The Copyright Office now offers a toll-free line in an ongoing effort to improve copyright public services. Callers can now dial 1-877-476-0778 to ask questions about copyright registration, including use of the electronic Copyright Office (eCO), the Office’s online registration system. When patrons call the toll-free line, they will be prompted to select the Copyright [...]

Check these important posts from Gunar: Google in the hot seat for stripping metadata in image search results What should Google do about media metadata? Great quote: There will always be people who steal.  That is not the problem to solve.  The challenge is to raise the overall awareness of the ownership of the media, and educate the consumer [...]

Dave Warner over at http://www.lensflare35.com/ interviewed me last week to talk about legal issues and my photography.  We had a great time, including making a new tune for the “D-M-C-A.”  The podcast is available on Dave’s site or via subscription in iTunes.

Issue:  HSBC Bank USA used two photographs of house in a brochure (viewable on Scribd) distributed with the San Francisco Chronicle to advertise mortgages.  The owner of the home sued under seven theories of law after others asked him about his financial condition and whether his home was for sale. The result:  No liability under [...]

During a recent photo safari in Botswana, our group was privileged to view and photograph a lioness’ efforts to find her cubs.  The dramatic event tore at our hearts. Grant Atkinson, our wonderful guide, great photographer, and fantastic photography teacher, reported the story on his blog with Africa Geographic.  With my “Sigmonster” and high position [...]

Thanks to Mike Johnston over at The Online Photographer for including the “Photographer’s Legal Guide” on his list of “The Best Photography How-To Books!“ Order your copy of the ”Photographer’s Legal Guide” from the Products page (for the e-book version or for an autographed softback copy) or from Amazon for a softback copy or for a Kindle [...]

Q. If I hand my camera to another person to shoot a few frames, who owns the copyright for the images? A. Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form.  The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Unless the photo is a [...]

Join me at the Telluride Photo Festival! I’ll be speaking on the Law for Photographers on Sept 23-24 at 9-10:30 am each day.   Check the Seminar page for more information.

Trademarks or servicemarks allow people to identify the source of goods or services, not the products or services themselves. When people see your trademark, they will know where the product came from or who is providing the service. Trademarks can be names, symbols, packaging, the shape of a product, the colors of a product, the [...]