Stealing my photography?

[Lefty91]

I've just recently discovered that a "friend" of mine has been taking my photography and saving it to his phone. He has every intention of taking them to be printed because he likes them so much. Unfortunately I did not have them copyrighted because I'd never had the problem before, and it was on my facebook page to share with family and friends(none are printed because there is no demand). When I found out I asked him to delete them and if he wanted prints to ask me, and I would have them done. I told him a price(not much at all because I'm still quite new at this, and only recently has my work been noticed by friends and family), and he stated that I might as well let people steal my work because "photographers never make a career or money off their work". Since then I have removed all my work until I have them all copyrighted. My problem is getting him to remove everything he has saved. Advice?

[fhotoace]

Actually your images are copyrighted the moment you press the shutter release

If your "friend" publishes your work, he is in violation of copyright law. It seems that he does not respect your work or you for that matter.

In the future, you can post your images, but do so this way.

Create lower resolution image files and save them as a different file name so your original is not overwritten. Also place a watermark right in the middle of all your images. The watermark should just be your copyright notice. "© 2013, Your Name, All rights reserved".

That should prevent all but the most determined thieves, although low resolution is a great barrier.

[Kevin]

Well is he making a profit off of it? Or is it just for his personal use such as hanging it on his wall. I honestly don't think it's worth the effort to go through all of this, and end up ruining a friendship. What I would do is 1. learn from your mistakes, don't put any artwork up that isn't complete (Copyrighting it). 2. Ask him to give credit where credit is due. Maybe write your name on the photo.

[Steve P]

Copyright exists from the moment you create your work and fix it in tangible form. However, even though it is not required, registering your photo with the US Copyright Office gives you the full protection of the law.

If you register BEFORE your copyright is infringed upon, (or within 90 days of publication), you can sue for statutory damages ($750 to $150,000) and legal fees. If you don't register, you can only claim what your work MIGHT have sold for, which is hard to prove.

To register, go to the website:

http://www.copyright.gov

where you can register online or download an application, and submit your work. It costs $35 online, or $50 to $65 through the mail. On a single application, you can register unpublished work as a collection, as long as it is in the same year as the application. So, you only have to pay the fee once for a big batch of photos.

It takes from two to six months, (we are dealing with the government here), to get your certificate of registration, - unless you choose to expedite it, .... which costs an additional $760.... (see what I mean about dealing with the government).

There is also a Creative Commons license (CC) which lets you share photos without losing copyright while you specify clearly how they are to be used and that you are always credited. A CC license does not give you the same protection as a registered copyright, so only apply for a CC after you have registered. Here is more info on CC:
http://creativecommons.org

Be aware, there are lots of uses that don't necessarily violate copyright. For instance, copyrighted photos can be used without permission or payment "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research". Many photo contests have rules allowing the sponsor to use entries for promotional and other purposes. You retain copyright, but you might not get paid.


This information is taken from the book "The Law (In Plain English) for Photographers" by attorney Leonard D. Duboff.

Copyright is a LEGAL issue, and thus is open to many and varied interpretations and laws, .... that is why there is such a thing as copyright lawyers. When in doubt about something concerning your copyright, you have to seek expert legal advice.

steve