Copyright?

Question

I'm a just-starting freelance photographer. Do I need to send in every single picture I take to be copyrighted? Somehow that doesn't seem right to me, so I must be misunderstanding something. I mean I could take countless pictures a day. Can someone please clear it up for me?

Answer 1

Up to 750 photographs can be submitted in a single copyright application and a single $45 fee.

Answer 2

You inherently own the pictures, being the photographer... as long as you have records that you took the photos, then you need no other documentation that you own them.

When you sell them, you are either relinquishing your rights to the pictures for a fee (meaning that you no longer own them or have any say how they can be used), or you are selling your pictures with limited rights to the consumer ie. you still own the pictures but they are allowed to use them for a specific use (website, poster, etc) and any other use is prohibited.

In both cases, you need documentation every time you make a sale, stating what the photos can and can't be used for, whether or not you are relinquishing your ownership rights, or what capacity they are allowed to use the photo, if you do not completely give up full rights.

In most cases, you'll be giving up the photo completely, with no say how it gets used (and most likely no credit, when it is used). Larger companies especially would rather own a picture completely than be bound by a contract. But, if the photo is VERY good, then you have a lot to gain by retaining the rights.

Hope that helped!

Answer 3

You own the copyright the minute you take the picture.

This,however, only protects you so much. If some used your pictures without your permission for financial gain you can sue them ONLY for the money lost.
But with out the copyright you can not sue them for damages! This is very important as it is the potential damage assessments that will force these people to settle early as those amounts can be upward of 10,000 dollars per image.

Now one need not copyright every picture. Only the pictures that goes into the public domain. One can also do them in batches as to make the workload easier..
http://www.copyright.gov/

As an aside, NEVER sell the copyright to your pictures.( Unless it for a huge amount of money. ONLY sell (Usage rights) You give the right for a person or company to use your pictures, If you sell the copyright then those people can sell and resell your pictures all they want.

Answer 4

Please let me expound a little further.

Actually, the copyright of the image is yours at the moment of thought. When your little minds sees the image it is yours. Once you have taken it is can not be processes by a consumer lab if it even remotely resembles a professionals image.

Whether you submit it to be copyrighted or not it is owned by you. Whether or not you fix your logo on the image, it is yours. No one can make a copy without your specific permission (release). (However, the scanning police seldom show up at grandmas house and remove the 5x7s she scanned for her sister!)

You can go to www.ppa.com and download a copy of the copyright law for photographers. Or this is the address directly to that section: http://www.ppa.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=16

It is some what different and more defined for photographers. The PPA has lobbied and battled hard for these rights. You are well protected though it is always wise to include your logo on the images as well as a small note explaing about copyright infringement.

Answer 5

You have a copyright the minute that image is created in fixed form.

You gain additional rights by registering the copyright before infringement occurs. You don't need to do this one picture at a time, any more than an author registers copyright to one sentence at a time.

I know of one photographer who, in the days of film photography, would make two copies of each proof sheet. Every three months, he would bind together one of each proof sheet using padding compound, and send it in as a book of photography.

No reason you couldn't do something similar with digital photography.

Answer 6

If you are a freelancer and are interested to promote yourself worldwide, or to find jobs to work on, you can use our website http://www.GlobalJobsTrading.com to do both.

By registering and creating a profile on our website, you will be able to post your bid on the jobs that you are interested in. Also, by displaying in your profile a description of the type of service you provide, contact info, even link to your website, you increase the chances to be found, contacted, and eventually hired for a job.

Try our service, it is FREE. What could you lose?

GlobalJobsTrading.com Team

Answer 7

I have to confess that I don't know a whole lot about it, but on a site that I frequent a lot of people protect their rights using Creative Commons. . .worth looking into at least.

Answer 8

yeah