By Jane Halperin and Sean Fitzgerald
We have good news and bad news. Let’s start with the good. As part of the Creative Rights Caucus, NANPA is working with fellow visual arts groups to modernize and streamline the copyright registration process and the Copyright Office has been very receptive to doing the same, within the constraints of their current legal mandates, system constraints and budget.
We are pushing for simpler, more cost efficient ways to register copyright, including ways to register from within our existing workflow (i.e. easy registration from photo software like Lightroom and Photo Mechanic, etc.), yearly subscription plans, eliminating separate registrations for published vs. unpublished images, etc.
Now the bad news. As part of its efforts to update and streamline its current system, the Copyright Office has put out a Notice of Intent to change its rules, including a switch to all digital submissions. Most significantly, it includes a new limitation of 750 images in one registration for either “published” or “unpublished” images. We believe this is WAY TOO LOW a number for nature photographers in particular. That is where you can help.
GO TO THIS SHORT 2 MINUTE SURVEY to answer some simple questions. Act now, the survey closes January 23 at midnight.
We also encourage you to submit your own Comments by January by Midnight, January 30. (We asked for and received an extension).
