How to Copyright a Personal Photograph

Personal wedding photos can be copyrighted.

With the booming of social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, it has become much more convenient for anyone to upload and share personal photographs online. Unfortunately, such accessibility also makes it easier for Internet crooks to steal or use those personal photos for improper purposes. Although you basically own the copyright of your photos at the moment of their creation, a proper registration is still required in order to gain more legal protection. If your registered photos are infringed, you can easily recover any damages and legal fees in court. If the infringed photos have not been registered, however, the cost of the lawsuit usually far exceeds the recoverable compensation.

Things You'll Need

• Digital or paper copies of your photographs
• Internet access or the paper form VA

Instructions

Copyrighting a Personal Photo Online

1. Visit the U.S. Copyright Office website (www.copyright.gov) and fill out the eCO form.

2. Choose to register your personal photo as an unpublished work. Even though you might have posted the photo online on Facebook or MySpace, it does not mean that the photo has been legally "published." Under copyright law, publication is the distribution of copies of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership. A public display of a photo does not in itself constitute publication.

3. Make a payment online with a credit or debit card, electronic check or Copyright Office deposit account. The fee is $35.

4. Upload a digital copy of your photograph, or print out a shipping slip and attach it to your photograph for delivery by the U.S. Postal Service. To save money, you may copyright a collection of photos all at once under one registration fee. The photos should be clearly identifiable. The dimension should be at least 250 pixels.

Copyrighting a Personal Photo with a Paper Form

1. Visit the U.S Copyright Office website and fill out a request for the form VA (visual art). Or write a request and mail it to:

   The Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress

   Washington, DC 20559.

2. Fill out the form and identify your photo as an unpublished work.

3. Print out your photos or save them on a CD-ROM.

4. Send the form VA you have filled out, the photos or CD-ROM, and a money order of $45 to the following address:

   US Copyright Office Library of Congress

   101 Independence Ave. Southeast

   Washington, DC 20559

Tips & Warnings

• For public assistance in preparation of copyright submissions, call 202-707-3000.

References

• U.S. Copyright Office: Registration of Photographs
• Wedding Photography: Copyright Your Photos

Resources

• The U.S. Copyright Office: eCO Tutorials