Category Archives: By RightsClick

Timely Registration is Bargaining Power When Your Work is Misused

Our friend Jonathan Bailey at Plagiarism Today describes a recent case decided by the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) in favor of real estate photographer Kimberly Mullin. The CCB is the small-claim copyright alternative administered by the U.S. Copyright Office, and Bailey notes that many of the cases it has resolved to-date have been straightforward claimsContinue reading “Timely Registration is Bargaining Power When Your Work is Misused”

Copyright Registration & AI Training

The search tool created by The Atlantic has revealed to the general public what professional creators have been fighting in court for some time now: the big AI companies have taken billions of copyrighted works without authors’ knowledge, permission, or payment. Every day, all types of creators discover that their works are in datasets usedContinue reading “Copyright Registration & AI Training”

Assistive AI Should Not Limit Protection Says Copyright Office

It would be an understatement to say that developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have sent shockwaves through the creative fields. From the perspective of copyright law, AI raises many issues, including the extent to which copyright applies to works made with AI. The Copyright Office initially responded by publishing a “guidance” document that many thinkContinue reading “Assistive AI Should Not Limit Protection Says Copyright Office”

Bipartisan Report on AI Recognizes Creators’ Rights

Just before finishing work for the year, the U.S. House of Representative’s bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence released its report. That document is over two hundred fifty pages long and covers everything from agriculture to national security. About twenty-five of those pages are dedicated to intellectual property, including copyright, which includes clear recognition ofContinue reading “Bipartisan Report on AI Recognizes Creators’ Rights”

Where Does Registration Fit in the Photographer’s Workflow?

“Make registration part of your workflow” is probably the most fundamental and important message we at RightsClick have for independent creators. This is especially true for the highest-volume creators – photographers. The most common questions we receive revolve around when in the workflow registration should occur.  This is both a practical question about efficiency andContinue reading “Where Does Registration Fit in the Photographer’s Workflow?”

Whose Work Is It?

Collaboration is great, but what are the copyright implications? In the last two weeks, we’ve had conversations with creative friends about the concept of work made for hire (WMFH) — and whether you’re a contributor to a project or the presumptive owner of a project, understanding this concept in copyright law is important. In particular,Continue reading “Whose Work Is It?”

Event Photography: Venues and Vendors as Copyright Vultures

RightsClick recently conncecte with photographer Vanessa Joy. In this video, she raises some important copyright issues related to event photography. Before discussing those issues, we strongly recommend that photographers retain all their copyright rights. Work made for hire (WMFH) agreements mean that the hiring party owns all the rights. These should be entered into withContinue reading “Event Photography: Venues and Vendors as Copyright Vultures”

When to Register a New Version of a Work

Ernest Hemingway famously said that “The only kind of writing is rewriting.” Whether creators agree with that rule, one question we hear frequently is, “When should I register a new version of my work?” Here are some basics to help you with that decision: You might know that copyright protection applies automatically the moment yourContinue reading “When to Register a New Version of a Work”

Foreign Authors Must Register in the U.S. for Full Protection

Are you a foreign author? Foreign to the United States, that is. We Americans can be like that sometimes. And unfortunately, our copyright law is the same. Like almost every copyright law in the world, the U.S. Copyright Act promises that protection arises automatically at the moment a work is created. And in the formalContinue reading “Foreign Authors Must Register in the U.S. for Full Protection”