 Shauna Linde |
Are photos automatically copyrighted? When I was in high school and took Photography courses, our teacher (who had a degree in Photography and his own Fashion Studio) told the students that every picture taken is automatically copyrighted to that person who took it. It didn't matter if it was your 2 year old sister who snapped the picture, it was technically "hers" since she took it. His point in telling us this was to make it clear we were not to steal anyones negatives to make prints for ourselves and to get an appreciation for the hard work others do to get good photos. I have searched and searched trying to find the EXACT laws on this type of thing. So does anyone know, is it true that your photos are copyrighted to you the second you take them? This would mean that no one other than you (the photographer) could reproduce them in any way. Just curious if anyone knows the details....
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jon Close |
Yes. Registration of your works with the U.S. Copyright Office is helpful in enforcing copyrights, but is not necessary. Your copyright exists when the picture is taken. Of course, there may be conflicting rights, such as taking a photo of someone else's copyrighted work. http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wci: "Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. ... "If a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a particular date constitutes the created work as of that date."
|
|
|
|
||
|
Shauna Linde |
Thanks a bunch Jon! Just what I was looking for!
|
|
|
|
||
|
x |
But, don't confuse the copyright with having the right to publish photos without permission from the subject.
|
|
|
|
||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||