Need urgent advice on copyright

[MICKEY88]

Actually, your works are automatically copyrighted when you create them and they are in a tangible form that can been seen by anyone (this includes things saved on a compute, like digital photos).

However, if you want to enforce your rights against a potential copyright infringer and receive damages, you will have to register your copyright with the US copyright office. But there is no time limit as to when you register I think. The statute of limitations starts on the year of creation, rather than registration. Also, if you register the copyright shortly after creating the work and before the infringment, you are able to get more damages I think (like attorney's fees and damages set out by law) instead of actual damages and profits.

Hopefully that was clear.

close but not 100% accurate, you can enforce your rights without registering a photo, registering just makes it easier...

in most cases nowadays the threat of a lawsuit is sufficient..to get the violator to comply..

 

[MICKEY88]

there is a possibility that I haven't seen mentioned yet, when training new lab techs it is often done by printing a customers work, it is quite possible that this was the scenario, and while printing the pics they showed the new tech how to do calendars, that I could accept if it were my pic.

however once that was done, the print should either be destroyed, or given to the customer as a free bonus, with an explanation of why they printed it...

 

[bostran1]

close but not 100% accurate, you can enforce your rights without registering a photo, registering just makes it easier...

in most cases nowadays the threat of a lawsuit is sufficient..to get the violator to comply..

I don't mean to be contradictory since I have minimal experience with copyrights, but enforcing your rights and filing an infringement suit are different things. I meant that one could not enforce his or her copyright in court unless the copyright has been registered. You certainly could bring the infringement to the infringer's attention without a lawsuit though.

A quick check of the US Copyright Office's website says this:

Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin.

Here's the link

 

[MICKEY88]

I don't mean to be contradictory since I have minimal experience with copyrights, but enforcing your rights and filing an infringement suit are different things. I meant that one could not enforce his or her copyright in court unless the copyright has been registered. You certainly could bring the infringement to the infringer's attention without a lawsuit though.

A quick check of the US Copyright Office's website says this:



Here's the link

that section is referencing written works,,



this copyright attorneys website indicates otherwise for photographs..

http://www.photolaw.net/index.html

 

[bostran1]

I guess I wasn't very clear. A photograph has copyright protections without being registered. It becomes copyrighted the moment it is created by the photographer. Maybe this example will show what I mean:

If someone prints a photograh I took and sells it without my permission he has infringed on my copyright. This is because the photograph had copyright protection the moment it was created, no registration necessary to secure the protection. Now, I could politely ask that person to stop selling my photograph, give me some sort of royalty from the sale, or grant permission for him to use it.

But if I choose not to do those and still wanted to enforce my copyright in federal court, the only way I would be allowed to file suit is to register my copyright. Unless a copyright has been registered, the courts cannot grant relief for infringement.

Did that make sense?

Here's a quote from the link you provided, I think we might not be understanding what each other is talking about

Q. What is registration?

A. Although a copyright is created automatically when a work is created, there is a procedure for registering a copyright with the Library of Congress. Remember, registration is not required for copyright protection.

There are three benefits to registering a copyright. First, registration creates a public record of a copyright. Second, registration of a copyright is required in order to file a lawsuit for copyright infringement. Third, if a copyright is registered before there is an infringement or within three months after the first publication of a work, the owner of the copyright can claim certain alternate damages plus attorneyís fees. These alternate damages are called statutory damages and they can be awarded in a sum of up to $100,000 for willful infringements. The registration process itself, does not alter the fact that the owner of a copyright is always entitled to his or her actual damages plus any profits earned by the infringner. However, the suggestion that statutory damages and attorneyís fees are available can act as a catalyst for the quick settlement of a copyright infringement claim.

Link

Maybe you could share were you saw the information you were mentioning so we can get to the bottom of this.

 

[AndrewWG]

is it a photo you have posted here? You just got me thinking - they are always asking for donations for stuff for my girls' school - I wonder if I have (or can take) photos that would be "auction quality" (meaning - others would be interested in buying LOL). Something to think about - I'd love to see your photo - feel free to watermark it of course - I'm just wondering what you would think others would buy - I've framed some of mine, but just small ones - mostly flowers. But that gets me thinking...hmmm. What can I do?

Of course - you probably have a much nicer and fancier camera and better photography skills than I, but I might be able to conjure up something - LOL!

Carol,

I am only using the Canon S2 IS. I believe that you are a S3 owner, aren't you? Anyways, here is the photo, appropriately "watermarked". I have been taking photos all Summer long and hoping to get a few that I can put in a cheap frame and donate to the school. It is a good cause and the photos that someone else in town took last year sold really well! Figured I'd try my hand at it this year.

Andy

 

[Geoff_M]

I just checked the registration requirements on the Copyright Office's website and it looks like it costs $45 to get a copyright for a photo registered.

One more amplification... The $45 is per submission, not per photo. A "submission" can be a DVD containing 1,000's of photos... all officially registered for a mere $45.

To the OP... As for feeling "flattered"... I wouldn't in the least. Would you feel "flattered" if you found that a thief had decided that your car was nice enough to steal??? Also, start with the person's manager and local store management. Show them the photo CD with all of the hawk photos as back-up. There's no need at this point to go "nuclear" and start firing off letters from your lawyer to the chain CEO, their legal department, etc. Save that for if the local guys blow you off.

 

[AndrewWG]

Ok, now for todays news. I approached the manager of the store. He couldn't have cared less. He referred me to the manager of the photo dept. Well, he happened to be on lunch. So I came back later. Then the store manager was on lunch so I got to talk to a customer service manager. He said the photo manager was back but "couldn't be found'' and went to find the assistant photo manager. She was on lunch..... You see how this was going?

Anyways, eventually, I went back to the photo dept and asked for the manager and he was the one standing there. I discussed the situation from last night. He seemed quite surprised by all of this and went out back to find the woman who was working last night in the photo dept. A few minutes later, they both appeared and he had an 8x10 envelope in his hand. The envelope was VERY lumpy. I figured this was gonna get interesting. As I had shown him a pic of the hawk, he knew what he was looking for. Well, he found it and the calendars had been folded into small squares af id to be thrown away. When he unfolded them, VOILA, there was my photo as I already knew it would be. His best answer for why MY photo would be printed was this: "The photos stay on our system for 3 days after the order is placed". That was his answer. I reminded him that there were copyright laws in place in the US (he was not a foreigner, but wanted to remind him of the laws) and he said that this photo was to be put in the display book on the counter so that customers could see what the photo calendars looked like. When I asked him why I was not contacted about this to seek my approval, he said that they were wrong to not contact me. Admitting the whole thing, basically.

So now I am stuck writing a letter to their legal department to explain the whole mess and ask what my compensation for their marketing will be. Although I am not sure that they actually used the photo in the display book, I can guess that if they had it since April 16th, they most likely did.

I am even more mad than before.

Andy

 

[AndrewWG]

One more amplification... The $45 is per submission, not per photo. A "submission" can be a DVD containing 1,000's of photos... all officially registered for a mere $45.

To the OP... As for feeling "flattered"... I wouldn't in the least. Would you feel "flattered" if you found that a thief had decided that your car was nice enough to steal??? Also, start with the person's manager and local store management. Show them the photo CD with all of the hawk photos as back-up. There's no need at this point to go "nuclear" and start firing off letters from your lawyer to the chain CEO, their legal department, etc. Save that for if the local guys blow you off.

Well, flattered in the sense that it is good enough that they liked it for their uses, not flattered that they stole the pic, that's for sure.

Unfortunately, it's time to go "nuclear".

Andy

 

[bostran1]

Andrew,
I'm sorry to hear that it happened that way. Write to the top! Best of luck and please keep us updated.

 

[AndrewWG]

Andrew,
I'm sorry to hear that it happened that way. Write to the top! Best of luck and please keep us updated.

I'll let you know. I certainly don't expect compensation of any sort, but I want them to have to hear about it anyways.

Thanks for your help.

Andy

 

[MICKEY88]

I guess I wasn't very clear. A photograph has copyright protections without being registered. It becomes copyrighted the moment it is created by the photographer. Maybe this example will show what I mean:

If someone prints a photograh I took and sells it without my permission he has infringed on my copyright. This is because the photograph had copyright protection the moment it was created, no registration necessary to secure the protection. Now, I could politely ask that person to stop selling my photograph, give me some sort of royalty from the sale, or grant permission for him to use it.

But if I choose not to do those and still wanted to enforce my copyright in federal court, the only way I would be allowed to file suit is to register my copyright. Unless a copyright has been registered, the courts cannot grant relief for infringement.

Did that make sense?

Here's a quote from the link you provided, I think we might not be understanding what each other is talking about



Link

Maybe you could share were you saw the information you were mentioning so we can get to the bottom of this.

you were very clear, I understood,,,

unfortunately I missed the line about registration on the attorneys website..I stand corrected...

you're right I was wrong..oops...

 

[MICKEY88]

care to share the name of the store..

 

[bostran1]

Ok, I thought I was missing something in my rush to learn a little more about copyrights. I figured I'd skipped over something. Now I guess we can both count ourselves as experts!

 

[MICKEY88]

Ok, I thought I was missing something in my rush to learn a little more about copyrights. I figured I'd skipped over something. Now I guess we can both count ourselves as experts!

you can be the expert,,,I'll be the student...

 

[bostran1]

you can be the expert,,,I'll be the student...

Haha! We'll see about that.

 

[polkadotladybug]

By the ***-backwards run around you got - I can only guess it was Wally World. LOL

That's a great shot - you are correct in that I have a Canon S3 - I will now be on the lookout for some nice local scenes to photograph too - and maybe I'll catch a hawk too - what's funny is our elem, middle and high school mascot is the HAWK - of course other than flying in the sky - the only time I've seen one is last week when one was sitting in our crepe myrtle tree - it looked so out of place since it was gargantuan - and all the other birds were wigging out - I got a totally crappy photo because I took it from my daughter's bedroom through the window and screen (which could use some cleaning LOL). Sunsets over the marsh/bridges are another thing to consider trying to get shots of - people always like that sort of thing - with palm trees dark and outlined by bright sunset backgrounds - can you tell I'm getting ideas from the "pretty skies" thread? Just gotta figure out an easily recognizable local landmark - in our little town as well as our city (Charleston SC - that's an easy one though LOL). Now I'll be hunting for a hawk. Hope you don't think I stole your idea - you did inspire me though (although I'm sure I'll never catch a darn one).

 

[dburg30]

OK, all you copyright smarty pants

Here's one.

Let's say I take an awesome picture of Cindy's castle while at WDW. What are my rights then?

I mean I know I have certain rights on the photo, but what about the subject of my photo, which is of course, I would guess a registered trademark or whatever. Are you allowed to sell photos that you take like that? (not that you need to buy them as there are millions of those pics out there).

Also, as per the OP's question, even though they printed it and had it, if they werent going to sell it, is it still against the law to have a copy of it? Or what is the difference between someone like my sitting at home, I find a picture I LOVE on the web. I print it out and have it hanging on my wall, or I personally make a calendar out of it and hang it at my desk at work. What's really the difference here? Or is it the commercial store vs my personal usage??

 

[polkadotladybug]

I guess if you substitute the hawk with a photo of his wife - it would be wrong to find it in any store's drawer pasted on a calendar - LOL Totally creepy - LOL

Did anyone see the movie "One Hour Photo"? LOL

 

[polkadotladybug]

I guess if you post it on the internet you always run the risk of someone using it - and you will usually never know. But when he took his photos THERE - the shop was responsible for developing his photos - that's it - not weeding through and saying let's use this!

Really - all they had to do was call him and ask if they could use his photo in a sample book and he'd probably be flattered and say yes - it's just a matter of feeling a little violated in that he didn't even know they were doing it and the way he found out - he very easily might not have ever known. Makes you wonder how many other things are going on that you are blissfully unaware of...