When is the copyright date?

[Steve Goldstein]

According to the copyright.gov web page the date should be when the work is first "fixed", not necessarily when the work is first offered. For a novel this would be when the author finishes the work, not when it's published.

For a photo, is the copyright date the year in which the negative is made, or the year in which the print is made (presuming them to be different)? If the latter, if I print the same image low-key this year and high-key next year, do I need two copyrights?

Not that I expect it'll ever matter for my own work...

[Greg Miller]

You own the copyright automatically at time of creation. But that doesn't buy you much. You need to register the copyright with the Library of Congress to get full protection.

You have 90 days from the first time the image is published to register with the Library of Congress (easily). After the 90 days, you can still do it but the process becomes more tedious and you might have problems filing suit if someone violates the copyright prior to registration.

Here is the web site for the registration process: https://eco.copyright.gov/eService_enu/start.swe?SWECmd=Start&SWEHo=eco.copyright.gov

[ROL]

For a photo, is the copyright date the year in which the negative is made, or the year in which the print is made (presuming them to be different)?

In the case of making negatives, a negative is not likely to be presumed an image, per se. I use the date of creation of prints or the date of copyright registration, whichever is appropriate. If you make another "different" image print from the same negative, this would require another copyright, if it were titled differently. I believe one may use the same criteria for digital images, as digital files are not images at the time of creation (i.e, they are interpreted by software). In any case, one registers the images, not file (creators) with the USCO. The important thing is to register them before putting them on the net, if unauthorized use matters to you (and it may not). Pragmatism reigns supreme in these issues.


Not that I expect it'll ever matter for my own work...

You can never tell, http://www.rangeoflightphotography.com/pages/photo-business#copyrighting.

[bdkphoto]

According to the copyright.gov web page the date should be when the work is first "fixed", not necessarily when the work is first offered. For a novel this would be when the author finishes the work, not when it's published.

For a photo, is the copyright date the year in which the negative is made, or the year in which the print is made (presuming them to be different)? If the latter, if I print the same image low-key this year and high-key next year, do I need two copyrights?

Not that I expect it'll ever matter for my own work...

You will need only one registration, the different versions of your work are simply derivative works covered by the original copyright.

Excellent vetted tutorials here: http://asmp.org/content/registration-counts#.UYhUKpUgJ5g

[QT Luong]

Not sure what you mean by "copyright date ", but what I am pretty sure is the year which should appear in the copyright notice ("copyright 2013 QT Luong") is the year of first publication.

[Jac@stafford.net]

This is an interesting question because an undeveloped negative cannot be copied, but traditionally copyright means the date of creation. Perhaps this is why the term 'fixed' is used: the image must be copyable.

FWIW, it is not necessary to register a copyright, however to bring an infringement before a US court, it must be registered before the case is heard. Each judgement is considered case-by-case. It's a legal thing.

[JBelthoff]

From what I understand copyright protection applies the moment something is "Fixed In A Tangible Medium".

So a work must be recorded in some physical medium, whether on paper, canvas, disk, film, or computer hard drive. This means that things like spontaneous speech or musicianship that is not recorded, (a jazz solo at a live performance, for instance) is not protected by copyright.