Do you have your camera set to automatically add copyright information to your images? If not, why not? Digital theft is at an all time high and adding copyright data to your images can add another layer of protection in the event of a dispute.
However, it’s important to know the correct way to add the information to give yourself maximum protection – and most people do it wrong. In this video, I’m not just going to show you how to add copyright information to your images, but what you should and should not do. Plus, we’ll talk about the Artist / Photographer / Author field that you find next to most copyright boxes – and the big mistake people make with it.
Check it out!
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Keyboard Note – The keyboard is a little confusing if you need to make edits to your copyright or artist entry. To move the “cursor” around in the entry field (not in the keyboard area), press and hold the “Zoom out” button as you use the multi-selector. To delete characters, you use the actual delete button (next to the viewfinder – the same one used to delete photos).
Deleting Metadata – I’ve also had people ask if someone could just delete metadata – and yes they can.
Keep in mind that US law dictates that the moment you press the shutter you automatically own the copyright to the image. You don’t even need to put a notice. The notice is there to tell people who holds the copyright and to prevent them from pleading ignorance if something would come up. It’s like putting a private property sign up – it simply warns someone that they are on private property and shouldn’t be there. They can take it down, but they are still trespassing.
PS – If you enjoyed this post, I think you’ll REALLY like my e-books and video workshops! Thousands of pages and hours of videos filled with tips, tricks, and techniques – all my best content! Check ’em out – click here (hey, it’s free to look).
Excellent information!
Hi Steve. Should I Save/load ……
You can if you anticipate clearing the menus – and it’s always nice to have a backup. However, if I’m just changing copyright dates, I don’t bother.
Fantastic info Steve, Grabbed my D850 and followed along with you, very easy. You’re a great educator.
Thank you so much for adding the info about how to use the delete key on the camera to delete info from the copyright field. That was very helpful!
Hey Steve. I have a D5000. It doesn’t seem to have a place in the menu settings for copyright info. Do you have any information about it that may not be my manual?
My Dear Steve Perry, First of all, Let me Sincerely Wish you a Very Happy New Year. When I bought my Brand New Nikon D 7100 DSLR + NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6 E ED VR Super Telephoto Zoom Lens for my Nature and Wildlife Photography works, I Read well the Nikon D 7100 Manual and followed the Copyright Steps mentioned therein and at the very beginning itself entered all the MetaData for my Image Data Protection. Your Video herein is a great resource to me and I Love your esteemed Back Country Gallery and Youtube site a Lot, I already purchased… Read more »
Thanks for the kind words – and the purchases 🙂
And Happy New Year to you as well!!
You don’t need to put the information on your image if you submit them to the US Copyright office because you had it when you pressed the shutter. If you don’t submit – you have no remedy even though you had the copyright. Getting remedy is what we care about!
Before you decided to go on a three post rant, did you bother to read the last paragraph in the post where I say exactly this? As I mentioned, the copyright notice prevents people from pleading ignorance. You seem vehemently against it, but in the time it took you to rail against it here, you could have had it entered. In addition, adding a copyright notice and registering images are not mutually exclusive activities. You can do both.
Bottom line: The copyright on your camera was your before you pressed the shutter but the remedy for someone stealing it is worthless.
There is one additional detail. Should someone steal your image and use an image to the extent you can find out. Say – think they stole Bird Image and put it on a package of retail Bird Seed sold for retail. The idea will be for you to seek Remedy! That means you need to file in US District Court with an Attorney (they need to be qualified) . Unless you have Prior to this submitted your images to the US Copyright Office, the Attorney you want to hire will laugh at you. You are screwed. There is a process… Read more »
Thanks Steve.
Thanks for the annual reminder!
Happy new year, Steve. I have the copyright info in my cameras, but followed your suggestion to include the word “copyright” and “all rights reserved.” I use my name/company name … the only problem is the field isn’t long enough to include the year (or I can add the year and delete all rights reserved). Too bad Nikon doesn’t let you use the copyright symbol.
You should probably decide if you or the company owns the copyright and just use that. If it’s the company, put your name in the Artist field. You can also maybe use your first initial and last name. I agree – why Nikon doesn’t have the © symbol as an option in the copyright field is mind-blowing.
I entered copyright info on my Z60 and Z6, but it is not showing up in the metadata on Photoshop or Lightroom. Copyright is “On” in the setup menu. Any suggestions? thx
Make sure the checkbox at the top for “Attach Copyright Information” is checked. That’s the only thing I can think of.
Thanks. Upon further investigation I confirmed that the camera was generating the copyright, so the problem is with Lightroom CC. It seems not to include or recognize the copyright data produced by the camera.
Happy New Year Steve, yes, valid point regarding copyright of your images, I have always had this option turned on in the settings as I was once accused of stealing a photo which I actually owned and the copyright tag proved this beyond doubt thus saving me a court case.
From https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ03.pdf
Copyright notice is a statement placed on copies or phonorecords of a work to inform the public that a copyright owner
is claiming ownership of it.2
A notice consists of three elements that generally appear as a single continuous statement:
• The copyright symbol © (or for phonorecords, the
symbol ℗ ); the word “copyright”; or the abbreviation
“copy.”;
• The year of first publication of the work; and
• The name of the copyright owner.
Example: © 2017 John Doe
The reason I go for the full word “copyright” is that some countries don’t accept the © symbol as a valid copyright notice. The US does, but it’s a big old world out there 😀 The “all rights reserved” is the same not everywhere is the use and it adds specificity to the copyright. When researching this video, I recall a case (again, I don’t think it was in the US) where an image was used and because the copyright didn’t state that the usage in question was prohibited it caused an issue. Although, the bottom line is that if… Read more »
This is fabulous. The details are important. Concise, easily understood and timely, as usual, Steve
Thanks for the reminder Steve.
Works great. Lasts long time.
Good clear info – Great video – as always! Thanks Steve
Good clear information. Thanks
Good clear information. Thanks
Steve,
This info is very clear and I value it very much. Good job.
Good and simple. I learned that it is better to add “all rights reserved”
very good and simple advice
Thank you for taking the time to prepare and share the Copyright information
Thanks for the informative video, Steve. I have all your ebooks. My Nikon D500 won’t allow me to type in the full copyright info you prescribed. It won’t allow that many characters in the typing field. How do I overcome this. Have a happy and safe 2020. Look forward to more of your invaluable photography advice.
Worst case, leave out the “All rights reserved” part. It’s preferable to have it, but it’s still OK without.
Try again, I think you missed something,I have the D500 and had no problem entering in all the data
Thanks for the reminder and the info about adding info to the copyright box.
some great information Steve, I did it when i read my books but for got to go back and change date. and add the extra information thanksDale
Great Video Steve and now we all need to remember each year to update the year in our cameras
Great tip, Steve. Thank you. So we don’t have to actually register our copyright? Right? LOL. What we are essentially stating is that “This image belongs to xxx, and hence be warned that using it without xxx’s express permission can render you liable under the Copyrights Act” Why the year? I have seen your comments and that of others too, but still confused. The year (probably) must be added IF we register it, so that every one knows the validity, or when the copyright would expire. But adding a year in the “Warning” notice, without registration? Well, as has been… Read more »
US law dictates that the moment you press the shutter you automatically own the copyright to the image. You don’t even need to put a notice. The notice is there to tell people who holds the copyright and to prevent them from pleading ignorance if something would come up. Registering your images allows you to sue in federal court for up to $150K and attorneys fees. As for how critical the year is, everything I’ve ever seen about copyright notices says to include it. I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know when it’s OK not to include it or… Read more »
That is my understanding as well.
Happy New Year, Steve! Thanks for the timely and informative video! Prompted by reading all your books and your excellent YouTube field test camera review, this “outdoor photo hobby Enthusiast” just upgraded to a Nikon D7500 (within budget allowance). I can’t wait to put it through its paces, as you did!
Thanks for increasing my confidence by expanding my photography skill set, fun and enjoyment!
Congrats on the new camera – it’s honestly my favorite of the D7xxx series. Have fun!
Only thing you forgot steve was that if you camera is stolen and the serial number removed you may get lucky and be able to show the police your name in the copyright file to prove its yours .
Actually never thought of that – GREAT tip!
Do you know of any easy way to quickly change the names in the “artist” and “copyright” fields? My wife and I share cameras and it would be very convenient to be able to change the names when we change cameras. Would make processing and organizing much easier.
I really don’t – I wonder if it can be done by setting up different banks / users. Never tired it, but you might take a peek and see.
Thought I had this covered, nearly but not every angle
Always learn from Steve, the , and the copyright reserved I missed, and comma
Thanks again Steve !
Regards,
Gary
Hello Steve, can the photograph’s metadata be deleted? Assuming yes, is there anyway to prevent the copyright data from being deleted?
Thank you for your insightful information.
Sadly yes. The notice doesn’t “copyright” the image (technically, even without the notice it’s yours at the moment of creation), it’s more of a warning sign to let people know who owns the image. It’s like a no trespassing sign – you can post one, but people can choose to ignore it or even remove it, but it only served as a warning – it’s still your property.
Thanks Steve, I needed that little push 😉
Hi steve, i bought my D7200 second hand but im not sure how to erase the former owners name in the copyright section. The keyboard doesnt show a backspace button, or one i recognize?
The keyboard is incredibly confusing. You need to press and hold the “zoom out” button to place the cursor where you want it in the entry field, then use the delete button (yup, the one you use to delete photos) to delete the stuff you don’t want. Not very intuitive, but I suppose it works.
Steve have a great New Year! I just love these little tips (mine was setup right). These cameras keep getting more complicated. I had a Sony and the menu system made the camera not usable, You would think that cameras would be getting more usable, instead it has gotten worse. This is why camera companies are losing there sales, and camera companies “Nikon” do not listen to there users at all
Thanks, Steve, and Happy New Year. I just finished your Exposure & Metering book–the things I thought I knew, but I do now! I’ve read all your books, and they have really helped me up my game. Your photos, by the way, are sick. Cheers!
Thanks Steve, very much appreciated.
Thanks again Steve, awesome.
Thank you Steve for the video and the great tip , I I have a question, what Is the different between image comment and copy right information in the camera menu. Thank you and happy new year.
Comments are simply for your reference (or for the reference of anyone looking at the metadata of your images). The copyright field is for telling people who the copyright owner is.
how to check if my photo is coyrighted if I don’t have photoshop?
Pretty much anything that can read metadata can do it – which includes most if not all image processing software.
how do I check if my photo is copyrighted if I don’t have photoshop?
My Dear Steve Perry – Let Me Sincerely WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020 – Good Health and Happiness Be there for Ever to do more extra-ordinary works for the betterment of Nature and Wildlife Photography. By the way watched the very interesting video and got a very clear understanding about the latter part that most doesn’t do..including copyright section details. Even Myself just typed the ARTIST section details in the past. But now I am well aware of the process and Thank you very much for the very nice work. I am always following your esteemed Back… Read more »
I didn’t know about the “all rights reserved” part. Great info, thanks for sharing!
Interesting… You don’t register with the US Copyright Office! I would think the theft of your images would be an issue. That’s money left on the table?
The thing is, under US law, you technically own the image when you shoot it (unless you are currently an employee shooting for someone else). So, normally jus the copyright is enough. The other thing is, registration isn’t free and requires the help of a lawyer for us mere mortals 😀 So, between the expense and hassle, it’s not worth it. Anytime I’ve had an image stolen and wanted it removed, the normal copyright steps were enough. The truth is, for me, the money left of the table is mine to have since I’m not paying thousands to protect images… Read more »
OK, I have to update my last statement. In the past, registering images with the copyright office was an expensive hassle, but it seems it has become easier. Might be worth doing – it looks like you can do 750 images for like $55 and it looks fairly self-serve. Might give it a try and do a video 😀
Not necessarily the case Steve. A lawyer was not necessary to register your images, and it used to be only 35.00 per registration. Registration copies of images only needed to be about 640 on the long side, and it was possible to upload thousands at one time. Pricing has gone up a bit, and the upload max has decreased a bit, but a lawyer is not necessary. Where the Lawyer becomes necessary is going after the theft, and if your images aren’t registered a Lawyer will not typically take the case. Registered images? Yup! They’ll take that case because real… Read more »
Good to know. To be honest, the last time I checked into registration I was shooting slides.
To delete old info or misspellings, highlight the offending character and hit the trashcan button. This may be obvious to everyone but sure wasn’t to me. 🙂
Thanks for the video information. I noticed that just underneath the “Copyright information” on the setup menu on the Nikon D500, there is “IPTC.” I know this is related somehow to metadata, but just what is it and is it important? If so, how do I use it or set it up? Thanks!
Thanks for this Steve. Does this data transfer from our .NEF files into Jpegs when we export from lightroom? Do we have to do something special when exporting?
Thank you and Happy New Year!
Yes, the data should stay with the photo, no extra steps on your part.