Any of us that have been on the Internet designing pages for any length of time
have faced the copyright issue.
It is doubtful any of us are totally clear on the subject.
If you go to the
Library of Congress
copyright site there is no doubt unless you are a lawyer
things will not become much more clear.

This is my attempt to place things in perspective.

The copyright laws ( title 17, U.S. Code ) are a form of protection "to original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced or otherwise communicated." This protection is extended to both published and unpublished works of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, pictorial and certain other intellectual creations.

Copyright laws grant the creator/owner the exclusive right to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute, perform and display the work publicly.

When is my work protected?

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form so that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?

No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, section Copyright Registration.

Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?

Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within five years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law. See Circular 1, section Copyright Registration and Circular 38b on non-U.S. works.

Who is an author?

Under the copyright law, the creator of the original expression in a work is its author. The author is also the owner of copyright unless there is a written agreement by which the author assigns the copyright to another person or entity, such as a publisher. In cases of works made for hire (see Circular 9), the employer or commissioning party is considered to be the author.

No one can lawfully use your photo of your sighting, although someone else may file his own photo of his sighting. Copyright law protects the original photograph, not the subject of the photograph.

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What does this mean to me/you?

Lets use a photograph for example:
I take a photograph of a building, or tree or you.
Who owns the copyright?
I do! I created the work. It is not necessary for me to publish my work. Mark it as mine or whatever. By law I am the creator and owner of copyright.
Pretty simple huh?
NO!!
It is only simple if there is no dispute over who created the work. Now say John Doe loves my picture of the building, tree or you and steals my negatives and says he took the pictures himself. Gets a little sticky here doesn't it? Now I want to challenge John and show the world the building, tree or you are my original creation. I must hire a lawyer and sue John to prove that I created the original image...now of course John's defense could be that he was in the same place at the same time creating the same work of art on his own camera. Of course the building and tree are not very good witnesses to the whole creation but you of course should be pretty good....but John claims he was using a telephoto lenses and was out of eyeshot.

Now thinking all of this over one may want to weigh how best to protect their work.
It seems only logical to me that the best thing to do is register your work formally with the copyright office for $20 per a piece.
In the long run you will save a lot of money in lawyers fees if someone chooses to use your work.

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What is "FAIR USE"?

Text of Section 107

The following is a reprint of the entire text of section 107 of title 17, United States Code.

Section 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include--

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such is made upon consideration of all the above factors.