Sign What

"Hometown USA" by dickbloom

Today
I have great news folks it looks like I am going to be telling some tales of the ghostly type at a new attraction in Gettysburg. More on that later!!


I am going to touch on the subject today of dealing with COPYRIGHT situations!

My big brother called me today asking about a situation that has arisen with my great niece she is 16 and to my great surprise and happiness {You GO Michelle} is looking to be involved in a photography class, enrolled or whatever it is you do in a Las Vegas NV. high school.


Okay, this is the problem at hand: The school sends a form home asking her mother to sign away the girls right to any photo she takes while enrolled in the as far as I am concerned bogus photo class!! That any image taken will become the property of the school....!!

What the hell is the matter with a school district that takes a way a child's creative bent {a natural inclination} when the child knows that no matter how hard they try nor how good an eye they have, the so called instructors might take not only the credit for instructing you in the depth of field, aperture selection and all of the technical rules that are involved before pulling the trigger..... it is the childs intellectual property that the kid is seeing as they focus their eye and pull the trigger for that once a lifetime image they may capture.

WHY would the school have the rights to the image which is the childs intellectual property !!!! Why would the child want to do their individual BEST, when they know and have signed away their rights to any future income or fame that may or may not come from that image.

The AP wire service used to use the ploy that if the photographer cashed their AP{ten dollar check $10.00} the AP owned the image, pretty good deal for the AP that collects huge fees from the news outlets that use their AP images. That the in essence rooked away from an suspecting photographer.
I have personally have has numerous images run across the wire. I foolishly signed several of these checks. But I had a great Santa and pet image run out on the wire, It was super popular because of the subjects involved.

I have made thousands of dollars from that one image, if I had signed my rights away I would have had ten dollars and sore (.)hole and a discontented mind for being such a fool....!!!

So here is the definition of a copyrighted image:

A copyright is a form of intellectual property protection that is granted by the federal government. A copyright, however, is not "granted" in the same manner in which a patent is granted. A patent will be issued only after a patent application has been filed with and approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. To the contrary, a copyright is provided to the authors of "original works of authorship," regardless of whether the work has been published and regardless of whether the work has been registered. Unlike patents, copyrights come into being at the MOMENT an original work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. While there are significant advantages to federal registration of a copyright, no registration is required in order for a copyright to exist . Likewise, no registration is required for an author to begin using the familiar copyright symbol --- ©, but given the cost and benefit you should absolutely obtain a registered copyright.

So just remember don't ever sign your rights away folks it is just downright terrible to be rooked out of your intellectual property rights....!!!!!!

So please tell me what you think of those rules from Las Vegas NV. email me. Thank you.

So if your teacher has you compose a report on whatever does that also becomes the property of the institution? Is that what they are stating?

I will end on this note.

Be Careful my friends!! Many foes lurk behind the brambles of the so called
legal speak. Don't sign anything PLEASE....!!!!!

"STEAL! to be sure they may, and,egad serve your best thoughts as gypsies
do stolen children-disfigure them to make them pass as their own.

Sheridan

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"It is a dark sign when the owner { the student} is seen to be growing poor and his steward {the School}is found to be growing richer."

{Spencer} with comments from dickbloom

Hippie Trails til we meet again my friends!!

Dick Bloom