For any creative work, there exists an aspect of copyright and probable infringement of such rights. If you are a photographer and you do not know when to claim copyrights on certain images, this information belongs to you. Understanding intellectual property laws as a photographer is very important because you will know when you own some copyrights, how to protect these rights and what to do in case of infringement. The Information below will help you understand important aspects related copyrights from a photographer’s perspective.
• What Are Copyrights And Copyright Infringement?
Copyright can be defined as an exclusive right that an individual acquires automatically after creating a certain piece of work. This means that as a photographer, you have exclusive right to reproduce any image you take, publish it or sell it. If someone else uses this same image without your permission or license, this will amount to infringement of copyright, and you can sue this person in a court of law.
• Is Copyright Effective Immediately?
The simple answer is yes; copyright is automatic. Any time you take a photo as a photographer you automatically becomes a copyright owner. You are not required to publish anything, file anything or do anything at all to own the copyright for a photo you took or made. However, you may consider registering the copyright for other reasons other than owning it.
The only exception to this rule is when someone hires to take photos on their behalf. This rule only works when you are an employee who is creating work for your employer and it means that your employer will be the owner of the copyright. In this case, you will be taking photos under a hire agreement.
• Publishing Images On Social Media
Before you post an image on social media, get to read all the terms and conditions of such sites. This is because some social media sites have a condition that once you post your image, you grant them the license to use the images. However, it is only the host of the specific site that may have some permissions over your images and not any other person or company. In this case, unless you as the copyright owner provides a license to use any image you published on social media, it will amount to infringement of copyright if another person uses it.
• Registration Of Copyright
According to US copyright laws, you are not required to register your copyright unless an infringement of copyright happens. While you are not required to register your copyright, in case of copyright infringement, you will be required to register it fast before filing a case against an infringer.
You need to know that you are not prohibited from registering the copyright before infringement and even if it is not a requirement it is good to register because it provides you with extra protection and rights. Registering your copyright after infringement may limit your lawsuit to actual damages rather than statutory damages. The bad thing about this is that actual damages might be difficult to prove but if you had registered your creative work earlier, receiving statutory damages is made easier.
• When Can Other People Use Your Creative Work Without Infringing Your Copyright?
Being the copyright owner means that you have the right to license your creative work to another person. This means that these people can use your image and not amount to infringement. However, you need to understand the kind of rights that you are giving out and also put it in writing to ensure they use it for the specific purpose and within the time stated in the license agreement.
As a photographer, you need to have at least the basic knowledge of copyrights and what amounts to infringement. If you find it a little bit hard to understand the nuanced expressions under the US copyright law, seek the help of a good intellectual property lawyer to make sure you understand your rights and protection.