I'm not a lawyer, but I do moonlight as a photographer, and my best understanding is that, yes, you have the copyright as soon as you create the photo, and it e

I'm not a lawyer, but I do moonlight as a photographer, and my best understanding is that, yes, you have the copyright as soon as you create the photo, and it enforceable at that point, but it is more enforceable (in the form of attorney’s fees and statutory damages) if it is registered with the copyright office. If it is not registered, you can only get actual damages, which would be what they would normally pay for the photo. See http://nylawline.typepad.com/photolawyer/2007/03/obtaining_copyr.html http://nylawline.typepad.com/photolawyer/2007/03/obtaining_c... for more.