Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/10/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> Anyway I am not sure what you mean by the below phrase " register the > copyright of the Image NOW > > Where, how, when ?????? The Copyright Office with the forms they provide... it provides you HUGELY more protection (within the US) than with an unregistered image. http://www.editorialphoto.com/copyright/primer.asp see Pt II especially eg - "The way the regulations are set up, all of the benefits of the 1976 copyright act come from the registration of your images. If someone infringes your images and they are not registered, the infringer has broken the law. Most infringers willingly take the risk, because they know most photographer's do not register their material. They also know that they will pay little more when caught then they would have to if they licensed the image from you. The logical conclusion is why not take the risk. Without registration, you as the image maker bear the burden of proving what the image was worth and the burden of your own legal costs. There is no mechanism for punitive damages without registration. Once an image has been registered the law is set up to compensate the copyright holder with his or her legal fees and punitive damages of up to $150,000.00 per image infringed. One attorney I met at a panel discuss on copyright calls this the biggest legal "hammer" he knows of when negotiating settlement or prosecuting a copyright in infringement. The difference being registered and not is legally "stunning"."