Copyright registration workflow help

Ken112

I'm finally getting around to registering my photos with the U.S.Copyright Office and need some guidance.
What is the easiest way to submit the photos? CD, DVD, on-line?
How small can I make the files? Is 72dpi high compression jpg good enough?
Can anyone suggest a PhotoShop CS3 or Lightroom work flow to batch process my photos into a form suitable for submission.
I am planning on registering all my "keepers" from the past 4 years. This could be thousands of photos. I'm thinking the 30 minute upload limit will prevent me from submitting them on-line. Is there a work around to that?
I am planning on submitting all my photos as "unpublished" a few have been in the newspapers but it would be a real pain to find the dates and other info. Many of my photos will be published in a book due for release in December and I'd like to get my photos registered before then.
After this project I plan on registering my new photos annually.
Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

Ken

kenheld.smugmug.com

OffTopic

I wrote an action for CS3 based upon attorney Bert Krages example here for a Dump folder. Mine are set for 200px on the longest side at 72 dpi. People have stated that you can go even smaller, but I'm just not comfortable going any smaller than that. You just run the action when you've finished processing an image and it puts the resized copy in the Dump Folder. I usually run it in batch mode. I add to that folder on a regular basis, and I file every three months to remain within the three month rule (for published works). If you regularly have work published you really should be filing every 3 months (or more frequently).

How many images you can fit in the 30-minute upload will depend on the size of your files and frankly the quality and speed of your internet connection. eCO is cheaper ($35) and processing is faster. Last I heard, hard copy filing was several months (eight, I believe) behind. But if you want to file four years/thousands of images as one collection you're probably going to need to do it as a hard copy filing, then switch to eCO for ongoing filing.

I am not an attorney, but you might want to do a little research on published vs. unpublished works. Publication affects certain limitations on rights and has different deposit requirements, and the first thing an infringer will do is to try to invalidate your registration. I remember reading somewhere (Caroline Wright at photoattorney.com probably) that it is better to make the mistake of registering unpublished photos as published, than to register published photos as unpublished. And although web publication is not clear cut, the general consensus recently is that making photos available on a personal site (such as your smugmug site) does not constitute publication unless the photos are for sale. It would be a shame to go through the trouble of registering your copyright, only to have it invalidated by an infringer because they were able to prove the image was published prior to your registration as unpublished.

Ken112

Thanks for the detailed reply. I've got few more questions...

[OffTopic]I wrote an action for CS3 based upon attorney Bert Krages example here for a Dump folder. Mine are set for 200px on the longest side at 72 dpi. People have stated that you can go even smaller, but I'm just not comfortable going any smaller than that. You just run the action when you've finished processing an image and it puts the resized copy in the Dump Folder. I usually run it in batch mode. I add to that folder on a regular basis, and I file every three months to remain within the three month rule (for published works). If you regularly have work published you really should be filing every 3 months (or more frequently).

I tried resizing my photos to 72dpi and 200px as you did but I wasn't happy with the results. I used LR2 and created an export filter preset that dumps, renames and resizes my photos. I wasn't happy with the quality at 72dpi and 200px per side. I needed 1000px on the short side to show all the detail in the photos but the file size at that setting was getting close to 100KB per photo. I'll play with it some more.....


How many images you can fit in the 30-minute upload will depend on the size of your files and frankly the quality and speed of your internet connection. eCO is cheaper ($35) and processing is faster. Last I heard, hard copy filing was several months (eight, I believe) behind. But if you want to file four years/thousands of images as one collection you're probably going to need to do it as a hard copy filing, then switch to eCO for ongoing filing.

With my slow DSL upload speed I better look into another method of sending in my images. I thought you could register using eCO and then mail them a CD/DVD to complete the registration. I'll call the copyright office tomorrow for clarification. What is your opinion on what to register? Should I just register my "keepers" 500 -1000 photos (the stuff I have on my smugmug site) or should I send in all 20,000+ photos just in case I need to publish a "non-keeper" at a later date?

I am not an attorney, but you might want to do a little research on published vs. unpublished works. Publication affects certain limitations on rights and has different deposit requirements, and the first thing an infringer will do is to try to invalidate your registration. I remember reading somewhere (Caroline Wright at photoattorney.com probably) that it is better to make the mistake of registering unpublished photos as published, than to register published photos as unpublished. And although web publication is not clear cut, the general consensus recently is that making photos available on a personal site (such as your smugmug site) does not constitute publication unless the photos are for sale. It would be a shame to go through the trouble of registering your copyright, only to have it invalidated by an infringer because they were able to prove the image was published prior to your registration as unpublished.

I have a few photos that were entered in a contest years ago. I signed a release after they won and they have been used many times over the years in advertisements. I have no idea when or where they were first published, so it would be difficult to register them as published. Maybe I'll give Caroline Wright a call and get her advice....

Ken