# Prints? Copyright release?



## ababysean (Jul 28, 2010)

So I went to Sam's Club today to pick up some prints of the Studio Shoot I did two months ago...

The lady asks me for the copyright release from the photographer. 

oh? I am the photographer.

The lady asks me for a business card.

oh? I am not a business.

So what do you do?  

I'm flattered she thought they were so good they were taken by a pro, but is this a common occurrence?  Should I get a business card made? or is it because I went to Sam's Club? and they do not know any better?

Here is on of the pictures:


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## ann (Jul 28, 2010)

this is not unusual altho, not as common in some places.


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## arios23 (Jul 28, 2010)

Did you shoot her in swimsuit?


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## mwcfarms (Jul 28, 2010)

Get a business card made. You are not a business as of yet but it is always good to have your contact info handy.


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## MohaimenK (Jul 28, 2010)

so did she end up printing the photo?


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## misstwinklytoes (Jul 28, 2010)

Funny.  *sighs*  I await the day someone asks me for my card. 

EDIT:  Btw... this is a beautiful pic and a beautiful girl!


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## ababysean (Jul 28, 2010)

Yes, they had already printed them out but she made a big show about how they are going to get fined 15,000 dollars per print if these are copyrighted....

I had to sign something saying I would pay the fine if they were caught.

Where to get business cards?

In all honesty I dont want to charge anyone, ever. This is a hobby for me, once I start charging it becomes a business and I dont want to work! haha


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## amberl (Jul 28, 2010)

walmart does that crap all the time.  But this is when i had my crappy point and shoot and i would take pics of my daughter at the park/apple orchard/ pumpkin patch


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## KmH (Jul 28, 2010)

It's a print release or a use license, not a copyright release.

The term copyright release could be construed by a court as meaning you are giving away your copyright, in other words, a copyright transfer.


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## mwcfarms (Jul 28, 2010)

Vistaprint does bus cards cheap.


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## ababysean (Jul 28, 2010)

You know what, I am pretty sure she did say print release.

But when I told her I was the photographer, I am pretty sure she said copyright something?

Are there two different terms, like if I was not the photographer vs if I was?


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## astroskeptic (Jul 28, 2010)

I doubt a business card is the right answer. It might have just been this one clerk's idea of what would suffice in that situation. For some other clerk, or some other printer, maybe they wont take a business card.

They should have some release form allowing you to assert ownership of the rights to the pictures. Walmart.com actually has such a form here http://photos.walmart.com/photo/messages/51016-0_WM_copyright_EBF1D.pdf. 

Logic would suggest Sam's Club would have something similar. Is that what you ended up signing (or something similar)? It is possible that the clerk was simply ignorant of the policy.


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## ababysean (Jul 28, 2010)

Yes that is what I ended up signing, asserting ownership of the pictures.

And see it does say copyright?


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## ababysean (Jul 28, 2010)

PS it was not that exact form because it was printed on their 3 fold handout...


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## MohaimenK (Jul 28, 2010)

i mean you can always go through other online vendors that does photo printing? I mean its cheap to get business cards really and often places will give you 100 free and it's great to have, especially if you're doing people photo and someone asks you about it, give them a card with your email addy and website and tell them check it out? BTW that's one smokin model you got there! With a great shot!


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## KmH (Jul 28, 2010)

ababysean said:


> You know what, I am pretty sure she did say print release.
> 
> But when I told her I was the photographer, I am pretty sure she said copyright something?
> 
> Are there two different terms, like if I was not the photographer vs if I was?


As the photographer, you own the copyright to any photos you take as soon as that photo is recorded in a tangible medium, like a memory card. Some photographers add a copyright statement to their photos.

A valid copyright statement is © 2010 (the year of first publication) Your Name Here (the copyright owner. A copyright statement is not required on a photo. (To make the copyright symbol ©, hold down the Alt-key as you type 0169 on the number key pad. If you have a laptop, you must enable the number _keypad_ on the keyboard rather than use the number across the top of the keyboard.)

 No one else can copy, edit, or make a derivative of it, or "borrow" it and post it on some photography forum you didn't intend for it to wind up on, without your expressed written permission.

Copyright is actually a bundle of rights.

When I sell a Use License to a commercial image, I am selling the right to use part of my copyright bundle for a limited period of time, usually 1-5 years.

The client tells me what they need, like 12 months of non-exclusive use, in the United States only, on the inside of a brochure, at a size no larger than 1/4 of the page, that they will print no more than 5,000 copies of and I charge them accordingly for that first years use.

If they later decide they want one of my images on the cover of their annual corporate report with exclusive, world-wide use, and they will print 200,000 copies....they will have to pay a lot more to use the image.


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## GooniesNeverSayDie11 (Sep 12, 2012)

whoops....old thread


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