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”

Protecting Copyright Isn’t Always About Money

In 2013, The Beastie Boys filed suit against the girl-oriented, creative toy company GoldieBlox. Not for the money, but for the principle. GoldieBlox had created a derivative of the band’s song “Girls” and used the new version in a video promo. When the case settled months later, the agreement included an apology to the bandContinue reading “Protecting Copyright Isn’t Always About Money”

Copyright Registration for Screenwriters

Copyright registration of your screenplay, especially if you write it on spec, is a good idea. But there are some common questions and considerations that we often seen from screenwriters, and so we offer the following guidance: Writers Guild + Copyright Registration Registering your screenplay with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is a goodContinue reading “Copyright Registration for Screenwriters”

The Lucky Shot May Be Quite Valuable

Everyone owns copyrights. But not everyone has a need to enforce their rights. As an operation of law, copyright rights “attach” to a work the moment it is created—and the most common type of work that almost everybody creates is the photograph. Typically, we tend to think about copyright in context to professional photography, andContinue reading “The Lucky Shot May Be Quite Valuable”

Registration: One Work, One Author, Lots of Rules

The Single Application Form The least expensive registration avenue offered by the Copyright Office is the Single Application form. For $45 ($20less than the Standard Application), you can submit your registration. However, the Copyright Office views this as a special discount and limits the use of Single Application. As the name suggests, you may onlyContinue reading “Registration: One Work, One Author, Lots of Rules”

SCOTUS Decision a Win for Copyright Owners

This morning, in the case Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, the Supreme Court decided how far back a plaintiff can recover damages for copyright infringement. The decision is a win for copyright owners. A Decade of Infringement The Copyright Act has a statute of limitations of three years, and it is generally agreed thatContinue reading “SCOTUS Decision a Win for Copyright Owners”