Basic Info on Copyright Law

Back To Stock Image Menu

Each image on this website is legally protected by U.S. and

International Copyright Laws, and may NOT be copied and used for
reproduction in ANY manner unless arranged for in writing. All
pictures on this website are Copyrighted © Pro-Visions, and are for
Web browser-viewing only. Usage of any image (including comp usage)
must be negotiated. No image on this website may be used for any
purpose without express written consent of the Copyright holder,
Pro-Visions. Unauthorized duplication or usage of these images is
prohibited by U.S. and International Copyright Law. In the event of
infringement, the infringer will be charged triple the
industry-standard fee for usage, and/or prosecuted for Copyright
Infringement in U S Federal Court, where they will be subject to a
fine of US$100,000 statutory damages as well as court costs and
attorneys' fees.

On November 19, 1999, Congress passed the "Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Improvement Act of 1999".

The President is expected to sign it into law. The Bill amends section 504 {c} of the Copyright Act to increase the minimum statutory damages a court can award from $500 to $750, to increase the maximum from $20,000 to $30,000, and to increase the maximum amount in the event of willful infringement from $100,000 to $150,000, for each infringing act.

The Bill also deals with adjustments to the sentencing guidelines for criminal copyright infringement to reflect the dollar retail value of the infringed goods or works.

Copyright is established upon the creation of an original work. With photography, this takes place when the image is "fixed in any tangible medium of expression." This means that once the shutter has closed and any image has been recorded, or captured, it is protected by Federal Copyright Law.

Copyright is comprised of five basic rights.

The Right To:

Reproduce the copyrighted work
Make derivative works based on the copyrighted work
Distribute copies of the copyrighted work publicly
Perform the copyrighted work publicly
Display the copyrighted work publicly

Any of these rights may be transferred and owned separately. However, the copyright itself is not divisible -- there is at all times but a single copyright.

All negotiating regarding a copyrighted image is only an interplay between transferring rights and reserving rights.

Most advertising and commercial photography is licensed for a specified use and/or period of time.

There are three ways to transfer rights:

Transfer of Copyright:

This covers all five basic rights the artist owns as the creator of the work, including the copyright itself. The artist would have no further copyrights.

Assignment:

This covers the complete transfer of one or more of the five basic rights. By assigning the right to reproduce, for instance, the copyright holder transfers the unlimited right to reproduce an image without restriction. The assignee would then be able to reproduce the image in any media, anywhere in the world, for an unlimited period of time. The copyright holder would have no further rights to reproduce the work, but would reserve the four remaining basic rights. Copyright transfer occurs when the entire copyright or all five basic rights have been assigned to the same party.

License:

Specific rights may be transferred by licensing. This covers any aspect of any of the five basic rights, and may be restricted by time, media, geography or other means. For instance, an artist may license reproduction rights for one year in trade advertisements in Southern California, and include display rights for a trade show booth at the June Auto Show at the L.A. Convention Center. The more specific the rights licensed, the more the artist reserves for him or herself. Specific details are important in the licensing agreement (invoice) so that the client understands their exact rights and that they must negotiate any additional rights not covered. Inclusion of details such as size of the print run for a brochure, names of publications, time frame, etc. helps establish and limit the scope of the rights licensed and supports pricing. A broad license for reproduction rights for national advertising is more valuable than a specific reproduction right.

In addition, licenses may be either exclusive or non-exclusive. An exclusive license means that no one else may have the same rights to an image. The exclusivity can apply to the image itself, a period of time, a media, a geographic area etc. For example, licensing exclusive reproduction rights for one year in national advertising in North America restricts the copyright holder from licensing rights to the image that would conflict with the exclusive restriction. The artist would reserve the right to license the image for other uses. If a license is non-exclusive, the artist may license more than one client to use the image in the same way.

Back To Stock Image Menu