Protecting Your Copyright
As a professional involved in the photographic industry, it is vital that you have a working knowledge of copyright principles and copyright law. Depending on the nature of the work that you undertake, copyright may well turn out to be your most valuable asset. Some photographers work on the basis that the fee for the shoot is their major income stream; for example, family portrait photographers make far more from the initial shoot than they do as a result of their continuing ownership of the copyright to the images. However, those who deal in images of people in whom the public has an interest may not get paid a fee for the shoot at all; rather, they will make all of their money as a result of their control of the copyright for those images, and the subsequent exploitation of those image rights.
Copyright Basics
In the first instance, it is important to understand the way in which copyright regulations affect photographers. Ownership of copyright will depend upon the way in which the photographer is being paid. This can perhaps best be illustrated by two examples. If you employ a number of photographers, and your company is contracted to take some photographs of a family, the image rights will remain with the company. The family has no claim on the copyright, while copyright regulations state that the photographer does not own the rights as they were essentially sub-contracted by the company. On the other hand, if you are a freelance photographer contracted to take photographs of the same family, you will be the sole copyright owner. In general, photographers agree to provide a set of prints included in the price of the shoot. However, as you control the copyright in this instance, the customer would have to order any subsequent prints through you. Regardless of the fact that the family paid for the initial shoot, you can exercise control over how and when the images are reproduced. As such, most photographers charge a premium for all subsequent reproductions.
Registration and Model Release
UK copyright law states that copyright is transferred onto the creator of the images (or the firm for which they are working, if they are sub-contracted) at the point of creation. This means that there is no formal necessity for you to register the copyright in your images; if you hold image rights, you hold them by default and no work on your part is required. In reality, however, it is very difficult to prove your ownership. As such, many photographers choose to register their work with the UK Copyright Service. This service allows photographers to upload their images as proof of their ownership. You should bear in mind, however, that there is a registration fee associated with this; it is currently £37 for 5 years per upload, although it is possible to upload unlimited photographs at once.
It should also be remembered that, although you may own the copyright to portraits, the subjects do have some rights regarding where their images appear. As such, most photographers require their portrait customers to sign model release forms prior to the shoot in order to avoid the potential for further action if you intend to sell reproductions of the images at a later date to a third party.
