What is the copyright law regarding people using my imagery?

Hi there, if I am a photographer, and I take pictures which I then learn someone else is using (be it on their website, newsletter etc.), what is the exact law regarding this? I have heard that if they alter the image to a certain extent then there is nothing you can do about it? They are allowed to do it. I am very curious as I have seen people use a piece of a photo before.

your pictures are copyright before they leave the camera.

altering your images is exactly what copyright prevents, along with copying of course. The key term here is "derivative works" - you alone have the right to make them.

for definitive info on how to force takedowns of your images, see www.chillingeffects.org.

check out www.copyright.gov

well as soon as you take a picture.. or make music YOU automatically hold the copyright on it.. and intellectual rights on it..

it's the same with filming, if I make a film and release it to the public, I have to get the people in the film to sign a release form giving permission for me to use their imagary..

but normally you have to get permission from the person , unless they have wavered copyright. Although you can make something public domain in the sense of people can have it for free, but stipulate for commerical use etc you have to gain permission.

you can take them to court for copyright infringement.

my husband does website design, and was told that any photo we took and posted on a website can be used by another person as long as they make any minor adjust ment...so when we did our photos, we disabled the right click function and they couldn't save the photo for their own use

hahaha, I liked it when you said "I am a photographer, and I take pictures"

The cheapest way to copyright your own work is to mail a sample of it to yourself. Once the envelop has been post marked, do NOT open it, but file it away somewhere handy. You definitely have the right to take them to court especially if they have not made any alterations (I'd still take them to court even if they do just to be on the safe side). The other thing you can do is make a water mark on all your images so that when people download or copy them from your webpage they won't be able to alter the image. You can also prevent image copying by using a plug-in on your webpage. Visit Dreamweaver's website for help on this plug-in.