# What exactly should I enter in the IPTC Copyright field? Name? Year? (c) symbol?



## qazqaz (Oct 27, 2013)

What *exactly* should I enter in the IPTC field? "_(c) Joe Blogs 2013" _or just_ Joe Blogs_? Does the year or (c) symbol need to be there?

Is there anywhere else I should enter copyright info in the metadata or elsewhere?


----------



## clee01l (Oct 27, 2013)

There are 4 IPTC copyright fields. To be sure that the copyright is binding, all four should be filled in.  here is how I complete mine:
Copyright: © 2013, Cletus Lee
Copyright status: Copyrighted
Rights Usage terms: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
Copyright Info URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

This is the only place in the metadata that the copyright is needed. Completing these fields only stores the copyright in the catalog. You need to make sure that LR writes the metadata to any derivative files created. And if shooting proprietary RAW, you need to embed this same information in the RAW file header using the camera control menu options since LR will not modify proprietary RAW files.

I seem to recall reading that the characters "(c)" is not a legal copyright.  You must use the symbol "©" to be binding.  If I can find a reference to the proper use of "©" , I'll post a link.

http://www.copyright.gov/history/pl94-553.pdf
Chapter 4 paragraph 401.


----------



## Michael Naylor (Aug 14, 2018)

clee01l said:


> There are 4 IPTC copyright fields. To be sure that the copyright is binding, all four should be filled in. here is how I complete mine:
> Copyright: © 2013, Cletus Lee
> Copyright status: Copyrighted
> Rights Usage terms: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
> Copyright Info URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/


Your post is very helpful, so I've read through the CC website with interest.  Others should note that your post is from 2003 and the CC license version available today has been updated slightly.  A copyright notice could now be as follows...

Copyright: © Who Ever
Copyright status: Copyrighted
Rights Usage terms: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Copyright Info URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

I'm not sure if including the year is necessary, because individual copyright will extend 70 years beyond death.


----------



## Jimmsp (Aug 14, 2018)

Thanks to both of you for this complete info.


----------



## LouieSherwin (Aug 14, 2018)

IIRC - In addition for full copyright protection you have to register the images with the copyright office. There are a number protections that you get when doing this before publication.  

Check the copyright office for the details.

-louie


----------



## Conrad Chavez (Aug 14, 2018)

To complicate this further, the US Copyright Office publication Copyright Basics (PDF) says:


> "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."



Because it’s the date of publication that’s important, not the date of creation, I don't put a year into the Copyright field in the metadata template I use for import. When a photo gets published, that’s when I I know which year to put in the Copyright field for that photo.



clee01l said:


> I seem to recall reading that the characters "(c)" is not a legal copyright.  You must use the symbol "©" to be binding.


And what’s annoying about that is many cameras don’t provide the © character in the camera’s metadata feature, and some software or web sites with limited character set support may not display that symbol properly.


----------



## Michael Naylor (Aug 14, 2018)

Of course, none of this really matters when Facebook and the like strip all the metadata and claim ownership.  I've had images published in magazines without consent and images 'shared' across multiple sites.  Am I, a lone hobbyist, really going to take them to court?  Could I afford to?  And even if a court ruled in my favour, would I be awarded costs?   However, I'll keep on bloating the metadata with CC notices - simply because it makes me feel good.


----------



## ST-EOS (Aug 18, 2018)

Mike Naylor said:


> Of course, none of this really matters when Facebook and the like strip all the metadata and claim ownership.  I've had images published in magazines without consent and images 'shared' across multiple sites.  Am I, a lone hobbyist, really going to take them to court?  Could I afford to?  And even if a court ruled in my favour, would I be awarded costs?   However, I'll keep on bloating the metadata with CC notices - simply because it makes me feel good.



Mike you may want to have a look at the link below regarding theft of your images. I know a person, who has used their services (They take a % of any successful claim) he has received substantial recompense for images of his, that were taken from his on line postings and used without his permission.

Pixsy - Find and Fight Image Theft


----------



## Michael Naylor (Aug 18, 2018)

ST-EOS said:


> Mike you may want to have a look at the link below


Thank for this, but I think I'm becoming too old to care anymore.  I've decided to overlay a Creative Common watermark and to hell with it.


----------

