A message to everyone about copyrighting photos

[Ritchie]

Please kindly take the time to put your names on your pictures.
Preferably on a spot that would make the picture look funky if anyone tried to cut your name out.

Another breeding season is upon us. I am afraid that the Jesse Underhills of the world are looking at your pictures right now and copying and pasting.

I do not mind them puting it on their site and saying this picture belongs to so and so.
But putting it on their site and representing it as their own and selling their fake hets is another thing.

So please. I beg everyone to please take the time to put your name on your pictures.

This message goes out to the bigger breeders too.


Thank you.


p.s. Maybe the powers that be can make this post sticky at least for a while.



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<a href="http://www.RitchieReptiles.com"....com</a>

	Heterozygous Heterozygous - the animal carries the gene for a genetic trait but does not outwardly demonstrate the trait. Example: A boa that is het for albino looks normal but carries the albino gene. When it is bred to another het for albino boa or an albino boa, a percentage of the offspring will be albino.

[Ed_r]

Very Good Point. I definately should start doing that.
[addsig]

[XzyluM]

Well said Ritchie. A little copyright somewhere on the image would greatly help reduce the number of pictures stoled and represented as their own. It's not 100% fool proof, but it helps nonetheless.
[addsig]

[JuliusSqueezer]

even that doesn't really protect much. I can remove any text from any photo no matter where it is placed in less than 10 minutes and you would never know it was there.
[addsig]

[Ritchie]

good point.
but not all the bad people are good with computers.

actually I do not know how I would do that either.

[addsig]

[flippinrocks]

a lil food for thought, its illegal too label a material as "copyrighted - ©" until you recieve paperwork from the copyright office that states you correctly filled out the forms. Whether it be a compilation or 1st time submission.

with no mistakes..... exspect it to take about 8 months to recieve a copyright notification.





[addsig]

[BWSmith]

Photographs and text are instantly copywrited, there is no paperwork involved. Although you cannot use the symbol, it is still protected by law. the best thing is to keep a pic folder that never gets touched, that way, the file has a created on date and that date is proof enough for any court.
[addsig]

[BWSmith]

From West's Business Law 8th Edition 2001

Copyright

...the Copyright Act of 1976 as amended. Works created after january 1, 1978, are automatically given statuary copyright protection for the life of the author plus 70 years... Copyrights can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. A copyright owner no longer needs to place the symbol or the term Copr. or Copyright on the work to have the work protected against infringement.

To be protected, a work must be "fixed in a durable medium" from which it can be percieved, reproduced or commnicated. Protection is automatic. Registration is not required.

Copyright Infringement

The reproducation does not have to be exactly the same as the original, nor does it have to reproduce the original in its intirety. If a substantial part of the original is reproduced, there is copyright infringement.

Copyrighted material may be used for critisism, comment, news reporting, teaching or research. (last sentence paraphrased, the rest are direct quotes)
[addsig]

[faze]

i would copyright my pic's but my pic's alway's look like poop lol
[addsig]

Seems a lot of people are basically mixing up the copyrighted thing with a registered copyright. While both hold to copyrighting of something like a pic.. .. registered is a whole other "level" of copyrighting....
THANX for the quotes BW.. I had forgotten where to find the links even for that
[addsig]

[XzyluM]

Like I was saying, without negatives or a registered copyright, it's unlikely to stand a case in court. So there really isn't much to do about it.
[addsig]