Copyright

Hey -

 

What do you all put on the back of your prints to prevent them getting

illegally reproduced? Like, exact wording. Thanks.

"Reproduction of this print without a written contract with the photographer will put you on

the hit-list of the Providence mafia who have international associates who will rip your head

off and sh*t down your neck."

 

I'm not sure it's strong enough.

 

"Copyright ...." will do.

Well, NOTHING you put on the back of the image will prevent someone from reproducing it (Pico's death threats aside, perhaps!). You own the copyright to your image unless you actively go out of your way to assign it to someone else. Writing something on the image to remind people of that is more a pleasant reminder than anything else. Someone who wants to rip you off is going to rip you off regardless. You have the same right to pursue them for appropriating your work whether you've written something on it or not. This is not the same as <i>registering</i> a copyright, which is an entirely different matter.

Might I suggest ...<P>

<center><i>©2007 John Doe<br>

555-555-5555<br>

DO NOT COPY WITHOUT PERMISSION</i></center><P>

 

Any copyright notice will only cause truly honest folks to pause (in other words, those who wouldn't consider it in the first place). Anyone who doesn't give a darn and wants to copy your print illegally can simply walk into any photo lab with a self-serve photo kiosk and scan and print off 50 copies, and no one will be the wiser. You can <b>not</b> "prevent" illegal copies, you can only discourage the practice.<P>

Having said that, a couple of years ago I gave out a bunch of free prints of a little league baseball team photo for distribution to the parents (my nephew played on the team). I had a copyright notice on the back of the prints. About a year later I got a call from a local printing firm. Seems that someone had submitted my photo for a fund raising calendar for the league. I was more than happy to grant permission, but did appreciate that they contacted me first. So at least some companies do check and respect your copyright.

There isn't really anything you can do to stop people stealling your images, just prosecute them after they have taken them, who knows you might even get some money from it!

<i>There isn't really anything you can do to stop people stealling your images, just

prosecute them after they have taken them,</i><p>

Important - in the USA the fact that work is automatically copyrighted notwithstanding, you

MUST have formally filed for a copyright before taking the person to court. It's the law.

http://photography.about.com/cs/businessmatters/ht/ht_Copyright.htm