Evening star., 1951-07-29

way even a model release signed
by that person would not relieve
you from the responsibility and
liability of your act.
Another civil right in which
many photographers should be
interested is the copyright which
can be used by any one to protect
his pictures from being pirated or
used without his permission.
Many people are under the i'm
preston that just because they
nave made certain pictures. they
have inalienable rights in them.
This is far from the truth, for
once picture is published it may
J be copied and used by others un-
less protected by copyright.
You can secure a copyright on
any picture you make regardless
of its quality or merit. 1t makes
no difference if the picture be a
snapshot or a salon print or
whether it is out of focus or poorly
processed. But there is little ad-
vantage in copyrighting a picture
unless you have a good reason to
believe that it is unique and that
there would be a demand for its
publication. If you should be
lucky enough to shoot a picture
of fire or spectacular accident
or other unusual scene that news.
papers and magazines would bt
| interested in buying, it woulc
probably be to your advantage
to copyright it.
Copyright Protection.
Photographs that may be classi.
fed as art or that are unusual be-
cause of difficulty in their taking
or finishing are also At subjects
for copyrighting. On the other
hand, there is little use in OBJ
tanning a copyright on a picture
that any one can duplicate with
his own camera. A copyright only
protects you from unauthorized
use of the picture that you make
1t does not prohibit other persons
from taking the same scene.
Registration of a copyright claim
may be made through the Copy
right Office, Library of Congress-
Washington Is, D. C. This may
be accomplished in one of two
ways. If you plan to publish the
picture, obtain in advance of pub
lication a copy of form J which
Should be filled in and returned to
the Copyright Office, after publi-
cation, together with two copies
Iof the prints and your check for
81. If the picture is not to be pub
liShed simply fill out the same
form and send in the prints and
the 81 fee. This is all you have
to do and the services of an attor-
ney are not necessary, although
possibly desirable. The copyright
will protect your picture from un-
authorized use in the United States
for a period of 28 years and the
copyright may be renewed for an
other 28-year period during the
year of its initial expiration.
A clear indication that the pic
Iture is protected by copyright
should appear on the print If the
copyright is to be effective. The
letter c inclosed in a circle on
the surface of the print is suffi-
Icient if the word copyright and
your name appear elsewhere on
the back of the print or on its
margin or mount.
In dealing with questions of law
1T is most important to realize
that the laws of one State do not
apply to others, although in many
cases courts follow legal prece-
dents set by courts of another
jurisdiction. Where differences
arise between parties, circum-
stances may differ from those
where precedents have been estab-
|liShed. Never be certain that a
general statement or opinion will
cover your case. If you have rea-
son to believe that you may be-
come involved with legal techni-
calitieS through the use of your