How to determine the copyright ownership of digital photography works
Key points that should be paid attention to when determining the copyright ownership of digital photography works:
The ownership of digital photos should be comprehensively judged based on its attribute parameters, shooting time, site conditions at the time, and a series of pictures of the same scene provided by the plaintiff. . Specifically, we should pay attention to the following key points:
1 .The attribute parameters of digital photos are difficult to have sufficient probative power to prove the copyright ownership of digital photos alone. The widespread application of digital science and technology and the emergence of digital cameras have brought about unprecedented changes in the expression of photographic works. Digital photos have replaced traditional film photos and entered thousands of households. At the same time, new technologies have also given copyright ownership to digital photos. Recognition brings new problems. Because the recording, dissemination, and reproduction methods of digital photography are completely different from traditional photography, the identification of originality is also completely different. For traditional photographic works, as long as the original film negatives are available, the originality of the work can generally be determined. However, for digital photos, since the storage medium of the work is electromagnetic digital, the copying of the photos is extremely simple, and the copying does not change the digital information, making it possible to copy the digital information on the Internet and in the hard disk.Photos are copied at will, and in the event of a dispute, it is difficult to determine who is the original author of the photo.
2. The probative power of the attribute parameters of the original digital photo is greater than the attribute parameters of the transferred digital photo. In our country, the author enjoys natural copyright as long as the work is completed. Therefore, if the author can provide the attribute parameters of the original digital photo, the power of proving that he is the original and only author will certainly be greater than the attribute parameters of the digital photo that have been transferred above.
3. Comprehensive identification of uniqueness using the creative process Copyright ownership of digital photos. In this case, when the attribute parameters of the digital photos stored on the CD provided by the plaintiff were difficult to prove alone that the plaintiff had copyright in the photographic works involved, the court combined the witness testimony with the time when the digital photos were taken, the description of the location at the time, and a series of the same scene provided by the plaintiff. Use pictures and other relevant evidence to comprehensively determine the copyright ownership of digital photos.
4. Digital photo copyright owners can use a variety of way to avoid disputes. First of all, according to the relevant provisions of my country’s Copyright Law, if the ownership cannot be confirmed and there is no proof to the contrary, the citizen, legal person or other organization who signs the work is deemed to be the author. Therefore, after the digital photography work is completed, the author can first publish the work in a paper newspaper or magazine, sign his name and save the newspaper or magazine. Once the work is infringed in the future, the newspaper or magazine can prove the ownership of the copyright.
Secondly, once the digital photography work is completed, the author can Submit the floppy disk containing the digital negative of the work to the notary office in a timely manner. The notary office will seal the floppy disk and indicate the name of the author and the date of receipt as notarized evidence, which is stronger than other written evidence. Thirdly, legal copyright can also be protected through the registration of original digital photography works. my country's Copyright Law implements the principle of automatic protection of copyrights, stipulating that after the creation of a work is completed,enjoy copyright and implement voluntary registration of works. In order to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of authors and other copyright holders and avoid copyright ownership disputes, my country's current copyright administrative department provides formal copyright confirmation to voluntarily registered works, which can be used as preliminary evidence in the event of a copyright dispute.
In addition, you can also learn from foreign The method is that after the author completes the digital photography work, he or she will store the digital negative of the work in a floppy disk or print the work on paper, then put the floppy disk or paper into an envelope and seal it, and send it to the post office with himself as the recipient. The author does not open a sealed item after receiving it, but keeps it intact. In the event of a dispute, the postmark shown on the envelope can prove that the date of completion of the work must be before that date, and the date of infringement must be later than the date of completion of the work. This proves ownership from the time when the work was formed, thereby protecting copyright. legitimate rights and interests of persons.
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