An English proverb says: “A picture is worth a thousand words”. If you are a photographer,  an artist, owner of an art gallery or just an art lover, you know that it is also worth a lot of money. You should understand that protection of your creative works is a necessity and it is your responsibility to know your rights.

Let’s say, you take great pictures and you want to protect your works and control the use of your images by other people. You automatically own the copyright on any original photograph that you take. When you press the shutter release you are making a photo and gaining copyright to that photo at the same time. But as soon as an artwork leaves your hands, there is a risk that other people use it inappropriately. If you put your photos on the Internet, you may find them on other websites or in the media, someone else can claim authorship of your work.

The best thing you can do is to register your copyright. As a photographer, copyright gives you the exclusive right to make and sell copies of the photo; to create derivative works; to display the photo in public; and to license usage for money to other people.

By registering a copyright, you get credible evidence that your work existed the moment you created it and you are the author. You have a certificate which can serve as a legal proof to support your defense in a court. It will help you to be protected from plagiarism. It gives you an opportunity to monetize your works by providing licenses for use and distribution. You can provide free access to your works by Creative Commons license or sign commercial license and permit the licensee to use intellectual property in return for compensation.

Today there are a lot of opportunities to get legally valid proof of authorship. This can be done even online. You can go to the UDIAR main page, create an account, fill out the required information and upload your work. It takes only a few minutes. After that you will get an official certificate with legal confirmation of copyright, which is valid in all countries that signed the Berne Convention.​ The legal regulation of copyright is carried out in accordance with international conventions and agreements.

The sooner you protect your rights, the quicker you will understand that registered copyright provides a lot of useful features. Try now!