Imagine this: You have just spent an entire day in the heat under the broiling sun, crouching down avoiding poison ivy and maybe snakes to photograph an entire Cemetery's tombstones. Then you edit each photo to make sure it is clear enough to read and resized to a smaller image size. Remember, we are talking MANY photos of tombstones. Now you decide to upload your photos to your own website, (cough, Ancestry Journey Cemeteries, cough) and/or Find A Grave and/or Ancestry.com.... you get the idea. I can personally vouch for this process taking a minimum of straight 72 hours worth of work without breaks. Otherwise, it's about a month's worth of work fitting in the tasks in as you work. And, that is just for ONE small to medium Cemetery!
Feeling pretty satisfied with your work, you start thinking about all kinds of crazy things like "I hope a grandson finally gets to see his grandfather's military tombstone". Or, "I wonder if this tombstone will finally confirm a brick wall for someone?". Or, the truly basic thought of, "I hope this photo helps someone."
Then the next time you research on Ancestry or Family Search, you noticed that someone has taken your photograph, downloaded it, uploaded it and stated that it is THEIR PHOTOGRAPH. In a nutshell, that seriously pisses me off. Just recently, I found out that someone has downloaded my ENTIRE collection of tombstones from a Cemetery listed on this Blog and uploaded them on Family Search as their own. Over 300 tombstones! I'm beyond pissed off on that instance. To answer the question: YES, you do own copyright of your photos the second you take it.
Armed with knowledge and common law, here is what to do if something like this happens to you:
1. In the US, as soon as you take a photograph, you automatically have the copyright of the image (if it's not taking a photo, for example, of a Monet, etc You do not own the Monet.).
2. You can register your photo/s with the US Copyright Office but that becomes cumbersome. If you don't register, I believe after 3 months, you can only be awarded actual damages if you sue. Hard to prove actual damages in court. 3. To legally use a photo there are three categories + Pubic Domain: * Paid Licensing: you grant the use for a fair fee depending on usage. Ex. Website vs National Ad on TV. * Fair Use: You allow the image to be used on 3 conditions: Non-Profit and Education Use, If the image has changed drastically that it no longer has the same meaning/purpose and third, if the image is used, informatively for the public good. * Creative Commons which is similar to licensing but the photographer only releases the image under very limited circumstances. A lawyer and contract is definitely needed for this type of usage. * Public Domain which is tricky because most people assume that everything is public domain if it's on the internet. Not true. This is really for works that have expired. Ex: Shakespeare. Most of the agreement of usage of my photos would fall under Fair Use where you still own the copyright and most of the abuse of your image would fall under Public Domain. I require all my Cemetery photos to have a link back to my company's name. It probably only happens about 2% of the time. My collections can not be downloaded and uploaded. I usually find most of them on Ancestry and Family Search. I have zero problem with someone taking a tombstone photo, here and there, for personal use. I chose to not put watermarks on my tombstones photos so not to interfere with the actual data on the stone. Also, can you imagine adding a watermark to the thousands of tombstones photos I take every year?
As I mention on the home page of this website, tombstones do not belong to me. The pictures I take of them do. But, are we really that desperate to steal tombstones photos when all I ask for a link back to the creator, originator and copyright owner for free?
Update: May 3, 2022
A Family Search member has been SO kind to reach out to me to let me know that I have stolen entire cemeteries worth of photos and would I kindly remove them or credit the "person who took the photos." After a thorough review, it appears that I need to credit myself. The photos, including the unique camera naming system and original date are all mine. I did send a nice reply back. Still have not heard an apology.
+ more at the collaborative, worldwide WikiTree.
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Sandy PatakProfessional Genealogist. You can usually find me searching through dusty piles of papers, photographing tombstones of Ancestors and drinking lattes. Research is my life. Living in an Airstream at the Beach is my Dream. Archives
October 2022
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