Copyright??

[random2]

Ok.. sounds dumb but I was never the sharpest tool.... I went to the library of congress website and seen all these registration fees.. I know some one knows here how to get a name copyrighted for there photos etc, can I please get a clue.... Many more dumb post to follow, I promise.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Wouldn't a trade name fall under trademark registration?

Trademark protection is automatic, but subject to stiffer rules regarding its use before the protections kick in (e.g. how long and how consistently you've used the name, whether or not it is unique enough, etc.). You can use ™ (or sm) to indicate that you intend to defend your exclusive use of a name. For a fee, you can register the name and/or logo with the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO, www.uspto.gov), which will give you the right to use the ® mark and indicates government acknowledgment of your exclusive riht to the name/logo.

Google is sooo cool.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Wouldn't a trade name fall under trademark registration?

Trademark protection is automatic, but subject to stiffer rules regarding its use before the protections kick in (e.g. how long and how consistently you've used the name, whether or not it is unique enough, etc.). You can use ™ (or sm) to indicate that you intend to defend your exclusive use of a name. For a fee, you can register the name and/or logo with the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO, United States Patent and Trademark Office), which will give you the right to use the ® mark and indicates government acknowledgment of your exclusive riht to the name/logo.

Google is sooo cool.

:thumbup:

 

[random2]

lol... Might try google.... lol

 

[RancerDS]

Ok.. sounds dumb but I was never the sharpest tool.... I went to the library of congress website and seen all these registration fees.. I know some one knows here how to get a name copyrighted for there photos etc, can I please get a clue.... Many more dumb post to follow, I promise.

Here's a couple of cents worth of thoughts out loud:

A copyright is to protect your artistic works (be it written, drawn, painted, computer graphically imaged, etc.). So if you take a photo and want to protect it from unauthorized reproduction, you want to copyright it.

A trademark is something that applies more to the name of a process/service/product or could be for any slogan referring to such. AOL tried to register the trademark of "You've Got Mail" (or was it "You Have Mail"?). There was a name of a movie starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan with the first title. That would have constituted an infringement of AOL's protected trademark; had a court ruling ALLOWED it to be awarded such registration rights. A good example is Pat Riley's use of the slogan/slang "three-peat" as originally coined (supposedly) by him for the instance of the Chicago Bulls winning their third consecutive NBA championship. Since it had not occurred before nor been applied in any context, Riley basically rushed ahead with the trademarking to make sure it could not be commercially exploited. Brands of clothes are often trademarked so that someone doesn't introduce a line bearing the same name (i.e. FUBU®).

So whatever clever name you have devised for a title for a single photograph or photographic spread/portfolio, it needs to be fairly original and worth the effort you will have to suffer to protect it.

 

[KmH]

Ok.. sounds dumb but I was never the sharpest tool.... I went to the library of congress website and seen all these registration fees.. I know some one knows here how to get a name copyrighted for there photos etc, can I please get a clue.... Many more dumb post to follow, I promise.

A copyright is to protect your artistic works (be it written, drawn, painted, computer graphically imaged, etc.). So if you take a photo and want to protect it from unauthorized reproduction, you want to copyright it.

If you take a photo, draw, paint, write a book, poem or song, make a movie, they are usually copyrighted at the moment of shutter release or creation.

The creator doesn't have to do anything else to own the copyrights to the work.

There are some legal benefits a copyright owner gets if they register their copyright(s) with the US Copyright Office, www.copyright.gov , which is part of the US Library of Congress.

Copyright registration can be done online or by mail. If done by mail the fee is $40 and up to 750 photographs can be registered with a single application form. If done online, the fee is $35 for as many images as you can upload in 60 minutes segments: U.S. Copyright Office - eCO Frequently Asked Questions