my photo policies

After several years of having an informal policy in my head regarding the rights to my photos, I decided to finally put it in writing. These policies apply to any photos I publish on the Web, particularly those appearing in my Flickr photostream. Each photo in my photostream will have a (c) or (cc) designation noted beneath it.

Photos designated as "(c) All Rights Reserved" are fully copyrighted. No reproduction or distribution without prior permission is allowed. However, if you appear in a photo, you are welcome to a copy of that photo for your personal use -- my way of saying thanks for being in the photo -- ask me if you would like an original full-resolution file or a print (my complements).

Photos designated as "(cc) Some Rights Reserved" are licensed as "Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives" (English, legalese) through Creative Commons. Everyone is welcome to reproduce and distribute, without modification, for non-commercial purposes as long as attribution (name credit) is provided. This is my way of contributing to the spirit of the web and sharing some of my work for the world to use, for free.

After taking Pfaffenberger's class in college I know this policy is not very enforceable on the Web, where copying is easy and rampant. Plus, I know that copyright laws were written in an era prior to the Internet and information age, so interpretations can sometimes get hazy. Theoretically, it should still hold up in court if someone out there steals one of my photos for their benefit. It's amazing how one's view of copyright changes when one shifts from being a consumer of intellectual property to becoming a producer of intellectual property (IP).

The thing is, I'm not really one of those people who defensively hoards their IP. I feel like if I'm posting something on the Web, I'm doing it because I want to share. This is why I never have and probably never will put watermarks on my photos. Watermarks put ugly clutter into the photo and it doesn't really protect the photo because someone can just crop it off or work some photo editing magic on it. There is no way to prevent copying. If I really wanted to prevent people from copying something I created, I wouldn't put it on the Web. What I don't want to happen is someone taking my stuff and claiming it as their own and/or making a profit off of it.

Flickr Community Manager Heather Champ phrases this all a little more succinctly at the bottom of her About page.