how to copyright pictures?

Question

I want to know how can i copyright my pictures? I have nice pictures on my page and im hearing ppl taking them. So how can i copyright them?

Answer 1

You can do this at the US Copyright Office – see the last 2 links in the source box. The application is fairly simple & the cost is $45 per application.

Despite what others state, a "poor man's" copyright is NOT the same as registering it. Here's what the US Copyright Office has to say:

"The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a 'poor man’s copyright.' There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration."

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

When trying to copywrite a photograph it is really best to go and see an attorney and have them submit the proper paper work which can get costly.
The cheapest and most efficient way to copyright that photo is to take a copy of the photograph, turn it into a postcard, and mail it to yourself. Once you have a federal date and stamp on the back of the photo then it becomes recognized as an official copyrighted document by a USA and will hold up in any Court of law as an officially recognized by the United States Post Office.
The purpose of doing this would be that if someone were to start to profit from your photo you can establish a date and time in which you obtained and/or created the photo.
Other then that it is already copywrite protected by the creator laws. But stopping people from using it off of the web is difficult if you do not use some sort of program to prevent people from cut & paste, etc...
If you are planning on using this photo to put on to products of any kind however it then becomes a "TRADEMARK" issue not a copyright issue and you will have to see an attorney at this point. Standard costs of seeing such an attorney is $750 to start.

Answer 3

technically the items are copyrighted at the time of creation. The US is a signature of the Berne Convention and by doing so they were required to change the copyright laws in America to recognize the creators rights from production automatically.

However, enforcement is another matter. If they are not making money on the pictures, you are wasting your time going after them. However, place a copyright statement on the page (or better yet the picture itself) will deter most people from taking a copy.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html

Answer 4

You copyright them simply by putting this notice on each photo:

© Copyright, 2007, (your name)

Enforcement is another matter. But once you have the photos copyrighted, you can have an attorney send a "cease and desist" letter to anyone who is using your photos.

Good luck.