Rangefinder Magazine
October 2001/Columns

Insight/On the Cover

I recently received a letter from Richard Weisgrau, ASMP’s executive director, regarding the comments made about the new copyright regulations in last month’s “Insight.” His [following] comments offer clarification and better understanding of the new regulations.

“It is the American Society of Media Photographers’ understanding that these new regulations are not intended to provide protection behind which ‘innocent infringers’ can hide. We would suggest that anyone who thinks that is the case should study the regulations or get further legal advice before risking infringing someone’s copyright. However, beyond that, we all should be applauding the new regulations, which came into effect on August 17. Photographers can now make group registrations of published images. Previously, such registrations were very limited by strict rules.

“The amended regulations are a result of cooperation between ASMP and the U.S. Copyright Office, which recognized the need to make it easier for media photographers to register their images that are most vulnerable to infringement—those that have been published. For ASMP’s part, this is the successful conclusion to a nine-year campaign to streamline copyright registration procedures through the Copyright Office. Our staff and legal counsel have worked closely with the Copyright Office to have these regulations introduced. These changes in the regulations have made it possible for photographers to register most, if not all, of their published images in a convenient and inexpensive manner. The benefits of registration, which include the eligibility for court awards of statutory damages and attorneys’ fees, make registration an important asset in the photographer’s arsenal of tools to protect the value of his or her work.

“Registration is a powerful tool when you have to enforce your rights, and it often determines whether you are able to file a suit for infringement. ASMP believes that it is in every photographer’s best interest to register his or her images. To that end, ASMP has written a primer to guide photographers through the process of registering groups of published images under the new regulation. This, and additional assistance through a FAQ section, are available free at the ASMP Web site [www.asmp.org] with the direct link: [www.asmp.org/information/guides/registration.html].”

We thank Richard for his comments and applaud ASMP for its efforts.

Bill Hurter
Editor

ON THE COVER
PHOTOGRAPHER: Larry Hamill
Camera: Canon EOS
LENS: Canon 80–200mm f/2.8
FILM: Fuji Provia 100
SCANNER: Nikon 4000 Superscan
COMMENTS: The image on the cover is from a series I have been working on for the last several years. The central image is a detail from the newly renovated Paris Opera. I photographed the sculptures on several occasions during a three-week span. On this particular day, the air was so crisp and clear and the polarizing filter I was using on my Canon 80–200mm f/2.8 lens saturated the Provia 100 film. In the studio I went through my stock film of atria photos and found one I shot less than a kilometer away from the Opera. Then I scanned the color slides with a Nikon 4000 Scanner and merged them in Adobe Photoshop 6.0.

For more information, see Lorraine DarConte’s Profile of Larry Hamill entitled “Back to the Future,” beginning on page 8.