What do you know about Copyright? As photographers, whether in the professional side or hobby, it is imperative that we understand what our rights are and how to protect our art. So what do you know really about copyrights and how to protect your work? Let’s start from the conception of copyright and where the laws protecting your work originated. The first copyright law was enacted in 1710 in England. It was called the Statute of Anne and was mimicked by our congress in 1790. As the years of passed the statute has undergone some additions. Notably the Copyright Act of 1976 which is what most colleges and universities utilize to determine if a body of work has possibly plagiarized from another source. A body of work, art, or photo has copyright attached from the moment it is in existence. So as photographers the minute you take the photo it has an implied copyright. This is great news for the photographer because it clarifies that regardless of what edits occur in camera or during post processing the photo maintains copyright. There is currently a misunderstanding regarding the idea of watermarking a piece of work. The watermark itself holds no power. This is because your work is copyrighted from conception, the watermark simply provides the attorneys proof of intent to steal your work when it is removed. While copyright is established at the moment of conception of a photo, it is smart business to register your work with the copyright office at copyright.gov/. This is so that if there is ever an issue of someone stealing your work you can prove without a doubt that the work is yours. It will make your legal case a much easier case to prosecute. Does FB own my photos? No, this is another misconception that has developed over the course of time. If you are a frequent user of Facebook here is the link for you to review the terms of service- https://facebook/legal/terms. Facebook has in place steps to protect your copyright from being stolen, however if you post photos in a public album and someone shares the photos this is NOT copyright infringement. The sharer is following the terms of service provided. So if you do not want the photos shared then you will need to make that album private. There is a great video on Youtube presented by a copyright attorney and commercial photographer- youtube/watch?v=rJ8TzCv1dfs The video discusses how important your copyright is and gives great examples of real cases regarding infringement. Remember as photographers it is never ok to use another person’s work and pass them off as your own. Using Stock photos is a definite gray area ethically, however if you choose to use stock photos they must be purchased and you must also follow the terms of use for that company. Stock photos DO have copyright as well. Here are few links that give you in depth history historyofcopyright.org copyright.gov/circs/circ1a.html photosecrets/copyright
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 22:47:21 +0000
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