Of all punctuation marks, the lowly comma, that period with a tail, is one of the least impressive marks. It’s not like the emphatic exclamation (!) or the inquisitive question (?) or the definitive period (.). Comma means a pause and pauses are not exciting, but they are dramatic. But make no mistake, that lowly […]
Archive for category Stuff you should know
But I Own the Copyright!
Jul 6
We read a thread online about the “merits” of stock agencies. To us that could have been a one-sentence story, but we digress. In the comments section someone said how they owned the copyright and could pursue an infringer. Again, that falls into the category of “Ya didn’t read the fine print, didja?” We’ve seen […]
Working Blue
Jun 19
One of the things that make this copyright blog of ours unique is that we pull stuff from our actual experiences. They are not assumptions, not impossible scenarios or “what ifs”, but rather experiences and events from the field, from real life. Most of the time the names and the exact facts are changed to protect […]
We are “blue in the face” in large measure because we keep cajoling, pleading, begging and even yelling (we are both New Yorkers ya’ know) that everyone ought register their copyrights with the US Copyright Office all of the time, always, no exceptions. As with all rules, along comes the apparent real life exception to our rule. It […]
Comment on Large Judgement
May 16
Hi all, I just posted a comment on Petapixel on their thread regarding the recent $900,000 award won by a company named “Stepables”. I thought my comment might be of interest to you folks reading our blog. You can read about the case here on Petapixels and here on PDN. Below are my comments that […]
So how’s this for irony? April is Copyright Awareness Month according to the April issue of PPA’s Professional Photographer Magazine. Terrific, photographers and artists need all the awareness and information about copyright they can get. Anything that spreads awareness of the truth is always positive. But something struck us as, well, a bit odd. The […]
“Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” That’s a quote by the late child writer and poet, Mattie Stepanek. Jack was fortunate to photograph the author years ago at Mattie’s home. It’s a great quote because it rings true. Partnerships and collaborations, especially in the arts, can produce wonderful […]
Follow The Money
Mar 2
“When you know the truth it will drive you insane …” so said Aldous Huxley and who are we to argue with Huxley. Ask anyone involved in the creation, appropriation, infringement, adjudication, sales or licensing of intellectual property this simple question: “To what do you attribute the increased amount of stealing or infringing on the works […]
The photo website, Petapixel, recently ran an article on a photo that was allegedly copied by a pharmaceutical company in Germany. The usual cesspool of bad information and tribal wisdom was sprinkled in the comments section. Petapixel to their credit ran a follow up piece, written by a lawyer. A lawyer in Memphis, whose trial […]
In our books and in this blog we have oft written about how to interview and hire an attorney, something we find photographers are clueless and scared to death about. Photographers are universally scared to talk to a lawyer, even when it’s one they need to represent them. We posted articles entitled “Lawyers Need Money […]
