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The photographer can register his copyright at any time. [0]. You're right though that there is an advantage to registering before infringement occurs, since if
by bdowling 9y ago
The photographer can register his copyright at any time. [0]. You're right though that there is an advantage to registering before infringement occurs, since if it's registered the case will be eligible for statutory damages, which can be up to $150,000 in the case of willful infringement. 17 U.S.C. § 504. [1]. Otherwise, actual damages to a photographer who doesn't sell any images will likely be zero.
[0] https://eco.copyright.gov/ https://eco.copyright.gov/
[1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/504 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/504
- 120photo 9y agoYes you can but then you would have to be able to prove that an infringement took place after you registered. I don't recall the site off the top of my head but there is a service for photographers that will scrape the web and search for their images and see who is using their images. I think the software will even help a photographer collect damages for a cut. I saw a commercial photographer demo the site and he makes a lot of money. The laws are confusing and photographers lose out in tons of royalties by not registering their copyrights especially if a huge company like Netflix uses your work.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 9y agoWell, to avoid continued infringement, wouldn't Netflix have to either get to an agreement or recall and destroy their entire already-produced stock? I suspect the former would be way cheaper...