A Comprehensive Guide to Safeguarding Your Photographic Work

Introduction

In the realm of digital photography, safeguarding one's work is of paramount importance. The ease of sharing images online brings with it the persistent risk of unauthorized use and infringement both intentionally and unintentionally.

This guide delves into the complexities of protecting your images, offering photographers a comprehensive understanding of their rights and the means to enforce them

Understanding Copyright

From the U.S. Copyright Office website - "Once you create an original work and fix it, like taking a photograph, writing a poem or blog, or recording a new song, you are the author and the owner." - this means that copyright is automatic. As soon as you create the piece, your work is copyrighted.

This gives you access to a few things:

1. Reproduce the work in copies
2. Prepare derivative works based upon the work
3. Distribute copies for sale, rental or lease
4. Display the work publicly

Learn more about what copyright provides you at www.copyright.gov. But note that this isn't usually enough to pursue a claim.

Pursuing Copyright

Unfortunatley just having copyright isn't enough to pursue a claim. It is essential that you also register your work. While this is not mandatory, registering your work will allow you to enforce the exclusive rights of copyright as well as allow you to seek the highest levels of monetary compensation.

To add to this, it is also important that you register your copyright as early as possible - ideally before any infringement took place. This will impact what levels of action you can take and the likely outcomes.

How to Register Claims to Copyright

The only place to register claims to copyright in the United States is the Copyright Office.

What are my options?

Depending on when you registered your copyright and when the infringment took place, there are a couple likely outcomes.

Registration after infringement occured: Unfortunately it is unlikely that your claim will result in a lot. The good news is you can still file a lawsuit. The catch? You're only eligible for actual damages, meaning the compensation you can claim is limited to the direct financial losses you can prove resulted from the unauthorized use.

Registration before infringement occured: You are in a strong legal position. Not only can you claim actual damages, but you might also be eligible for statutory damages, which could reach up to $150,000 per infringement, and have your attorney fees covered.

Someone stole my work online - what should I do?

Begin by saving a copy of the infringment both digitally and in print. It is important that you can provide evidence of the infringment when it occured and where.

Try to find the contact information for the website. Many companies provide contact details on their 'About Us' page. This might include general contact numbers, email addresses, or a contact form.

LinkedIn is another valuable resource. Search for the company on LinkedIn to find employees and potentially their roles. You can message them directly or use the information to find more specific contact details.

If the website does not explicitly list contact information, you can use a 'Whois' lookup service. This will provide you with information about the domain registration, including the registrant's contact details, though these may not always be the direct contacts for the corporation and are often private.

I found their contact information - now what?

You have a few options that depend on a number of factors. Most importantly how much do you expect to be compensated? Is this work from an old client of yours? Are they located in the same country as you?

Reach out directly: This is my preferred approach for dealing with an infringement situation where you don't want to create tension with the infringer (who might be a potential client or someone who infringed unknowingly). In such cases, you can inform them that their usage of the image isn't authorized.

You could then propose options like payment for a proper licensing fee, a photo credit with a link back to your website, or request that they stop using the image. This communication is best done in writing.

For some photographers simply requesting 3X their normal license fees from the offending party is enough to be done with it, but note that in some scenarios the damages could well exceed this amount.

Contact an attorney: If the above isn't applicable then the ideal course of action is to seek legal counsel. Many attorneys specialize in copyright issues and offer reasonable flat rates for handling minor infringements. However make sure that the entity you are pursuing is worth your time, usually reserved for larger organizations or companies.

How can I find these infringements?

Lenstracer is designed specifically for photographers like you, who need a vigilant eye on the web. It constantly scans the internet, using advanced technology to find instances where your images are being used without your permission.

This not only saves you the time and effort of manually searching for infringements but also significantly increases the chances of detecting them and getting you paid for your work.

Get started with Lenstracer today.