My father is an artist who wishes to sell photographs which he has touched up by painting on them. I want to give him the correct advice on registering and retaining his copyrights.
Suppose he takes a photo of a local building (from public land). He then prints the photo and does his painting on the print. Now the owner of the building sees the print and she happily buys the photo. Two months later the painted photo is featured in their ad in the local magazines and is on their brochures.
How does he sell the painted photo so that they cannot legally do this without his permission?
I've advised him to register all of his photographs with the US Copyright office. While the photograph has a "registered" copyright, would a derivative work of that photo also be registered? I'm assuming not.
Do photographs get filed separately from works of art (painted photographs, paintings, statues...) when registering the copyright?
How long does the registration last? I've heard it must be done each year to maintain that "registered" status.
If he prepares several pieces for sale and sends off the registration, how long until it's official? Or is it assumed it's official the instant he purchases the Certified Mail option for his registration packet and drops it in the slot?
