Delays in Processing Paper-Based Registration Applications

The U.S. Copyright Office is once again encouraging creators to become beta testers to avoid long delays in recieving a registration certificate.  The Copyright Office has indicated that it may take up to 8 months to process and send certificates to registrants submitting registration and deposit materials in paper format.  In addition to a speedier turn around, beta testers also save $10 off the standard registration fee.

Despite any delays, remember that your registration takes effect once your application, deposit and payment have been recieved and deemed complete by the office.  For more information on the e-Copyright Office beta test or updates on the processing of paper registrations, visit the U.S. Copyright Office website.

Updated: Help pass self-employed tax savings bill

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) urges all members, photographers and small business owners to ask their U.S. Senators and Congressional Representatives to support The Equity for Our Nation’s Self-Employed Act (S. 2239/H.R. 3660). Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have co-sponsored S. 2239 in the Senate, while H.R. 3660 is co-sponsored by Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI 3rd) and Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA 2nd).

Self-employed individuals, including self-employed photographers, pay for health insurance costs with after-payroll tax dollars.  This means that the money they use to buy health insurance for themselves and their families is subject to an additional 15.3 percent tax that no other employers or employees must pay. 

All business entities other than sole-proprietors receive a deduction for health insurance premiums as an ordinary and necessary business expense for all employees, including owners.  Employees and the owner pay for their health insurance premiums pre-tax; therefore, they are not subject to FICA taxes. However, sole-proprietors (Schedule C filers) do not receive this benefit. Their premiums are not paid with pre-tax dollars and are exposed to self-employment tax. Again, sole proprietors are the only business entity that does not receive a full deduction of health care costs. 

Health insurance premiums average almost $12,000 per year for family coverage.  It is estimated that S.2239 and HR 3660 will save every self-employed individual about $1700 annually.

As you can see, both S. 2239 and HR 3660 are important pieces of legislation and represent a step in the right direction to lower the already high tax burden carried by small businesses and the self-employed.  We encourage all photographers (regardless of PPA membership), their employees and other small business owners to contact their Congressional Representatives, by visiting the Contact Congress page.  Although we have provided an "as is" sample e-mail, we strongly encourage you to personalize your message if at all possible; we know from our visits to the Hill that personal messages carry extra weight.

For more information on this important piece of legislation visit, www.setaxequity.org. If you have specific questions about this legislation, feel free to contact the PPA Government Affairs Department at mmatthews@ppa.com.

Have You Logged On to PhotographerRegistry.com?

The Photographer Registry, www.photographerregistry.com, is an online photographer database maintained as a free service (for photographers as well as consumers) by Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and the Alliance for Visual Artist (AVA), working closely with other photographic associations, such as American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Editorial Photographers (EP) and Photo Marketing Association International (PMA).  This service was launched on October 11, 2007 at the Copyright Exponential in Washington, DC.

Rather than focusing on the photo, the Photographer Registry focuses on the photographer. With it, photographers can keep their contact information current, choose what information to display, and identify their heirs specifying how reproduction requests can be handled. This is helpful because a consumer often only remembers where a photo was done, or the old address or phone number of the photographer. But all too often, the photographer might have closed their business, moved, or be deceased.

The goal of this service is to reduce copyright infringement of photographic works by making it easy for photographers to be found and contacted for permission. An added purpose of the Photographer Registry is to help retailers defend photographer copyrights. By making it easer to find a copyright owner we are helping retailers deal with overbearing customers.

You can take advantage of the Photographer’s Registry in two simple steps:

- Go to www.photographerregistry.com and create an account. It’s free.

- Customize and update your information before activating the account.

  (If you’re a PPA member your information may have been loaded for you, but

  you need to update it to activate your account.)

To search the Registry, visit the website and enter one or more of the search criteria. Remember, whether you are creating an account or searching the registry it is done at no cost to you!

PPA Participates in First Annual Copyright Exponential

Professional Photographers of America traveled to Washington, DC on October 11 to participate in the first annual Copyright Exponential sponsored by the Copyright Alliance. The event was widely attended by Congressional staff, members of the copyright community, and media.

Photographers, represented by both PPA and the American Society for Media Photographers (ASMP), were just one of many copyright industries represented at this event. The stage was shared with representatives of motion picture, sound recording, software, composers, book publishers, and the radio and television industries.

Attendees were addressed by Representative John Conyers (D-14th-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Chris Israel, Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement, and copyright creators like Stuart Taylor, Jr., journalist and author, Lloyd Dangle, cartoonist and Fran Nevrkla of Phonographic Performance Ltd., a U.K. based music licensing company.

For more on this event and future Copyright Alliance sponsored events visit: http://www.copyrightalliance.org/newsroom.

Copyright Education Site Aimed at Children

The U.S. Copyright Office announces a new kid-friendly website full of helpful information for parents and educators. Entitled "Taking the Mystery Out of Copyright"  the website is aimed at educating children on the importance of copyright.  Site features animated vingettes hosted by Detective Cop E. Wright, which explains how copyright protects the creator, an interactive question and answer section, and the history of copyright law.

For more information on this website or the U.S. Copyright Office visit www.copyright.gov.

Attend a STOP! Seminar

In addition to providing assistance via the STOP! Hotline at 1-866-999-HALT, and their websites www.stopfakes.gov and www.stopfakes.gov/smallbusiness, the Strategy for Targeting Organized Piracy is currently hosting public seminars nationwide.

Free one day seminars are sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. These public seminars are held nationwide as a means of educating business owners on how to protect their intellectual property.

On June 13, "The_Cost_of_Counterfeiting_and_Piracy" will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina.  This will be the first in a series of seminars to be held through out the summer months.  To register for the program in Raleigh click here. STOP! will speak on similar topics  when they visit Detroit, Michigan on June 18.  To register for the Detroit program visit the Detroit Regional Chamber website.

For more information on STOP! programs and to find out if a seminar will be hosted near you visit  www.stopfakes.gov.

PPA Part of the Copyright Alliance

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) joined with 28 other organizations to launch the Copyright Alliance on May 17 in Washington, D.C.  The Alliance is committed to protecting copyright, the men and women whose livelihood depends on copyright, and the 11.3 million American jobs based on copyright-related businesses and industries.

The 29 member organizations from the worlds of entertainment, arts, technology and sports, represent an estimated 11 million Americans working in copyright-related industries.  The Alliance believes that copyright law promotes creativity and job creation, which combine to strengthen the U.S. economy. Those who create copyrighted works rely on the copyright law and its enforcement. Without it, these creators would likely cease to exist, or at the very least, cease to produce these important works that are enjoyed around the world

Other members of the Copyright Alliance include: American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; American Society of Media Photographers; Association of American Publishers; Broadcast Music, Inc.; Business Software Alliance; CBS Corporation; Directors Guild of America; Entertainment Software Association; Magazine Publishers of America; Major League Baseball; Microsoft; Motion Picture Association of America; National Association of Broadcasters; National Collegiate Athletic Association; National Music Publishers' Association; NBA Properties, Inc.; NBC Universal; News Corporation; Newspaper Association of America; Recording Artists' Coalition; Recording Industry Association of America; Software & Information Industry Association; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Time Warner; Viacom; Vin Di Bona Productions; and The Walt Disney Company

The Copyright Alliance is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization dedicated to the value of copyright as an agent for creativity, jobs and growth.

More information on the Copyright Alliance can be found by visiting www.copyrightalliance.org.

COPYRIGHT RECON: Time to Investigate FedEx Kinko’s

PPA’s RECON program is investigating FedEx Kinko’s – and it  needs your help.  

As a copyright enforcement driven by volunteer participation, PPA is asking its 17,000 members to get involved by placing an investigative order with the retailer.

The process is simple:
Take a clearly marked photographic print (or CD of images that is clearly marked as containing copyrighted material) and ask to have some copies made. Then, report the results of your test to PPA – it’s that simple.

If the store associate refuses to make the copy, thank them. If the store associate makes the copy, or allows you to make the copy please keep a copy of your receipt and your filled order. Regardless of the outcome, contact PPA by e-mail at mmathews@ppa.com and  let us know how it went.

Scams A-Plenty

While not really a copyright issue, photographers should be warned that they are once again being targeted in a "funds forwarding scam." Unlike the traditional scam (which inolved people claiming to be government officials seeking help in moving large sums of money out of their home country), the one aimed at photographers begins with a request from an out of country client who needs a photographer for either a wedding, family reunion or similar event. Here is a description of how the scam works. Remember, if a business deal feels like a scam -- then it probably is.

Hearing on Small Copyright Claims

On March 29, the House Intellectual Property Subcommittee held a hearing on remedies for small copyright claims, including systems that would make it easier for individual artists to enforce their rights. The hearing was prompted by suggestions that arose during the initial debate on orphan works like this one from PPA:

Audio of Orphan Works Testimony

Audio of the Orphan Works testimony before the House Intellectual Property Subcommittee on Wednesday, March 8 at 2 p.m. EST. is available here as an MP3 download. (filesize: 10mb)

Trust to Testify on Orphan Works

David Trust, CEO of Professional Photographers of America, will represent Professional Photographers of America (PPA), the International Association of Professional Event Photographers (IAPEP), Commercial Photographers International (CPI) and the Student Photographic Society (SPS) in an appearance before the House Intellectual Property Subcommittee on Wednesday, March 8 at 2 p.m. EST.

Trust will speak in opposition to the Copyright Office’s legislative proposal on orphan works. The proposal, in its current state, could devalue thousands of professional images and in some cases, eliminate the damages available against an infringer of an orphan work. “While well-intentioned, the Copyright Office’s proposal would strip thousands of photographers and other visual artists of their rights,” said Trust. “Unless major modifications are made, legislation based on this proposal would be disastrous.”

An orphan work is a work presumed to have copyright protection, but whose owner cannot be located even after a good faith search.

Read a complete Executive Summary and Prepared Statement here.

To watch the testimony online, visit the subcommittee’s website:          http://judiciary.house.gov/schedule.aspx

For more details on the Copyright Office’s proposal, visit:
http://www.ppa.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=543

Copyright Office's Final Orphan Works Report

For the full, 207-page document by the Register of Copyrights:
  http://www.ppa.com/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageid=532

PPA Issues Response to Orphan Works Report

 For the Response by PPA, CPI, IAPEP and SPS: http://www.ppa.com/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageid=426

Copyright Office Imposes Limit on Group Registrations

 The Copyright Office has now capped the number of continuation sheets photographers can submit with a group registration of photographs. There was no limit under the previous rule; the new rules specify a maximum of 50 continuation sheets, which is the equivalent of 750 images.

The Copyright Office is quick to point out that group registrations that do not employ continuation sheets still have no image limit such as group registrations of photographs published within three months before receipt in the Copyright Office—in these cases, the photographer should supply the dates of publication in space 3b of the registration form. Another “unlimited” option is the group registration of photographs published within the same calendar year. The calendar year registration should include the range of dates in space 3b of the registration as well as identify with each deposited image the date of its publication.

2005 News Archive

An overview of hot topics from 2005…The Copyright Office capped the number of continuation sheets photographers can submit with a group registration of photographs; Four professional photography associations issued a joint response to the U.S. Copyright Office’s call for comment on “orphan works”; the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in MGM v. Grokster; Professional Photographers of America’s Board of Directors took the organization’s message on copyright and small business health care to Capitol Hill; several organizations voiced their opposition to a proposal that would require photographers to apply and pay for permits and fees when creating images “for which a fee will be received or which are for other than personal use” at the United States National Arboretum in Washington , DC; Senate Judiciary Chair Arlen Specter (R-PA) appointed Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to the chair of a new Intellectual Property Subcommittee.

2004 News Archive

An overview of hot topics from 2004… The House of Representatives passed legislation known as H.R. 4077, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act (PDEA), that will aid in educating the public about copyright and assist in prosecuting criminal infringers; a federal court in Missouri summarized the current state of the law on the issue of copyright misuse; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit closed the book on a case involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and garage door openers; the House Judiciary Committee approved legislation that will provide strong tools to educate, deter and prosecute those involved in criminal copyright infringement with the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act (H.R. 4077); the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed copyright owners a defeat by upholding a lower court's ruling that the distributors of certain peer-to-peer file-sharing software may not be held liable for copyright infringements by their users; strong opposition from PPA and other copyright owners halted the progress of H.R. 107, the Digital Media Consumer Rights Act (DMCRA); changes to the U.S. Copyright Office that should result in faster processing of copyright registrations and enhanced access to related materials were on track for completion in 2006; with healthcare and copyright issues at the top of the agenda, PPA's Board met with several members of Congress as well as the executive staff of the U.S. Copyright Office; members of the Board of Professional Photographers of America met with executives from the U.S. Copyright Office to follow up on a proposal made by the association that would eliminate or significantly reduce the requirement that photographers submit a copy of their work in order to register it for full legal protection; and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision permitting a photographer to take and sell photographs containing Mattel's "Barbie" doll.

2003 News Archive

An overview of hot topics from 2003… The negative publicity associated with the Recording Industry Association’s use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s subpoena power created a backlash on Capitol Hill; the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations took a close look at current copyright law;  lobbyists from Professional Photographers of America learned the H.R. 2517 the Piracy Deterrence Act will be strengthened at an upcoming mark-up session;  the transcript and complete testimony from the House Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 2517, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act, was made available online; health care and media ownership were hot topics in Washington; PPA CEO David Trust was asked to testify before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property; a bill to prevent copyright infringement was re-introduced; several cases were tried in federal court regarding copyright infringement and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.