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The U.S. Copyright Office started the electronic copyright office (“eCO”) to make it easier and quicker to register your copyrights. Follow the steps presented in this article to learn how to use the system.

One problem with the eCO system is that it has a limited time for which your files can be uploaded. If you have lots of images to upload, then the system may time out before your upload is complete.

But the Copyright Office has improved the system to address this concern. Specifically, you now need to “close” your upload to let the Office know when you’re finished uploading files. Otherwise, you can upload more files to the registration later (within a specified time).

Here’s what you will see after you have uploaded some files:

You then can choose to upload more files or close the window. If you’re finished uploading all of your photos, then click “Upload Complete.” If you want to upload more files later, then just close the window.

You’ll also receive an email from the Copyright Office with confirmation of the files that you’ve uploaded:

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When you log back into the system, you will see a list of your “Open” Cases, such as this:

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Click on the Case # that you want to want to upload more files and the screen will look like this:

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You’ll see references to the files that you’ve already uploaded. Click on “Upload Deposit” to add more files to the registration.

Note that if you forget to close the registration yourself,  the Office will close it for you 90 days after you started the registration without notice and your registration will not be complete.  So be sure to timely finish what you start!

This Alert is reproduced here with permission from NANPA:

ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers), joined by NANPA, APA (American Photographic Artists), and NPPA (National Press Photographers Association), is concerned about the terms and conditions of a contest announced by Vogue, a Conde Nast publication, entitled the New Exposure Photography Competition, Presented by Bottega Veneta.  This contest, which is targeted at students and emerging photographers, appears to be an effort to secure thousands of free images for unlimited use in publications and in advertising.  For this reason, we believe this contest exploits photographers, and we strongly caution everyone to carefully review and understand all the terms and conditions along with the rights they are surrendering before entering any competition.

The core problems we see are that:

• The sponsors have the perpetual, unlimited use of all contest entries.
• There is neither compensation for contest participants nor is there credit given for their work.
• Participants are required to sign a liability release and copyright assignment, and to indemnify Bottega Veneta and Conde Nast against any lawsuits that may arise as a result of the usage of the photographs.
• Every entrant is required to waive any right to sue in the event of misuse of the photographs entered.
• The winner is being offered $10,000 for a shoot which would normally command several times that amount.  The winner will be required to grant copyright ownership of all photographs from the shoot.

We believe that while competitions can serve a purpose within your business plan and give your work significant visibility, there are a number of issues to consider before you enter.  For more information about the terms, conditions and issues for Photography Competitions, click here.

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As discussed previously, the parties may conduct “discovery” of the case to prepare for trial. In sum, the goal is to learn what are the other side’s strengths and weaknesses, which may prompt settlement before trial.

In addition to the written discovery tools available, a party may, by oral questions, depose any person, including a party, according to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30. The deponent’s attendance may be compelled by subpoena under Rule 45.

During a deposition, the lawyer asks questions the deponent answers under oath. The testimony may be recorded by audio, audiovisual, or stenographic means. Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, a deposition is limited to 1 day of 7 hours.

An objection at the time of the examination—whether to evidence, to a party’s conduct, to the officer’s qualifications, to the manner of taking the deposition, or to any other aspect of the deposition—must be noted on the record, but the examination still proceeds; the testimony is taken subject to any objection. A person may instruct a deponent not to answer only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation ordered by the court, or to present a motion under Rule 30(d)(3).

Many excerpts of depositions taken by video are available on YouTube, the format of some of which should be avoided, such as this one:

and some deponents can be difficult:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bi6CycM3mE

with some questions being inappropriate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRIk1zEiGwM

and others being out of control:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAIN_w026aY

Regardless of the absurdity of some depositions, they can be an effective tool to learn about your copyright infringement case.

Check this great article by David Riecks on how to protect your images -

Six Ways to Keep your Digital Images from Becoming “Orphan Works”

The U.S. Copyright Office will host a Copyright Matters program on May 6, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress. A panel of experts will address “Nimmer on Copyright: Celebrating 50 Years” with reflections about the treatise and copyright law. The panel will be moderated by Karyn Temple Claggett, associate register of copyrights and director of policy and international affairs, and includes David Nimmer, UCLA School of Law and Irell & Manella LLP; Jon A. Baumgarten, former general counsel in the Copyright Office; Peter S. Menell, professor of law at the University of California Berkeley School of Law; Robert Brauneis, professor of law at The George Washington University Law School; and Shira Perlmutter, chief policy officer and director for international affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The event will be hosted by Maria A. Pallante, Register of Copyrights. Joseph Salvo, president of the Copyright Society of the USA, will give opening remarks. The event is free and open to the public.

You must file your copyright infringement claims in federal district court. Check this blog entry for more information.  Unfortunately, the costs to file suit are increasing.

Specifically, the Judicial Conference initiated a new general administrative fee for civil cases filed in the district courts. The new $50 general administrative fee is in addition to the current $350 filing fee for civil cases and becomes effective May 1, 2013. So it’s going to cost $400 to initiate your copyright infringement case. Hopefully, you’ll be eligible for statutory damages and be able to recover your costs from the infringer.

On Wednesday, April 24th, from 1 to 3 pm, the U.S. Copyright Office will host a Copyright Matters program in recognition of World Intellectual Property Day. The program will be held in historic Coolidge Auditorium on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and is free and open to the public. This year’s theme, as announced by the World Intellectual Property Organization, is “Creativity: the Next Generation.”

The program will feature performances from members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International, including NSAI President Lee Thomas Miller (e.g., You’re Gonna Miss This, recorded by Trace Adkins), Jessi Alexander (e.g., The Climb, recorded by Miley Cyrus), and Brett James (Jesus Take the Wheel, recorded by Carrie Underwood). Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante will speak, as will James Pooley, Deputy Director General of the Innovation and Technology Sector of the World Intellectual Property Organization, and Teresa Rea, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. Filmmakers from the Copyright Alliance will also present.

World Intellectual Property Day, internationally observed on April 26th, marks the date in 1970 when the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Convention came in to force. The anniversary of this occasion is observed as a way of promoting and increasing general understanding of intellectual property.

Before it’s possible to pursue and enforce infringements of your photographs, you first need to know about them! Image Witness is an innovative new solution designed to show photographers where their content is showing up online.

As Image Witness explains:

It’s currently possible to track individual images online but until now, no one has provided a solution to manage a photographers entire image collection. Image Witness provides a unique reporting platform that shows you where your content is online and provides automated processes to filter and tag results for you each month. Once you know where your content is online, you are then in a position to do something about it.

You may try Image Witness’ service for free at http://www.imagewitness.com/pricing.php.

ALSO - Image Witness is giving away 3-month trials of its “small” plan (which covers up to 1500 images each month) to three (3) of the Photo Attorney’s blog readers!  So the first three readers to send an email to photoattorneyprize@imagewitness.com get the prize.  GOOD LUCK!  

Update:  while the three prizes have been claimed, Image Witness now is offering a free 25% increase in images monitored per plan to any others that enter.  Thanks, Image Witness!

The U.S. Copyright Office will host a Copyright Matters program on May 6, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress. A panel of experts will address “Nimmer on Copyright: Celebrating 50 Years” with reflections about the treatise and copyright law. The panel will be moderated by Karyn Temple Claggett, associate register of copyrights and director of policy and international affairs, and includes David Nimmer, UCLA School of Law and Irell & Manella LLP; Jon Baumgarten, former general counsel in the Copyright Office; Barton Beebe, professor of law at New York University School of Law; Robert Brauneis, professor of law at The George Washington University Law School; and Shira Perlmutter, chief policy officer and director for international affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The event will be hosted by Maria A. Pallante, Register of Copyrights. Joseph Salvo, president of the Copyright Society of the USA, will give opening remarks. The event is free and open to the public.

The Copyright Matters lecture series was founded by Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante in 2011 as a community forum to discuss the practical implications of copyright law in the 21st century and to provide education and training to the staff of the U.S. Copyright Office. Through the series, a wide range of invited speakers – including Congressional leaders, authors, market experts, and legal scholars – present topics of critical importance to the copyright debate. Lectures occur throughout the year at the historic Library of Congress and include discussions about authorship, copyright registration, marketplace investment, copyright enforcement, fair use, international norm setting, orphan works and other updates and revisions of copyright law for the digital age.