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Originally Posted by brian.austin
Read up on copyrights before deciding you don't need to submit. U.S. Copyright Office - Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you automatically have a copyright on the image but if it's not registered, it's your word against his. Registering the copyright gives you more power, as you'll see from the FAQ. |
In a way, you're correct. It costs ~$150 ($500 to expedite) to register your copyright, and you have to register a copyright for every photography you have. However, again, I talked this out with our "expert" copyright attorney here in the firm. (Disclaimer: This is no attempt to offer legal advise or try to represent anyone in a legal manner, you should seek a legal professional for legal matters. I am only giving input as a matter of discussion). She recommends registering it only when you plan to sue someone for infringement, because as you said, litigating against someone without your work being registered can be ground for a summary judgment. However, with that said, it can get costly when you want to register every one of your photographs. You would not need a lawyer to register your copyright, just fill out a form and pay the filing fee of $150 or $500 to expedite for each photograph. So it makes it better to register your copyright when you are planning to sue. Since it may not be economical for most of us to spend $500 for each photo we take. Your copyright is inherit with all original works. Mark it with a copyright watermark and a date if you want to show your date of origination.