Copyright Question.

kylrwilliamsphotogra · Oct 18, 2013

I have a huge battle of the bands I am photographing when I edit them in post edit. Do I copyright them or leave them un-copyrighted as they will be using the photos for there promo uses.

480sparky · Oct 18, 2013

Technically, you can't 'un-copyright' them. You took them, you are the creator of the image, and the copyright will forever be yours.

What you CAN do is enter into a written agreement with those who want to use the photos. This agreement will specify they are allowed to use the images in whatever manner you agree to. Whether money is part of the agreement or not is between the two parties.

kylrwilliamsphotogra · Oct 18, 2013

That's what I did but just wandering do I need to copyright the pictures too.

Big Mike · Oct 18, 2013

You are mis-using the word copyright. The word you are looking for is 'Watermark'.

(I think) you are asking whether or not you should put a watermark on your photos...as a way to indicate and enforce your ownership of the copyright to the images.

You certainly can if you want. It depends where & how you plan to display them...and how you want to deal with people who might want to use them. There is no right or wrong way to do it, but as mentioned, it would be a really, really good idea to figure this out beforehand. In other words, what do they (and you) want to do with the photos after the event?

480sparky · Oct 18, 2013

kylrwilliamsphotogra said:
That's what I did but just wandering do I need to copyright the pictures too.

Being in the US, you automatically have a copyright. However, unless you register the images with the US Copyright Office, you will have no legal recourse if the images are infringed. In order to persue damages, you must sue in federal court as the law is federal. There is no state or county / parish level. And no lawyer will take your case if there's no registration, and the court will not accept the case without it either.

At all goes to how much you think the images are ultimately worth.