Copyright procedure assistance, please

[monochrome]

Hi all: My son's college Club Lacrosse team won the Conference Tournament tonight and I, of course, took photos. After the actions shots, I mounted my FA50/1.4 and Promaster 7500EDF flash to my K10D and I must have looked quite the PRO, because a stringer for US Lax Magazine approached me immediately and asked me, out of all the photographers present (must have been the Pentax - or maybe I looked the most like a chump ) to email him my best three images from the trophy presentation and celebration. We chimped the LCD and agreed on the three I would send.

Now, I don't REALLY give a hoot about protecting these images, and US Lax is REALLY small-time in the online and print magazine department, but why shouldn't I at least try to protect my images?

I embedded my name and the (c) 2009 info in the exif file in Photoshop, (and like an idiot spelled Missouri wrong in the Caption) but I didn't do anything else, and emailed the resized jpeg's off. I can see the additions in PhotoMe (very cool).

In the future, what else should I do?

FWIW, here is one of the images:

[Damn Brit]

Why don't you email him first giving your details and confirm that you will be given credit for the pictures?

You could also ask if there is any fee payable for them.

[monochrome]

Originally Posted by Damn Brit

Why don't you email him first giving your details and confirm that you will be given credit for the pictures?

You could also ask if there is any fee payable for them.

Well, this is really for my son's team, to see this image in the magazine, so I didn't really care. But I did ask those questions. I gave my details in writing at the time, and I have a hand-written agreement that any image selected that I submitted will be bylined without compensation.

All of that could be BS, of course.

I'm more concerned about any future images I take - say at the National Tournament in two weeks - and about further use of this after publication, since there isn't a contract limiting further use.

Since anybody can edit EXIF, is there a way to password the EXIF without locking the image itself from editing by the user?

[Dom]

Copyright law is just that, it's law.
If you see your photo some were you didn't put it you sue them.

You can put an invisible watermark on them.

Watermarks: Protecting the image

There is absolutely loads of info on the web.

[MPrince]

For maximum protection, simply register your copyright with the US Copyright Office. This will provide statutory relief in the event your copyright is violated.

Details: U.S. Copyright Office

You can then license the magazine to use your images. (You will actually do this whether you register your copyright or not.)

Registering your copyright is not a necessary step to take, and it's not cheap. But it will provide peace of mind for images you know are going to be published. Plus you can copyright multiple images (as many as you like) with one application.

[monochrome]

Thank you all. Just received acknowledgement from the mag - publishing one, with credit. Horay for the team.

I never thought I would be in a position to care, and I still don't, but it seems silly to have an image in a magazine and not be protected.