/

Answer 6

On any picture you have if you either stamp or even write a copyright symbol and your name or company its been copyrighted!!! It cost me 24$ for a stamp and ink!!! LOL Relatively easy hey!!