What resolution of photo do I submit for Copyright protection?

[kwcalm]

I have some unique photographs that I want to copyright protect, and I am prepared to submit them to the US online copywrite office.  

Do I need to upload the highest resolution photo?  Can I submit a photo that's reduced in dimensions?

Thanks

[TheDigitalDog]

https://www.copyright.gov/registration/photographs/

[Nancy OShea]

Copyright is baked in to the file's meta data.  No need to file U.S. copyright protection unless you're transfering copyright to another entity and you need a paper trail for other purposes.

In Photoshop, go to File > File Info.  See screenshot.

In addition, you may wish to digitally watermark (barcode) images to keep track of where they are being used.  The Photoshop plugin is free, but there is a fee for using Digimarc service.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/digimarc-copyright-protection.html

Hope that helps.

[TheDigitalDog]

The OP is asking about filing for copyright which depending on the images and desired protection is quite appropriate and far more than simply a metadata copyright tag.

http://faculty.webster.edu/barrettb/materials/copyguide.html

According to the ASMP:

Copyright registration

Copyrights can be registered with the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. Although registration is not required to own the copyright, there is one instance in which you must have a registration and another when there is a definite advantage to registration.

When legal action is necessary to remedy a copyright infringement, the image must be registered before the legal action can be started. This registration can be made after the infringement occurs. However, unless you register before the infringement (or within three months after the first publication, even if after infringement), you will not be able to sue for statutory damages, which are up to $150,000 per infringement, plus your legal fees. When statutory damages are unavailable to the copyright owner a claim can still be made for actual damages, that is, the amount of money lost as a result of the infringement, plus the amount of profits realized by the infringer. But actual damages can be difficult and expensive to prove, and legal fees can be an additional burden.

A photographer should always seek legal advice from a qualified attorney before threatening a copyright infringement action.

[Nancy OShea]

As I said "if you need a paper trail for other purposes..." 

Copyright isn't something most artists register though gov't copyright offices. It's assumed that the artist who created the product is the legal copyright holder unless they're not for other reasons.

Former White House Photographer told he can't use his own Public Domain photo.

[TheDigitalDog]

It's assumed that the artist who created the product is the legal copyright holder unless they're not for other reasons.

By @Nancy OShea

As is almost always the case, there is no reason to assume. 

The OP made clear the desire to register these unique photographs to the US Copyright office.  There are reasons to do so. 

The question about resolution was answered by the ASMP, an organization devoted to this task and working with professional photographers. And yes, for many years as one, I was both a member and a board member. 

The former white house photographer may have (ugh) entered into a work-for-hire situation. They may not indeed be his photos! 

[Nancy OShea]

Unless there is some extraordinary reason to do so, registering copyright with governement offices is overkill for 99% of photographers. Just calling it as I see it.

[TheDigitalDog]

Unless there is some extraordinary reason to do so, registering copyright with governement offices is overkill for 99% of photographers. Just calling it as I see it.

By @Nancy OShea

The ASMP sees it differently. Maybe only 1% of us were/are professional photographers... 

The OP seems to as well.

I'm simply answering his specific questions.

[Nancy OShea]

Not diminishing your reply in any way.  Just presenting another take on the question.

Based on OP's past history, I'd say this has more to do with preventing image theft from a website than actual copyright protection.  Sadly, registering for copyright protection doesn't prevent or even deter image theft from websites. There's not much we can do about that except digital barcoding and posting heavily watermarked low-res images online. 

When suspicious activity is tracked with barcoding, an attorney can take further action if needed.

I'll leave it at that.  The OP can decide if it's worth paying fees to register for copyright protection or pay for digital barcoding services. Or perhaps both!

[TheDigitalDog]

Ok. I read the question as being about the resolution of a photo for submission to the US online copywrite office. 

[D Fosse]

Just for general information, these limitations in copyright, unless you register, are unique to the US.

In almost all other parts of the world, full copyright is automatic. If you made it, it's yours. It doesn't have to be in metadata. You don't need a copyright symbol. All rights are automatically assumed.

[Conrad_C]

Actually it’s mostly the same in the US. You get full copyright at the time you create the work, and there is no requirement to put it in metadata or add a symbol.

thedigitaldog is correctly pointing out that the difference specific to the US has to do with how effectively you can recover damages through legal action. And even then, what is required is not metadata or watermarking…it is whether or not the image was registered. The original question is specifically about the details of the registration process (pixel dimension requirements), not anything to do with metadata or watermarking.

From Copyright Basics:

Although registering a work is not mandatory, for U.S. works, registration (or refusal) is necessary to enforce the exclusive rights of copyright through litigation.
Applying a copyright notice to a work has not been required since March 1, 1989, but may still provide practical and legal benefits. Notice typically consists of the copyright symbol or the word “Copyright,” the name of the copyright owner, and the year of first publication. Placing a copyright notice on a work is not a substitute for registration.

The purpose of copyright metadata or watermarking is not to confer any additional legal rights, because they won’t. What they do, in any country, is provide a notice that copyright is claimed (in the countries where that is recognized, of course); and also, if someone would like to legally license the work, the metadata and watermark help them understand who to contact for licensing.

[D Fosse]

Yes, that's what I meant, limitations in legal action to recover damages. I should have been more precise, but you explained it much better than me.

The point was that outside the US (in most countries), no action whatsoever is required from the creator of the work, for any reason or purpose whatsoever.

[TheDigitalDog]

 

For specifics on resolution see page 10:

https://www.asmp.org/wp-content/uploads/PhotographersGuidetoCopyright.pdf

[Conrad_C]

Do I need to upload the highest resolution photo?  Can I submit a photo that's reduced in dimensions?

By @kwcalm

Yes, you can and should submit photos that are reduced in pixel dimensions, for several reasons. With the high megapixel counts of today’s cameras, submissions of many images could become impractical to upload and manage on either end. Note that the current file size limit for a single submission is 500MB. The impression I got from the copyright literature (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer) is that the image quality only needs to be good enough so that in case of a legal dispute, it shows enough detail to be visually obvious that you registered the original of the image in question.

I checked a copyright submission I did a few years ago. Turns out I sent them JPEG images that were 480px long, and there was no problem with the registration. Although I would consider a little more detail today, like the 600px guideline in the ASMP link that thedigitaldog posted.

Some might not want full resolution originals of their best work to be stored on a government server with some degree of public access. I’ve never really confirmed if the public can browse or download the images everyone submits, but in any case it’s advisable to completely read and think about the Privacy Policy of the US Copyright Office:

All information provided in connection with a copyright registration application will be made available for public inspection and copying, and some of the information from that application will be made available in the Copyright Office’s online Public Catalog…

…Copyright Records Appearing in Search Engines…Because a copyright registration is a public record, others can access it and may create alternative means to make the information in it more widely available. The U.S. Copyright Office is not responsible for the form or the substance of third-party redistribution of the Copyright Office’s records.