What do I have to do to copy right my paintings? Do I have to pay for it?

Answer 1

put your signature on the piece and date it with an indelible marker. it costs nothing to copy right your paintings as long as they are original, if you copy somebody elses work you must let it be known its a copy. but dont worry about copy-right theft. let us see your work. i love art, i can quote you a very fair and exactish selling price if you wish.

Answer 2

Any artwork or sculptor belongs to the originator. Paintings are usually signed at the bottom corner and other artwork can be marked or signed. It is yours and there is no way of registering any particular piece. If you see copies then you can demand that they are either destroyed or you are paid a fee of your choosing for the copying. The problem is the policing of this as your painting could be copied and shipped to Australia and you would never know. There was a case of a painting that was used for Christmas cards from which millions were printed. The painter saw these cards for sale and with the aid of a specialist solicitor was paid a big fortune for the copyright. To be sure that the world at large knows that your work is a original and copyright protected you should add a small circle with a c in it to the signature.

Answer 3

When the copyright laws were re-written they included specific guidelines for visual art. Before then visual artists didn't have the same copyright protection afforded to writer, composers, etc.

Under the provisions of the new copyright laws the artist, unless he or she is working under contract or by commission, owns the copyright automatically upon the completion on the work. You own the copyright to your work and it stays with you even if / or you sell the work.

All you're really required to do is specify that it is copyrighted.

The person you sell it to owns the original but not the copyright to the image until or unless you assign it to them through a binding contract.

However, you can formally request a copyright form and pay the $40.00 to have it recorded in the Copyright Office. Mose post offices and government offices have these forms for the asking. But this becomes very expensive unless you do what I do. I submit the form with multiple entries, calling them 'collected works'. This is very legal and a lot less expensive. You will be required to provide copies (photographs or slides) of the art you are recording.

Answer 4

Take photos of your pictures. Have something in the picture to prove the date.A newspaper for that day for instance.
If they are oils you could paint your name and the date on the canvas first so that if they became valuable an xray would show your date and name underneath the painting.Print the photos and mail them to yourself,leave them unopened then you have a postmarked envelope of your work. If you have them shown on the web, watermark them and possibly cover a small section with a logo added to your jpeg so that noone can print them up or copy them to another page in their entirety.

Answer 5

You can simply put the c in a circle with your name and date. That doesn't cost anything and IS a valid copyright. But you can also regester the work with the US Copyright Office. Doing that, does require paying a fee. Not sure how much.

To check all this out see - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

Or go to the US Copyright office at -
http://www.copyright.gov/

Answer 6

I'd say NO.

As long as you sign and date the work, maybe take a photo of it and have a friend countersign it, that should be enough.

I would think you only pay for copyright if you invent something and lodge it with the patent office. That then opens your goods to everyone and leads to plagiarism .

So, I'll go with the NO

Answer 7

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ40.html#copyright

That link says it all...here is a bit:

"Copyright Protection Is Automatic

Under the present copyright law, which became effective January 1, 1978, a work is automatically protected by copyright when it is created. A work is created when it is “fixed” in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. Neither registration in the Copyright Office nor publication is required for copyright protection under the present law."

Answer 8

No, your work is copyrighted when you create it. I sign my work on the back and but the "c" in a circle with my printed name, date, location and then my signature. That is mostly a reminder for the people who think buying the work might mean doing whatever they want with it. Just because they bought it doesn't mean they can copy it.

Answer 9

Wow Sal you look like me only I changed my avatar sometime ago. I too love painting but stopped doing it for a yea as I got involved in some legal work which is nowhere near as nice to do.Put your pictures on the site for all of us to admire. Wouldn't it be a good idea if all the artists showed their pictures on here?I always put my signature and date on my pictures.

Answer 10

all u need is the little c in the circle, then ur name & yr of ur work's creation, and ur done. u can, if u wish, file ur workings with the national copyright registry for about $20. just remember that things like images, paintings, and photos can be copyrighted, but and idea for something can't. hope this helps!