How to Copyright your Photographs
In this age of Internet and online photo publication channels, copyrighting pictures seems to have been put on the back burner. To protect your pictures against any unauthorized malicious use is nevertheless a great idea, and it can sometimes be helpful in protecting you from some unwanted legal trouble. You can protect your photographs in many ways, and one of the most effective methods is to print the pictures or copyright the pictures through your camera at the time you take them. In digital cameras you can put your signatures on your pictures.
Instructions
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See if your camera has an option where you can mark your photo with your name and date, and do that before printing or transferring your pictures to your computer for online publication or transferring them to your albums on the social networks. Generally, you can add the name, date and time of the pictures at the time they are taken. However, this option might not be available in all cameras.
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You can copyright your photos through Photoshop, if you posses some picture editing skills. On Photoshop you can add the mark (c) on the picture, and then go on to write your name and date next to it. This will ensure that viewers of your photos online know about the person who has taken them and uploaded them. Although pictorial content which is in public domain does not have an issue of copyright violation as such, sometimes you can claim your property right on these pictures, if they are used for any commercial benefit, especially when you are not informed prior to their use.
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Another way to protect your pictures is to put watermark on them. A thief is likely to remove your label first and then use the pictures. In case of watermark, an unauthorized use of pictures is impossible. No one can remove the watermark, and your pictures will stay copyrighted. Moreover, the viewers will also know you as the sole proprietor of those photos. In fact, use of watermark can protect you from the commercial use of your work or else you are most likely to be given credit whenever someone uses your pictures in their work as a reference.
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In addition to these steps to protect the copyright of your pictures, you can register yourself with the US Copyright Office. This option is particularly beneficial if you take photographs for any commercial purpose and then leave them online. For example, if you want to protect your pictures which are exclusive to you for some publication or scholarship work, you should get them registered with the US Copyright Office. You can find the details about how you can register your pictures with the office online on its website or else you can send your work straight to them and get it registered. Make sure you know the entire process, and you might also need to send copies of your work. It is nevertheless the most effective official channel to protect your work and you can file a claim against any person or organization that violates the copyright.
