Copyright Help

[Don_Shreve]

Is copyrighting all your work really as time-consuming & difficult as it seems? (OK, I admit I haven't been doing it...No More. Don't hammer me, please...) I do put copyright info on my paperwork & tag my images as copyrighted, but that's as far as I've gone up to this point.
I've read the primer on ASMP. But can someone tell me in PRACTICAL REAL terms how they go about copyrighting everything they shoot or expect to show?
For example,, do you do your copyright stuff once a week? Do you make JPEGS of EVERYTHING & send it to the copyright office? This could prove expensive & take an extreme amount of time. Can't you just file a statement that says "Everything I shoot is copyrighted"?
Seems IP is getting harder to protect under the current administration. I want to protect myself any way I can.
Plus, I have a client who's not paying. It's a small invoice, but I may be screwed with them, legally speaking.

Everything that I'm describing has to do with unpublished work that has not yet been delivered to a client or published on your own.

I copyright everything I shoot no matter what it is. This includes family snapshots, outtakes and every frame that I shoot for my stock archive.

In order for this to be an easy and painless process you need to get your ducks in a row.

-You need to submit a digital file format that anyone can read. I use jpegs, but you could use PDF but probably not .psd files and certainly not raw files.

-If you are filing frequently you should set up a deposit account. This allows your account to be debited for each bulk submission. It costs $30.00 per submission whether you're submitting 100 shots or 20,000 shots. The deposit account can be established over the phone and paid and recharged with a credit card. It's easy.

-In order for your submission to arrive in a timely manner you need to ship it to the Copyright office via DHL, FedEx or UPS. Don't use the US Mail! It's still being delayed due to the anthrax deal in 2001.

-Submit on readable media like CD or DVD. Make it PC and Mac readable.

-Label your submission.

-Save the appropriate copyright PDF form on your own machine. It's a fillable form and can be filled out in 30 seconds. http://www.copyright.gov/forms/formvas.pdf That's the one that I use, short form VA

-Sign your submission!

-Register as unpublished before your client gets their hands on it. That is your protection! Registered work gives you statutory protections.

Once you get familiar with the above suggestions you can create a submisssion is about two minutes with the majority of the time spent waiting for the CD/DVD to burn.

I submit only when I have a job to deliver to a client. At that time I add all the rest of my unregistered personal work as well as stuff that I shoot for stock. I average about 25 submissions per year.

I create a CD of jpegs in folders that match my naming and filing conventions. Once the disk is in transit I wait until the next day and use the shipping webiste of DHL or Fedex and make a PDF of the web page that shows delivery time and signature confirmation. When the actual copyright restistration arrives 2 to 7 months later I make a PDF copy and drop it in to each folder.

[John_Luke]

The prescense (or abscence) of the © symbol has no bearing on your ability to enforce copyright. It merely keeps honest people honest.

The easiest way is to run jpegs of everything you shoot in regular intervals, say every two weeks, every month, etc., and for $30 register the enitire collection as unpublished work (So long as they really have not been published before you register. That is why some opt for a tighter more frequent time frame.) They don't even need to be a related subject matter.

If you've read the ASMP stuff, I'm assumming you are a member. ASMP spends lots of time contacting lawmakers trying to keep these waters navigable. IMO, its as easy as it can be right now. ASMP and PPA have had talks with lawmakers about waiving the registering practice, but changing lawas takes a long time.

[Bill_Jurasz]

Quote: You need to submit a digital file format that anyone can read. I use jpegs, but you could use PDF but probably not .psd files and certainly not raw files.

I am likewise going to assume that .DNG files are not acceptable either. But I do wonder, if your original image is a raw file, do you send them a full-resolution raw conversion? For that matter, whether JPG or RAW, do you send full resolution images or do you send something smaller, like 400x600?

[DouglasUrner]

[ QUOTE ]
Quote: You need to submit a digital file format that anyone can read. I use jpegs, but you could use PDF but probably not .psd files and certainly not raw files.

I am likewise going to assume that .DNG files are not acceptable either. But I do wonder, if your original image is a raw file, do you send them a full-resolution raw conversion? For that matter, whether JPG or RAW, do you send full resolution images or do you send something smaller, like 400x600?

[/ QUOTE ]

You send them something small, no need to overwhelm them with data they don't know what to do with . . .

Doug

[Alan_Ackoff]

It's been my practice to send small JPEGs on the CD accompanied by digital contact sheets. It may expedite things if they are able to easily see a visual index of what you are submitting. However it's not required.

In a worst case scenario where you have bad CD, then you will still have the contact sheets. It's a belt and suspenders approach.

Alan

[Bill_Jurasz]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Knowing they only need small JPG's is a big help. And I found yet another useful feature of iView Media Pro. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]