Copyright question..

[photography by trish]

When is it necessary to copyright a photo?

I took photos of a rapper at this concert and want to post them here or anywhere just to show stuff I've done. I haven't sold the photos or anything. I went to the event, shot for free (for a promo business), and am offering them the option to buy a disk.

Is it necessary for me to copyright these photos?

[jgrussell]

Originally Posted by pinup mama

When is it necessary to copyright a photo?

I took photos of a rapper at this concert and want to post them here or anywhere just to show stuff I've done. I haven't sold the photos or anything. I went to the event, shot for free (for a promo business), and am offering them the option to buy a disk.

Is it necessary for me to copyright these photos?

Necessary, no. (In fact under US law you automatically have copyright protection from the moment the image is created). But registration of the copyright is prudent, absolutely. The fact is, if someone decides to "appropriate" one of your images, your recourse is much more difficult if the copyright has not been registered. The cost is minimal (you can copyright an entire CD full of images for $35, and you can do it online at the Electronic Copyright Office.

[PhotosGuy]

I'd add contact info in the exif metadata of the images, too:
Copyrights for dummies

[photography by trish]

thanks guys! good advice. i'll do all that.
definitely didn't think about the metadata idea.

[kaitanium]

just wondering if everytime you register you need to pay the $35? that means one should just get all their images done at once right?

thats quite alot of images possibly to put your name and contact info on!!

[amfoto1]

Originally Posted by kaitanium

just wondering if everytime you register you need to pay the $35?

Yes.

Originally Posted by kaitanium

that means one should just get all their images done at once right?

Yes, as many as you can fit thumbnails of onto a DVD, essentially.

Originally Posted by kaitanium

thats quite alot of images possibly to put your name and contact info on!!

Which is why the Adobe gods (and others) invented batch processing.

[Obtong]

Originally Posted by amfoto1

Yes, as many as you can fit thumbnails of onto a DVD, essentially.

What would be a good size and dpi for me to export my pictures from LR? I have about 15,000 pictures I would like to copyright right away.

Also, if I send in a range of dates from say 2006-2008, should I mark the first (estimate) publish date for the pictures as 1/1/2006 just to be safe?

Thanks,
~Dom

[amfoto1]

Hi Dom,

www.copyright.gov gives you all the guidelines for registration submissions.

[Obtong]

Hi

I went to http://www.copyright.gov and found http://www.copyright.gov/eco/tips.pdf with tips on uploading files to the copyright office. It seems that after 30 mins. of uploading the system times out.

If you have a large number of files, we recommend that you create one or more ZIP files; if you have a very large file, we recommend that you break it up into two or more smaller files. The system has a 30-minute upload timeout that, depending on your connection speed, limits the size/number of files that can be uploaded in one session. See the table below for guidance.

Connection Type: Fiber Optic Cable (2 mbps)
Max File Size: 405 MB
How Many Files Can I Zip?: 220 high quality (low compression) JPEGs taken with a 5MP camera.

If I understand this correctly, the biggest single sized file I can upload is 405 MB, and within that file I can ZIP up to 220 pictures. Also it seems to me that I can upload as many 405 MB files that I can within the 30 minute timeout period.

I think that with those upload guidelines t would probably best to send in a CD/DVD if you have lots of photographs to register.

~Dom