Exposure blog on “How Much Can You Protect Your Photographs on the Internet?”
Oddly, filing a copyright application was not mentioned as one of the points.
And why might you want to file a copyright application??? Cutting through the legalese, legal remedies if you don’t file a copyright application before infringement/within 90 days of “publication”: their profit OR your losses (good luck computing that) AND a court order telling them to not do it again. No statutory damages, no attorneys fees, no court costs…ouch. Thus, unless some mega-corporation infringes your copyright it is unlikely you’d ever have damages making it worth your time to hire an attorney and sue.
Thus, if you can afford to do so, it may make sense to timely file copyright applications covering your photographs (so you can get statutory damages/attorneys fees). Consult with an attorney that practices copyright law for more details.
For those of you who want more information (before you consult with an attorney), the Copyright Office has a page…
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Another quick, easy and inexpensive way to document your intellectual property and legal documents is RegisteredWorks.com. You can upload your files and have proof instantly while you wait the months for the Copyright Office to file your claim. This site is great as it gives you another layer of instant documentaion, especially when you ant to use your property immediately on the web or anywhere else. You will have a time & date stamped record that will predate the copyright office as additional proof of your work.