STORM TRACK: December 31, 1977 (Volume 1 Issue 1)

The procedure for copyright registration of unpublished prints, including original slides or prints from which these are made, is very easy. One single page Government Form VA, (Form J before January 1, 1978) must be completed and submitted, with one or more prints and $10.00 ($6.00 with Form J) to the Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 20559. They prefer to receive 8" X 10" prints but will accept 5" X 7" and 9" X 12". A single print can be made of several slides ("contact prints"), and each individual picture trill be copyrighted when the print is registered. I initially copyrighted 56 prints (one picture per print) as an "unpublished collection," all for $6.00. In my case, I used the title: "Hoadley Storm and Cloud Pictures (#l thru #56)." This way, I can use the same title and add later pictures by simply modifying the number in the title.

Under the new law, effective January 1, 1978, any new photography or existing photography that has not yet been published or "gone into the public domain"- is automatically covered by general copyright protection. The latter becomes effective at the moment of creation and protects you between the time the picture is taken and when it is registered. If you register at any time after an "infringement," you can then sue for actual damages. Registration is a pre-requisite to legal action. However, if you had registered your unpublished picture/collection prior to the infringement, you could sue for statutory damages and attorney's fees. Therefore, while not a pre-condition to copyright, registering the unpublished work is recommended by the Copyright Office.

You may use the copyright notice (example: (c) 1978 David Hoadley) on the borders of slides or prints prior to registration, as when sending it to a publisher. This puts him on notice that you either already are registered or that you intend to follow-up the publication with registration of your photography in the public cation. The date indicates when it was (or will be) registered and secures international copyright coverage in those countries that are parties to the Universal Copyright Convention. The notice can be hand written or rubber stamped.

The copyright notice should appear on all published copies but "omission or errors will not immediately result in forfeiture of the copyright" and can be corrected within five years (under the new law). - - - Provision is made for inadvertent publication of a picture without s copyright attribution. If a publisher can validly claim no prior knowledge of an author's copyright, he may be protected from subsequent claim. Consequently, if you release any photography prior to registration, be sure that you have a clear understanding from the user -preferably in writing- as to his or her intended use, - - - Prior to January 1, 1978, publication of a picture not previously copyrighted may have voided any further claim you can make on copyrighting it. - - - "A public ... display of a work does not of itself constitute publication." "To ... display 'publicly' means- ... at a place open to the public or ... a substantial number of persons outside of ... a family and its social acquaintances ..." PL 94-553), October 19, 1976. Acceptance of your registration by the Copyright Office does not preclude existence in their files of another copyright for the same picture. They do not check pour application against, all other storm pictures. They are only an office of record. Apparently, if duplication existed, it would only become known after legal action had been initiated. - - - If several of you chase together and take simultaneous pictures of the same storm, each picture will still be accepted for copyright. The principal of authorship is the significant point, not the subject. Copyright forms may be secured free of charge from the Information and Publication Section, Copyright Office: Circulars- 1-General Information on Copyright; 2 Publi- cations of the Copyright Office; R22 How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work; 40 Copyright for Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural Works; 49 Copyright for Audiovisual Material; and R99 Highlights of the New Copyright Law. - Hoadley