I was given an old photograph by a family friend that has since passed away with no remaining family. I have had several offers to buy copies of the photo. I know I cannot copyright the photo, but can I legally put the copyright symbol (the "c" with a circle around it) on the photo as if I had. I know it would not hold up in court, but would act as some deterance to someone considering making their own copies. I don't want to copyright the photo, I just want to put the symbol on the photo as if I had.
Please read the details. None of the answers I got the first time I posted this question were even applicable
2007-11-20 13:00:14 · 5 answers · asked by jereme110 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I read your previous question as well and think you actually received one pretty good answer.
As I understand it, all you have is a print of this old photograph. You don't know the copyright status of the photograph at all. A photo does not have to be actually registered with the copyright office to be protected.
So the original copyright could belong to the photographer. Or, the copyrights could have been transferred to the photographer's family, to your friend, or to a total stranger, such as a publishing company.
Whoever owns it, it is not you. So it would violate the copyrights for you to reproduce it or distribute it.
That's the first thing.
Now for your question--can you legally put the copyright symbol on it? Sure, but it's not your copyright that you are protecting. And by putting that symbol on the photo, you are acknowledging that copyrights do apply to the photo. So when the person who actually owns the photo rights comes along and sues you for your illegal use, you will have made it one step easier for them to make the case.
2007-11-20 13:29:23 · answer #1 · answered by raichasays 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure. You can put whatever you want on it if it's yours. The copyright symbol doesn't actually have any legal significance at all in the US, beyond putting people on notice that the owner wishes to defend his copyright. That you don't HAVE copyright doesn't mean you can't use the symbol.
By the way, if the owner of the copyright died intestate (with no will) and had NO heirs for the State to pass his estate on to (Most States will go to three generations of consanguinity to determine an heir) then the estate - which would include the copyright to the picture - defaults to the State. That means that legally, the State owns the copyright to your picture, and you're in breach if you use it in a wrongful manner.
Richard
2007-11-20 13:26:33 · answer #2 · answered by rickinnocal 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
With the keyboard in Num Lock mode, hold the ALT key and onthe Numeric Keypad enter for © 0169 for ® 0174 This should work in just about any program. WYSIWYG web page editors may not convert it properly to HTML, however. Good luck.
2016-04-05 00:58:25 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It isn't illegal. If you want to copywrite something, you first put it into an envelope and mail it to yourself and never open it. If someone steals your work, you can take them to court and the envelope with the post mark and seal can then be opened and prove that the work is yours. Also, you can get it copywritten at the US copywrite office. You can put your own copywrite symbol on anything that is your work.
2007-11-20 13:42:11 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not exactly legal.
2007-11-20 13:04:45 · answer #5 · answered by Hubris252 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋