How to Copyright Protect Photos
- 1). Record all pertinent workflow information for the image or images. For each photograph that you copyright, you should maintain a journal that compiles data about the image and photographer. In addition to your name, you should record the date and time it was made, the location, the subject and information about any people in the picture. Possession of these facts helps to prove ownership of the image, if it is challenged in the future.
- 2). Assemble your "deposit." The U.S. Copyright Office refers to a photographic submission as a deposit. It is your choice to submit a single image or a large catalog of images, all covered by a single fee. The submission can be in the form of a contact sheet or a scanned copy of multiple images, and can be submitted on photographic stock, paper, or via CD-ROM.
- 3). Complete U.S. Copyright Office form VA. When properly packed and accepted by the Copyright Office, this is your official registration of copyright . A required fee is paid with submission of the form and the deposit.
- 4). Send the deposit , VA form and fee to the U.S. Copyright Office.
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
http://www.copyright.gov/