If you want to protect your authentic digital visual assets or maybe even your paintings or stuff like that from the hands of piracy & the risks of them getting stolen & being used by someone else as their own, getting registered copyright is a good idea. Copyright also helps you to recover your losses in case of any loss of money during a copyright related issue. Here’s how you can copyright an image,
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How to know if your image is Copyrightable?
If the image is the result of your own authentic work & it has a minimal amount of creativity then it is copyrightable. For example, it can be a photograph that was clicked by you, a painting that you created, a digital artwork that you designed, etc.
Don’t you already own a Copyright of your pictures & artworks?
Technically, yes but, if someone steals your photos or artwork & use them as their own, you cannot sue them unless you get a registered copyright for them.
Also Read: How To Disable Avast Antivirus On Your PC
How to Copyright an image?
- Make a total of three copies of your image. For digital artworks & camera clicked photos can be printed & physical artworks can be made Photocopies of or you can just take photos of it. Two of these will be required for the U.S. Copyright Office & the other one will be for you.
- If you want to do it online, you’ll need to do that from the official website of the U.S. Copyright Office (costs $35 per photo/image). In that case, you’ll need to fill up the eCO form online & send the copies of your photo by mail.
- However, you can also do it manually offline if you want. In that case, you need to fill up the CO & the VA forms (costs $50 per photo/image).
- Once your authenticity is checked, you’ll receive registered copyright for your image.
Can someone else own your copyright?
Yes. If you have clicked a photo or created artwork for a company where you’re employed, your company owns the copyright. Freelancers own their copyrights unless they’ve signed any written contract that gives someone else the copyrights. Also, you can transfer the copyrights to someone else through a written contract.
So, if you think you need copyright for any of your authentic assets, you should get copyright before it’s too late. In case you have any other questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section.
