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Attorney Joel L. Hecker lectures and writes extensively on issues of concern to the photography industry. His office is located at Russo & Burke, 600 Third Ave, New York NY 10016. 1 212 557-9600. YOU AND THE LAW: What Every Photographer Needs to Know About Copyright Introduction Copyright is the basis for most of the legal rights that a photographer has in his or her work. Therefore, regardless of the level of your expertise or experience, a full understanding of how copyright affects you is critical to you, both as a business person and as a creative talent. What is Copyright? Copyright is a limited monopoly granted in the Constitution to the creator of copyrightable works, in order to foster creativity. It is the right to own and commercially exploit your artistic rights. A minimal level of creativity is required but we presume that, at your level, all of your work should qualify. The Copyright Act of 1976, which refined the former Copyright Law and became effective on November 1, 1978, is the current governing law of copyright in the United States. It extends the duration of copyrights for an individual to either the life of the creator plus 50 years, or for 75 years. Copyright has been called a bundle of rights, with each right being the possible subject of a separate arrangement. Each right could be likened to a pizza pie, with the pizza having an unlimited number of slices.  It is important to note that copyright does not protect
the original physical work. Copyright in connection with
photography centers primarily on the right to reproduce
the work, and the right to create derivative works (works
that are derived from the copyrighted work). Copyright,
therefore, concerns rights to original work, and not the
original work itself. Copyright vests upon creation - when
you click the shutter (assuming, of course, there is film
in the camera!). This means that you own the copyright to
the image at the instance of creation. You need not do
anything else to obtain copyright. Since the United
States ratified the Berne Convention on Copyright (an
international treaty) effective March 1989, the so-called
formalities are no longer necessary. This means you are no
longer required to label your works with the _c_ symbol
for copyright, your name and date of creation. However, it
is recommended that you still do use these symbols, since
they provide name recognition, and in court give added
protection in the event of an infringement.
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