In our numerous copyright lectures, we always discuss copyright myths and “mythconceptions”. There is one myth, that like Dracula, refuses to die. Like a zombie myth, continually rising from the dead. It’s known as “The Poor Man’s Copyright”. That’s where instead of filing your copyright at the Copyright Office in accordance with Federal Law, you […]
KodakOne and the Zombie Myth
Jan 15
(Presented is a reprint of an article we wrote for Photoshop User Magazine a while back and think it still holds up with very useful information for our dear readers.) Since the beginning of mankind, from the early days of the cave dwellers, there have been creative people, who have used their imagination to enlighten […]
Model releases have taken up a lot of real estate, a lot of ink, in our lectures and writings. Location releases, not so much. Many people think they are not needed, as the consent is “obvious” and/or “assumed”. We’re not going to go into that chestnut about the word, assume. Some think that those who […]
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 […]
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 […]
See our latest podcast with the wonderful Steve Brazill at This Week in Photography (TWiP)’s Behind the Shot (BtS). We had a great time and as per the podcast title, we gave it our best shot. And Steve actually got a word in edgewise once in a while. We wouldn’t let THAT happen again. We […]
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 […]
OUTRAGE! Or The Lack Thereof
May 29
You are smart and business savvy. You have made copyright registration of all of your works part of your normal, everyday business routine. You have employed the best possible paperwork the content of which you have had officially blessed by a knowledgeable attorney familiar with the laws of your state. Everything you create is watermarked […]
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 […]
