This post is brought to you by all those photographers that found out too late, if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. We write, consult and lecture daily that photographers ought file their own registrations and never pay any service to do this. Any photographer or illustrator can and must do […]
Archive for category Copyright
We want to wish you all a very happy 4th. The year, 2011 is half over already. Time sure flies. Now that we’re in summertime, we’re busy gathering up a bunch of new material, writing, and gearing up for our early September appearance at Photoshop World in Vegas. We’ll post our schedule and topics there […]
We’re Coming Back Soon!
Jun 28
Sorry all, Ed and Jack have been busy actually making a living. Jack has been hitting the old shutter button and Ed has been tied up, figuratively, in court. But we’ve decided to carve out time again for this blog and will be starting posts again during the first week in July, otherwise known as […]
Oil Soaked Pelicans
Sep 7
It is doubtful that the content of any one single article has had as much effect on the American public’s view of the BP Gulf oil disaster as any single widely distributed shot of an oil soaked pelican. Similarly, photos of Katrina victims -many of them deceased – we confidentially submit, had far more impact on our citizenry that […]
As many of you know, I have litigated several matters against Corbis. Two decisions out of the Federal Court in New York found Corbis to be negligent in its handling and tracking of imagery after trial. Additionally this office has a policy of not representing anyone who seeks to do business with Corbis. The following link […]
If anyone has had trouble registering any work lately, it’s because the Copyright Office is testing and upgrading it’s electronic registration software for the electronic Copyright Office (eCO). Upgrading software…..you know what that might mean. They will be closed while upgrading from August 12th at 5pm until August 15th at 6pm. We will post any […]
This is in response to a question posed privately and it’s a question that is asked often. Copyright protection arises automatically when an “original work of authorship” is “fixed in a tangible medium of expression”. A work is “original” in the copyright sense if it owes its origin to the author. So a photograph of […]
We have written and lectured frequently on the importance of registering everything because you never know what might be infringed or by whom or even how. We have emphasized that while most attention is incorrectly focused on web infringements, cases which involve packaging, point of purchase, billboards and other media are generally more egregious. Sometimes […]
Trust…..But Always Verify
Jul 15
This is a story of why we always say you have to verify your copyright registration, if anyone else says verbally or contractually that they are doing it for you. Ed received a request for assistance from another lawyer who (unlike Ed) was “shocked that such a thing could happen”. Seems that the lawyer’s client, […]
There are many confusing copyright items on the Internet these days. Some offer to “help” photographers, like the Creative Commons (CC). Our plain English interpretation of which can be simplified as: take your copyright, let anyone use the work, and maybe we will magnanimously give you pennies in return. They keep the dollars, if any. […]
