Should I copyright or not?

Hi everyone,

Hope all are well. If I wanted to start an online gallery of images, I was wondering about whether or not I should copyright my work. Is it worth it? What recourse would I have if someone used my work without my permission and I didn't "officially" copyright my stuff?

I'm relatively new to this prospect and probably won't be doing anything for a short while but I was just kicking around here and I remembered this was a question that I wanted to run past the folks here on the forum.

I appreciate any input.

thanks and have great day!

Brian

I am going out on a limb here but I believe that if you took the picture it is yours to do what ever with it. If somebody "borrows" or reprints your images without asking or receiving your permission they are violating copywrite laws. My 550d has my name on every image I take as part of the exif data and that will stand up in court if it has to go that far.

your images are copyrighted the moment you press the shutter and create it...if your asking about adding a watermark its highly recommended...you can also register your images so if someone does infringe on your copyright you have a more options when it comes to compensation...there are numerous threads on this subject on the forum

Without a correctly filed copyright, you can get the, to stop using you image, but unlikely you get an attorney to pursue it in court for you. It's a battle even when you have it all filed correctly.

You can file as many as you at a time but each time it is 35ºº

bdpaco wrote in post #11302735
your images are copyrighted the moment you press the shutter and create it...if your asking about adding a watermark its highly recommended...you can also register your images so if someone does infringe on your copyright you have a more options when it comes to compensation...there are numerous threads on this subject on the forum

I like the watermark feature but it can easily be removed, it doesn't really protect you. If you use a big watermark dead center in the photo with big bold letters I doubt anyone will care much for stealing or looking at your photos, so even though I like the idea, I think is most a waste of time if what you're doing is trying to protect the image.

I just filed a set of images with copyright.gov, due to the client trying to crush my rights to my images, before I'd even given them a copy..I felt it easier to pay the $35 bucks now, and have the record, than to deal with it all later.
As bdpaco said though, the moment you take the image, you own the copyright to it...

enrigonz wrote in post #11315657
I like the watermark feature but it can easily be removed, it doesn't really protect you. If you use a big watermark dead center in the photo with big bold letters I doubt anyone will care much for stealing or looking at your photos, so even though I like the idea, I think is most a waste of time if what you're doing is trying to protect the image.

I think adding a watermark is a big step in added protection for a couple reasons
1.) A watermark will keep some people from stealing the image since it is added work to deal with. People who are to lazy or lack the knowledge to create the image themselves will not mess with a watermarked image.
2.) If it has a watermark and the image is cropped to remove the watermark or removed in photoshop somehow, it goes a long way to prove that theft of the image and copyright infringement was the intent.

Think of registering for copyright as an insurance policy.

If you don't register, you still own the copyright. However, if infringed, you most likely will be footing the bill for the legal fees, pretty much be limited to collecting actual damages only, etc.

If you do register, you now have additional benefits avail, such as the courts ability to order the defendant to pay your legal costs, statutory damages up to $150K per image infringed, as well as the actual damages, etc.

Most infringements that are not registered go no where since no one in their right mind wants to spend $18K to collect a $2,542.43 infringement. No attorneys are likey to step up and take it on a contingency basis, so you will be asked for a few grand up front just to get started, and regular payments up front as the case progresses. The party that infringed is more likely to blow you off knowing that the legal costs of bringing a lawsuit in most cases surpass what could be collected, and most photographers are not likely to take that path.

Infringements that are registered are more likely to be taken on a contingency basis if the infringement is substantial. Also, the infringing party is more likely to step up and want to make a deal knowing that if they loose they could be ordered to pay a significant amount over and above the actual damages. They many also be aware that photographers and attorneys are more likely to file suit when the copyright is registered vs not because of that.

For $35 for a CD full of images (1, 500, 10K, whatever you can fit), its a great insurance policy should an infringement occur.

Joe Ravenstein wrote in post #11302715
I am going out on a limb here but I believe that if you took the picture it is yours to do what ever with it. If somebody "borrows" or reprints your images without asking or receiving your permission they are violating copywrite laws. My 550d has my name on every image I take as part of the exif data and that will stand up in court if it has to go that far.

I have seen this a couple of times in different threads and if you could clear this up for me. Do you mean that your name is actually embedded in the exif data of the photo? Is this something you had to do within your camera? I've never heard of it until I started reading this forum. If so, how is it done? I couldn't find anything in my menu settings on my camera that allowed me to do this.

Michelle you can add your info in Photoshop using the file info dialog. Save for web strips it out I think.

My T1i did not have the option to add your name to the exif files but my T2i does have this option to add your full name to the files to eliminate any grey areas of ownership of the images in question. I found the spot to add my name in the menu settings of the T2i. I'm not sure which other Canons offer this option.

Joe Ravenstein wrote in post #11318581
My T1i did not have the option to add your name to the exif files but my T2i does have this option to add your full name to the files to eliminate any grey areas of ownership of the images in question. I found the spot to add my name in the menu settings of the T2i. I'm not sure which other Canons offer this option.

Where are these settings?

Ayy EXIF editor can remove or change the owner...etc... even Photoshop.

If you truly want to get sneaky, zoom in 3-400% And find a place, shadow area along the edge of light and dark. Pick a color and place copyright info there (one wavy line of text), just big enough to read when zoomed to 3-400%.
May more than one place.

Go to 100% view and see if it fouled the photographs look, if not, who knows what lurks under a 5x loupe when viewed in the right place.

TopHatMoments wrote in post #11318750
If you truly want to get sneaky, zoom in 3-400% And find a place, shadow area along the edge of light and dark. Pick a color and place copyright info there (one wavy line of text), just big enough to read when zoomed to 3-400%.
May more than one place.

Go to 100% view and see if it fouled the photographs look, if not, who knows what lurks under a 5x loupe when viewed in the right place.

Steganography - sorta.