Recently in Copyright Category

We want to thank everyone who has already signed the letter asking President Obama and Vice President Biden to pursue the enforcement and strengthening of policies that protect your copyrights.

On November 16, the Copyright Alliance will deliver the letter with each artist's signature to the White House. To date, more than 11,000 artists have spoken up for their rights by signing the letter...and the majority are photographers like you. Have you made sure your name one of the many?

If you haven't signed the letter, visit www.copyrightalliance.org/letter today. All you need to do is scroll to the bottom to enter your name, artist type, city, state, and e-mail and hit "sign."

If you've already made your voice heard, make sure your colleagues and friends have as well--just pass along that link above. Remember to tell them to sign the letter before November 16th!

Dear PPA Member,

I think the holidays make everyone just a teensy bit crazy. Don't get me wrong--I'm talking about crazy in a good way. Whether giddy with the gift-giving or rocking out with friends and family, people want to share and give tokens of love and friendship to those they adore.

No, I'm not thinking fruitcake or a Chia Pet. They want to give something special, and that means images of themselves and their families, looking their best because they've gotten a professional portrait done. By you.

Except...they don't call you for reprints or a new order. And you have a sneaking suspicion that they've gone somewhere else to get your copyrighted image reproduced. (And sometimes, instead of sneaking, your suspicion saunters boldly down the street in the form of a holiday card with the image you took scanned onto it.) What gives?

It's just that time of year when people get a teensy bit crazy, and they may forget that you own the copyright. This week's Vital Signs offers ways to politely remind your clients (and retailers) that while you love fruitcake and Chia Pets as much as everyone else, the best gift you could get this year is the gift of a print order.

Cheers,
Christel Aprigliano
Director of Member Value & Experience

If your client skips out of the studio to make some copies of a photograph on the cheap, they are not alone in the infringement. Someone okayed the reproduction order, probably without thinking twice.

So how can you help keep photo retailers educated and vigilant? PPA has a program to help with this tutelage: the Retail Compliance Network (RECON) program. But we need your help! Learn how you can get involved in RECON for the good of your business (and the industry)

Dear PPA Member,

Part of being successful in the professional photography business is simply loving what you do. It shows! You put a lot of work (and passion) into every image you take. And when that effort is seemingly disregarded by those who illegally use the image, it can hurt--and not only due to some lost revenue.

Last week, Vital Signs focused an article on ways to begin educating those who contribute to image copyright infringement. Yes, your client needs that education, but don't forget about the other parties. Think about this: if your client skips out of the studio to make some copies of the photograph on the cheap, they are not alone in the infringement. Someone okayed the reproduction order, probably without thinking twice.

So how can you help keep photo retailers educated and vigilant? PPA has a program to help with this tutelage: the Retail Compliance Network (RECON) program. This week's Vital Signs explains how this program works and how you can be a part of that combined education.

It's truly amazing what is accomplished when photographers work together--I see it every day!

Cheers,
Christel Aprigliano
Director of Membership

P.S. Don't forget about our free, member-only Webinar on Monday. Join SBA Lender Relations A/O, Lance Foster for Get the Loan You Need: Small Business Administration Loan Program.

Several years ago, most didn't think twice about burning a copy of a CD or downloading songs off peer-to-peer file sharing sites. Then, the artists and music industry spoke out. More importantly, they increased public education about breaking copyright laws. Now, even DVDs tend to have a "commercial" before the movie that refers to such actions as stealing.

That kind of combined education sends a loud message...and that's the kind of education that can help protect your images from client copyright infringement. This week's article touches on how to begin such copyright education yourself (to both clients and photo retailers). Next week, you'll learn about PPA's shiny new Retail Compliance Network (RECON Program) and how you can be a part of that education.

PPA is always searching for the best way to help you protect your copyrights. Infringements won't disappear instantly, but each educational step can help strengthen your rights and your clients' awareness of them.

Cheers,
Christel Aprigliano
Director of Membership

P.S. Stay tuned for next week's Vital Signs article (May 14). You'll learn more about the revamped Retail Compliance Network--our RECON program--where you can help investigate photo retailers to improve their compliance with copyright laws.

Yesterday (April 16), Facebook's new Terms of Service (TOS) statement was opened for voting. This new document is an improvement over Facebook's existing TOS and the impromptu change made earlier this year.
 
Take a look at the statement and voice your opinion with a vote. After all, even if you don't use Facebook all that much, some (or most) of your clients do! But you better vote quickly--the voting period closes April 23. (You must have a Facebook account to vote.)
 
Read Facebook's TOS here: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=67758697570&topic=7569.
Vote on the Facebook TOS here: http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=76815337130.
 
Click here to learn more.

Over one month in the making, Facebook's updated Terms of Service (TOS) statement is getting ready to launch...and they want their users to vote.  

PPA's comments, along with user feedback, have been compiled and will be shared on Facebook's site, beginning April 16. Instead of a traditional TOS document, Facebook will release two separate items: Facebook Principles and a Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

The Facebook Principles will serve as a guideline to share with the services and benefits that participation in Facebook provides. The Statement of Rights and Responsibilities is the "meat and potatoes" of their existing TOS. By visiting their website (or clicking the above links), anyone (Facebook user or not) can read both documents as they were proposed last month.

Unlike the immediate implementation that occurred back in February, each document will be put to a vote (April 16-23). Voting will be limited to Facebook users.  

PPA is actively monitoring the Facebook site so that we can offer photographers our position. We want to ensure that members of the Facebook community can cast an educated vote when the time comes. Keep watching and get ready to vote!

Read the more Facebook news post from PCmag.com here.
Read PPA's earlier article about Facebook and its Terms of Service here. 

You may recall last month's online uprising when Facebook announced their new Terms of Service policy. In an earlier post, we told you about a letter PPA sent to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's Founder & CEO, in which we applauded Zuckerberg's creation of a "Facebook Bill of Rights & Responsibilities", and offered our expertise and assistance in developing the social media site's newest policy.

Facebook was receptive to PPA's involvement and requested our feedback on the latest version of their proposed "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities." We submitted our comments and suggestions to Facebook last week, and now we're watching and waiting to see what develops.

Based on what we've seen so far, you'll be pleased to know that Facebook has made strides to accommodate photographers, and all copyright owners, who actively maintain Facebook accounts. We'll keep you posted on any new developments as our conversation with Facebook continues.

On March 19, PPA's Chief Executive Officer, David Trust, represented the photography industry on a panel at a Congressional Briefing that included representatives from the music, movie and software industries. The discussion centered on the importance of U.S. Copyright law to the photography industry, the importance of copyright industries to the U.S. economy, and how photographers interact with fellow creators.

The briefing was hosted by the Copyright Alliance, a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization composed of individual creators and leading copyright industry organizations.  A founding member of the Copyright Alliance, PPA was delighted to participate in this event which was well attended by staff members from each chamber's Judiciary Committee, and other Congressional committees, subcommittee's and caucuses that govern intellectual property related issues.

What happens to image licenses when those images are posted to a third-party site?

Facebook found itself in hot water in early February after stating it would continue to hold a usage license on artistic works posted to its pages after the owner of those works deleted them from the site or closed his account. A public outcry elicited a quick about-face from the company. The following day, Facebook issued a statement clearly articulating that its license to use posted images expires when users delete them from the site or close their account.