More Copyrights & Wrongs and Thinking About Editions

Create Your Own Provenance

My disappointment with Google (and most other social web services) at their ignoring creative commons still stands but I have been researching how Australian Computer Copyright law might be applied for Local Photographers. It is pretty simple if you are working for yourself (even free lance and you intend to sell your work) the images always belong to you, you don’t have to register your image, or display a copyright symbol on it or sign away the rights to some other organization or person. The copyrights always remain with you. You can licence the right to publish the image and this should normally be for a specific publication or purpose (ie use to advertise an exhibition) at any time. If you are employed to take photographs , the copyright belongs to your employer, Most of the guff about copyright you may read on the web really relates to the elaborate legalistic constructs to favour publishers (in the USA). Now the tricky bit is proving the image is yours (and this is where establishing provenance and the POSSE approach becomes important). Further when publishing on the net with “orphan works” laws being considered in some countries it doesn’t hurt to include a copyright or creative commons notice clearly visible within the post or site.

With that semi-rant out of the way, another photographic misconception that sit uncomfortable with me is that having a media that is easily copied makes the works less valuable. Such artificial marketing actions like limited print editions and destroying negatives, are the realm of gallery owner and art dealers and don’t benefit the creative person behind the image. There is only so much you can do and thus your output will always be limited. I recently came across the marvelous artist statement/manifesto of Brooks Jenson, which cover my sentiments exactly and his analogy to the printing of books and numbering of editions strikes a powerful cord.

I’m not sure how or why I have missed Brook’s wonderful LensWork for so long, it has a wealth of content covering much of the wider aspects of Photography and the Creative Process, and it is definitely worth bookmarking.