Copyright - How to Register

© 2000 Michael Grecco

To All,

I use this system because for my needs it's the fastest and cheapest way to copy a lot or a little bit  of film for copyright submission. Placing 40 sleeves of film trough a flat bed scanner would have been way to slow for our office. I can shoot a few rolls on a job or 200 rolls in a day. Sometimes I will be delivering the majority of the 200 rolls and scanning was just not practical.

First off, I wanted a system that would allow me to register everything I had just shot as unpublished material, before it went out the door of my office. I went back and forth with Stephen Spataro, the APA national attorney (and mine), regarding systems the copyright office would except. This works, I have been getting all my certificates back and have not had a problem for the year I have been doing it.

I start off by making a slide edit and then sleeving the job the way I would for any delivery to any client. I have mounted a 35mm camera above my light box on speed rail. Speed rail is the metal tubing grips use on film sets. I use the aluminum 2 inch rail from industrial metal supply (818-848-4439). I also have two lights attached on either side to light contact sheets. I have made paint pencil marks on my light box. The first is a cross in the center and little corner marks in each corner. I use them to line up four contact sheets or four slide pages at once. I shoot the whole thing on 160VC, a very sharp and low contrast film, knowing I can always make an enlarged "contact sheet" from my re-photographed work. Every two to three weeks I take the roll to the local one hour photo and have double prints made. One set stays in the office, one goes to the copyright office.

It takes me about 8 minutes to do a 100 rolls of film. It's fast for me to do and every thing I shoot (except outs, who cares) gets copyrighted.

For more information on copyright, please see my copyright primer on the Editorial Photo web site at:

http://www.editorialphoto.com/copyright/primer.asp

Cheers,

Michael Grecco
michael@michaelgrecco.com