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Patently false. A picture is protected under copyright the second it is captured. You do not have to file, you do not have to give notice. You own the picture the second you take it. Period.
Watermarks and copyright notices help, but thieves are thieves. Most common thieves are not very sophisticated though so a watermark with a web address included to direct people to your site is not a terrible idea. And is somewhat of a deterrence.
A well-drafted cease and desist also usually does a good job with those who are difficult to work with. Because a lot of people just don't realize that it's not okay to use someone else's pictures or words and have no idea about intellectual property rights and a lot of times when you approach them they are apologetic and take it down right away, but then there are those people who aren't so innocent... and an official letter usually gets them moving.
Patently false? I dont undersand.
First, you're confusing the noun "patent" with the adjective "patently".
patent
(noun) : a government authority to an individual or organization conferring a right or title, esp. the sole right to make, use, or sell some invention
patently
(adjective) : easily recognizable; obvious
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Kind of. The point of a copyright is to protect one's intellectual properties.
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Kind of. Where you're getting confused is in what the owner of a copyright must do in order to have and protect that copyright. Telling someone you own something is a way to protect your copyright of it, but you do not have to do anything in order to
have the copyright. Your materials are copyrighted to you the moment you create them.
I get that you own the pic the second you take it. But say then you put it out there But if you DONT copyright it, LEGALLY anyone can use it till you do.
Wrong. You're talking yourself in circles here. Go back and read what you wrote. Your material is copyrighted as soon as you produce it. No additional steps are required by you to have the material protected under copyright law. So what exactly mean by "if you DONT copyright it"? Again, no steps need to be taken to "copyright it". It is copyright protected by its very creation.
Am I right here? Or is Olive hill ? She makes it sound like you have protection no matter wether if you are copyrighted or not. Or are we both right in some round about way ? Any Legal people or lawyers want to weigh in on this one??? Im a little confused on this one.
To quote Sheldon Cooper: "Don't you think I would know if I was wrong?"
Seriously though. In no way am I saying "you have protection no matter whether if you are copyrighted or not". What I am trying to explain to you is that
you are always "copyrighted". That is, you immediately own the copyright to any material you create -- painting, photo, works of writing, musical composition, etc -- the very second you create it. This idea of "copyrighting" something or something being "copyrighted" or taking action "to copyright it" is a legally unnecessary step. You do not have to do anything to own the copyright of the materials you create. It's automatic.
If you are a professional there are additional steps you can take to help yourself in the case you should ever have a major legal battle, but for common users of cameras, farm owners, etc. The above is really all that needs to be known/done. Take your pictures and know that no one can legally use them without your permission. Period.