Copyright – It costs you nothing

Copyright of anything you have created costs you nothing. Just put ‘Your Name 2005’ (2006, etc.) on it, next to it, or where the public can read it, and the copyright act is done. It’s free, a gift from your government.

You’ve probably heard that registering your copyright costs you $ 30. Yes, that’s true, there is a $ 30 fee if you choose to formally register your song, story, photograph, painting, or whatever. Fill out the TX form for the written word or the VA form for graphic creations, such as photographs. Submit two copies of the ‘work’, plus your $ 30, to the Copyright Registry, Library of Congress, and your work will go into the archives and you will be in a better position to collect copyright compensation. infringement.

However, your work is still protected when you simply put a (c), plus your name or the name of your publication, in the head of your periodical or on one of its thumbnails on the web.

Many people confuse registering a trademark or patenting an invention with copyright. The first two consist of lengthy and lengthy processes and generally require a lawyer. Not so with copyright registration.

If you haven’t taken advantage of the free copyright privilege provided by our Copyright Law, get started today. A (c) in everything you have produced, protect potential offenders. It carries the aura of a federal crime, like the label on a mattress: Do not destroy under penalty of law. The sign (c) also adds an air of professionalism to your photography.

* What does commissioned work mean?

If you are an employee of a company and you take a photo or write a story for that company as part of your duties as an employee, generally that is work for hire. The company owns the image or work created, not you. Probably, at some point, you signed a “contract work” agreement with your employer. (If you haven’t, the new law assumes you have full ownership of your images or writing, unless there is a written agreement to the contrary.)

If you are an editor of a company magazine and specifically request or commission a freelancer to take a certain photo for which you want to retain all rights, and you have a signed agreement stating this, the freelancer is “working for contract “.

However, if you, as a magazine editor, give a freelancer an assignment (writing or photography) and your magazine pays for the film and expenses, the writer or photographer is not necessarily working under contract unless you and he / she signs an agreement saying that.

Most writers or photographers don’t bother to sign these documents. If they do, they demand a much higher fee than the normal “one-time fee” fee.

On the other hand, if you do not commission the writer or photographer to “work for contract,” there is a monetary advantage when you “rent” a photograph or an item on a one-time royalty basis, at a much lower cost than if he had to buy the exclusive rights to that item or photograph. If your magazine or periodical is on a medium or low budget, explain to the photographer or author that you are free to market your work elsewhere as you are only buying one-time rights. Because your periodical is specialized, you probably won’t have a problem with cross-reader conflict.

[Section 101(1)(2)]

* For how long does an author own the copyright on his writing or a photograph?

The new Copyright Law says that a created work “subsists from its creation” (when the article is completed or the photo is taken), and has the copyright as long as it lives, plus 75 years. That is if the author registers the copyright. In some rare cases, an author could publish an article in a magazine without copyright, and if a copyright notice ((c) 2005 John Doe) did not appear next to the article, and if the author did not rectify it in a Within five years, the article could become public domain, that is, anyone can use the article (or photograph, drawing, etc.). But this would be weird.

The old copyright law, by the way, allowed only fifty-six years to own a created work.

To register your copyright, the current fee is $ 30. Request Form VA for graphic arts and Form TX for non-pictorial works such as writing. The address: Copyright Registry, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20559. Her phone: (202) 707-3000. (Information specialists will answer your specific questions at any time of the day.) Again, it is not totally necessary to register (charge) your created works. Doing so makes your legal recourse, in the event of an infringement, much stronger with respect to the collection of monetary compensation. However, simply putting a (c) in your photograph or writing is usually enough to tell the world that the work is yours. Putting that (c) in it costs you nothing. Section 302 (a); 405 (1) (2) (3)]

* Can a photographer place notice (c) on his slides and photographs and be protected in court, even if he did not register the image with the Copyright Office?

If an image is not registered (with the Copyright Office), it does not mean that it is not copyrighted. Use this analogy: Your car – You have the title (copyright) to it, even if you choose not to register it. Once you drive it (post your picture), you are vulnerable to accidents (infringement). If you were to go to court, it would be much easier for your attorney to represent you (and win your case), if your car (photo) was registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles (Copyright Office). [Section 401(a)(c), 405(a)(2)(3), 407(a)(2), 408(a)]

* What if you, as a publisher or publisher, want to reprint a photographer’s image a second time, as a reprint of the original post of the same, or if you want to use the photographer’s image to advertise your post, or want to use your imagine a second time in an anthology? Do you, the publisher or publisher, have the right?

A publisher has the privilege of using an image a second time without agreement with the photographer or without additional compensation, when an image is used as a book review or original periodical. For any other use, such as advertising, or a different editorial use, other than the original use, additional compensation is required for the photographer (or author). [Section 201(c)]

Note: a common practice in the publishing world is to pay a photographer 75% of the original fee for the photograph when the photo is used a second time, for a different use than the photograph was originally used.

* What is the statute of limitations for infringement?

If you do not discover a violation within three years, you have no legal recourse for damages. [Section 507(a)(b)]

* Are images used in advertising also copyrighted by the publisher in a copyrighted publication?

No. The publisher can claim copyright only to material over which it has editorial authority and control. Therefore, if a photographer’s image is used for advertising purposes, it must be published with the copyright notice visible. But this is a task that must be tackled by the advertiser, not the publisher or publisher. [Section 404(a)]

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References:

Public Law 94-553 (90 Stat. 2541) Title 17 USC Copyrights, signed October 19, 1976 by President Gerald Ford; entered into force on January 1, 1978; It supersedes the Copyright Act of 1909.