Posted by Zack Clothier on February 7, 2011 at 2:13 PM
I have a few questions regarding copyright. I would like to register all of the images on my website, but am unsure where to start. My questions are as follows, any help would be greatly appreciated.
1. I know I can register multiple images as a "Collection", but what exactly does this mean. Does this mean I can register all of the images on my website under a title such as "The Photography of Zack Clothier", or is it more limited such as registering a collection of photography from the Adirondack Park and registering another collection from say, the Rocky Mountains?
I constantly update my site with new images so it does not seem feasible to keep registering individual images each time I add them. How do other folks go about this? Is it possible to register collections at different times under one application?
The US Copyright Office says that unpublished collections can be registered as long as:
"1. The elements are assembled in an orderly form;
2. The combined elements bear a single title identifying the collection as a whole;
3. The copyright claimant in all of the elements and in the collection as a whole is the same; and
4. All of the elements are by the same author, or, if they are by different authors, at least one of the authors has contributed copyrightable authorship to each of the elements."
2. Which brings me to my next question, I have some images that have been published in magazines and newspapers, do I have to register these images under a seperate "collection"? I also sell prints from my website, is this considered "published"? There seems to be a lot of gray area regarding what is considered published and what is not.
Sorry if there's any confusion in my questions, this is all just a little confusing to me, it's no wonder many decide not to register the copyrights to their images. Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this matter!
Zack. Go to amazon.com and buy the book, "Photographer's Survival Manual, A Legal Guide For Artists In The Digital Age" by Edward C. Greenberg and Jack Reznicki. It will explain in detail everything you need to know.
I can't answer your questions, but I'm wondering why you want to register the copyright?
From what I've heard and seen, the legal benefits of formally registering the copyright are minimal, bordering on being outright useless.
While not specifically photography related and pertaining more to Canada rather than the US, of the handful of lawyers that I've seen give presentations on intellectual property, they have all pretty much said that registering copyright is a waste of time.
It's not my intent to persuade you that you should give up now, but I'm just curious as to what has motivated you to pursue formal registration...
Posted by Luke Ormand on February 7, 2011 at 8:30 PM
My understand of copyright Law in the US is if you create it - it's automatically copyrighted. Someone with a legal background please jump in and clarify for the rest of us
Posted by Zack Clothier on February 7, 2011 at 9:13 PM
Kenn: the reason is because I will be working with a licensing agent and they strongly suggest that I register the copyright of my work, to ensure full copyright protection.
Luke: that is true, but according to the US Copyright Office "you will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work," "and be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees."
Zack:
Check out PhotoAttorney.com. You'll find a lot of info there.
Don
Posted by Joe Becker on February 8, 2011 at 4:09 PM
I agree with Don, check out Carolyn Wright's site, PhotoAttorney.com. You will find most of your answers there.
While you do have a copyright the instant you trip the shutter, if you want to collect punitive damages of up to $150,000 (instead of actual damages), you need to register the copyrights. Once registered, you have a much stronger bargaining position if someone infringes on one of your images. In my case, I found a local city had been using one of my images for tourist promotional purposes. Because the image was registered, I was able to negotiate a nice fee while they avoided being taken to court and coughing up punitive damages. I'd say, the $35 registration fee for the collection of images that one was in was well worth it.
I'm not sure if you can register the photos on your website as a collection or not, but if some have been published and others not, I'd say you probably cannot. You must register published and unpublished photos separately.
The copyright office also has a strange definition of published - basically, if I remember correctly, they consider a photo published if it has been offered for sale. In that case, maybe all the images on your website are published. The problem is, again if I remember correctly, you can only register them together if they were all published in the same year. This can be a problem if you put them on your website at different times.
It is much easier to register collections of unpublished photos. Basically they just need to be taken in the same year. I typically wait a few months then register everything I've taken in that period in one registration, typically giving it a title of "images taken Jan-Mar 2011" as an example. These collections obviously have a wide number of subjects, the only thing making them a collection is the time frame in which they were taken. After that, I may start putting the images on my website, where they become "published" because they are offered for sale.
Hope this helps.
Posted by Angie Morris on April 5, 2011 at 1:34 PM
I figured with over 300 pictures on my website that I would just copyright the entire site. I used a well-know online legal self-help service. It was very simple and affordable. I did screenshots of each page of the site and uploaded electronically for submission.
HOWEVER, I found out afterwards, that ANY change to the website means starting all over again, including payment!
Discussion
7 replies1. I know I can register multiple images as a "Collection", but what exactly does this mean. Does this mean I can register all of the images on my website under a title such as "The Photography of Zack Clothier", or is it more limited such as registering a collection of photography from the Adirondack Park and registering another collection from say, the Rocky Mountains?
I constantly update my site with new images so it does not seem feasible to keep registering individual images each time I add them. How do other folks go about this? Is it possible to register collections at different times under one application?
The US Copyright Office says that unpublished collections can be registered as long as:
"1. The elements are assembled in an orderly form;
2. The combined elements bear a single title identifying the collection as a whole;
3. The copyright claimant in all of the elements and in the collection as a whole is the same; and
4. All of the elements are by the same author, or, if they are by different authors, at least one of the authors has contributed copyrightable authorship to each of the elements."
2. Which brings me to my next question, I have some images that have been published in magazines and newspapers, do I have to register these images under a seperate "collection"? I also sell prints from my website, is this considered "published"? There seems to be a lot of gray area regarding what is considered published and what is not.
Sorry if there's any confusion in my questions, this is all just a little confusing to me, it's no wonder many decide not to register the copyrights to their images. Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this matter!
From what I've heard and seen, the legal benefits of formally registering the copyright are minimal, bordering on being outright useless.
While not specifically photography related and pertaining more to Canada rather than the US, of the handful of lawyers that I've seen give presentations on intellectual property, they have all pretty much said that registering copyright is a waste of time.
It's not my intent to persuade you that you should give up now, but I'm just curious as to what has motivated you to pursue formal registration...
Luke: that is true, but according to the US Copyright Office "you will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work," "and be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees."
Check out PhotoAttorney.com. You'll find a lot of info there.
Don
While you do have a copyright the instant you trip the shutter, if you want to collect punitive damages of up to $150,000 (instead of actual damages), you need to register the copyrights. Once registered, you have a much stronger bargaining position if someone infringes on one of your images. In my case, I found a local city had been using one of my images for tourist promotional purposes. Because the image was registered, I was able to negotiate a nice fee while they avoided being taken to court and coughing up punitive damages. I'd say, the $35 registration fee for the collection of images that one was in was well worth it.
I'm not sure if you can register the photos on your website as a collection or not, but if some have been published and others not, I'd say you probably cannot. You must register published and unpublished photos separately.
The copyright office also has a strange definition of published - basically, if I remember correctly, they consider a photo published if it has been offered for sale. In that case, maybe all the images on your website are published. The problem is, again if I remember correctly, you can only register them together if they were all published in the same year. This can be a problem if you put them on your website at different times.
It is much easier to register collections of unpublished photos. Basically they just need to be taken in the same year. I typically wait a few months then register everything I've taken in that period in one registration, typically giving it a title of "images taken Jan-Mar 2011" as an example. These collections obviously have a wide number of subjects, the only thing making them a collection is the time frame in which they were taken. After that, I may start putting the images on my website, where they become "published" because they are offered for sale.
Hope this helps.
HOWEVER, I found out afterwards, that ANY change to the website means starting all over again, including payment!