actually, most images arn't copyrighted. for example, images i upload, they arn't copyrighted. so im not too sure what you point is here?
yeah, but only if that person makes it so. he has to have a copy of each image and mail it to him/herself in order for it to become effective. and how many people do you think actually do that with every image that they upload? but yeah, you are right, i was just pointing out that people dont bother to use thier rights.
And you are saying that is the only way to enforce the copyright of a picture? Guess what... I don't believe you...
erm, that wasn't very nice. i never said that it was the only means of copyrighting, and that isn't even the point here, i was just pointing out that most people dont copyright thier uploaded images, whether they use one method or another. guess what.....i was only pointing out the most common meathod... make your contribution relevent and less hostile next time, as i wasn't saying anything bad.
Wrong. All pictures, illustrations and original content you create have an automatic copyright. You do NOT need to do anything. There is a formal copyright process, but that is not required. If you use a photo where the owner has not given usage rights, you are liable for usage fees (even if you didn't know) and infringement can even be a criminal offense.
Well...yes, and no. The mailing of creative content to one's self does nothing to copyright said content. What it does do, however, is provide a verifiable time frame of creation; should someone else claim the content and have no proof of creation of said content prior to the postmark. That in and of itself is not proof, but does afford a protection. Even though creative content (writings, photographs, drawings) are assumed to be copyrighted upon creation, this is theoretical, as, without substantiating proof of creation (date, witnesses, etc.), such a copyright could easily be challenged or simply stolen. As urbanstereotype pointed out, people do not take the steps to protect themselves, and many have no idea of what rights they have with regard to their creations. Of course, the proper way to go about securing a copyright is to register one's content with the copyright office: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl107.html With photographs, providing that they were done professionally (or by an astute amateur), a signed model release will afford additional proof of ownership of images. Of course, again as urbanstereotype pointed out, many people who have uploaded snapshots onto the web may not have, and most likely have not, any proof of ownership of the images other than saying that they took the pictures. In such cases, it would not be difficult for someone else to use their images, as they are not in a good position for legal repercussions. For additional information on copyrighting pictures, there is an article here: http://www.peterkrogh.com/copyright/main.html Sorry for taking this so far off topic.
Sure you are right, I could have said it in a better tone. I am sorry for my tone in my last message... But i felt that you made a post where for others it could have seem like you knew what you were talking about. What you might be meaning is that people usually don't sue you for using pictures that you find on the internet. But if it only happends once for one picture.....
I spent ages looking for REALLY free pictures. But I found some great sites. Here they are: www.trulyfree.eu http://publicphoto.org/ Picdrome.com Freemediagoo.com Hope this helps.