This post gets technical and legal, so feel free to skip it if you are not interested. The text reply below is copyrighted by the respective parties listed, and is not for redistribution.
David R. Busse wrote: > FYI: I would assume this applies to photographs, too. I would assume > anyone who submits material to the railroad magazines is assumed to be a > freelancer ... DRB > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > NEWS MEDIA UPDATE - Digest version > VOL. 3, NO. 13 > August 25, 1997 > > published by the > Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press > Freelancers lose claim over electronic publishing rights > > NEW YORK--Freelance writers who sell their stories may not stop > the periodical publishers who buy them from putting the contents of > their publications into electronic databases or CD-ROMS, a federal > District Court in Manhattan ruled in mid-August. That description is very vague, but it is for writers. The above is correct for text reportage and editorial work submitted either by 'work for hire', assignment (staff or freelance) or unsolicited, and it does not include copyrighted images if submitted correctly. For image rights, see my notes following your quoted text below... > The court noted that its finding, that electronic versions are > "revisions" of the original articles covered by the publishers' > copyright interest If you sell your work to a periodical as 'work for hire' then you do not retain copyright, and that means they can do whatever they want with it. Most people on this list are not aware of these issues because they do not use contracts in their photographic business transactions. If you tried to submit one to a railfan magazine, they may laugh at you (see several of the previous list posts on the worth of our RR photography in the current publication market). Below are examples (with notes) of some of my terms which are also generally endorsed by the American Society Of Media Photographers which pertain to images: "Image(s)" means all viewable renditions furnished by photographer, whether captured or stored in photographic, magnetic, optical or any other medium whatsoever. Note: If you don't include a notice (and terms) similar to this next one below, then you have limited or no rights. All Images and rights therein, including copyright, remain the sole and exclusive property of Photographer. The license to use the delivered Images are not conveyed by this document... Note: So... you must outline the rights in writing through usage terms and specify the length of use, circulation and the exact type of use if you wish to enforce any of this. The circulation of a publication will have some bearing on the price that a publication may be willing to pay you for your images' use (to be determined when you formalize an agreement with the 'client' (publication). Unless you are just selling the image to the magazine permanently (which is considered a work for hire), then are LICENSING the use of your image to them, NOT selling it to them. IF THE IMAGE IS TO BE RETURNED TO YOU, then you are not selling it to them and you have legal rights if you submitted your images to the publication correctly in the first place (more than I can get into here in this post). Many publications don't want you to know about these rights and would rather just borrow your image for 'hobby' use and pay you a small fee for letting them use it in whichever way that they see fit. Giving your work away, without requiring correct copyright terms and without usage terms waives your rights, and this is not endorsed by any professional organization. If you treat your photography as just a hobby, but submit any of your work for publication, just don't expect anything. Period. More important terms: Reimbursement by Client for loss or damage of each original photographic TRANSPARENCY or film NEGATIVE shall be in the amount of One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500), or such other amount set forth next to said item on the attached... Note: How many people on this list have submitted slides that were permanently lost? Unfortunately this industry standard amount or anything close to it will just get you laughed at with a railroad publication. Of course they only have to pay it if they signed the contract and lost your slides, hence the incentive to do business correctly, and protect your submissions while in their possession. Important: Photographer shall receive credit for Images as specified on written contract unless no placement is specified. Note: This means printed credit or copyright notice. You can tell them how and where to print it too. If you contracted to have this notice on your behalf in the form a copyright notice (Copyright symbol or (C)/the year/photographer's name and/or company), the photographer is protected by Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended. The copyright notice doesn't have to be located directly on the printed publication page to protect your image from additional unauthorized use by that company or individual that you submitted it to, providing that it is included in your contract terms. However, printing your copyright notice adjacent to (or on) the image area certainly protects you from any other parties copying and using your published image without your permission (and fee). My contracts stipulate that the omission of copyright notice on a published image(s) will result in triple billing for that image(s). This is considered a loss to the photographer, and is enforceable if included in your contract. If the magazine or book is copyrighted inside the front cover in any other than your name, then they would have to stand behind you in a third party copyright dispute. You have to ask yourself: "would they"? You must spell this out on your contract to make sure that the publisher will protect your interests from that type of unauthorized image usage. Most hobby photographers don't know about these issues, they don't protect themselves properly and then they have no leg to stand on in a dispute... and why should you if you are just enjoying a hobby and not interested in carrying out any business transactions or making any money? There are sections that deal with limiting or prohibiting digital alterations of your shots in prepress and printing as well. Very Important: Client may not assign or transfer this agreement or any rights granted... If you are still reading this with interest at this point and you have correctly submitted work and are having a problem with a company or individual violating your copyrights, then it is time to meet with a lawyer and learn about the rest of these issues. Brief excerpts of terms (C) Copyright 1995 ASMP (C) Copyright 1997 Dave Cohen and Action Photographic All Rights Reserved. Not for redistribution. (C) 1997 SPORRS --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects X-Mozilla-Status: 0011 Content-Length: 2150
