I think your all trying to make something big out of copyright law. For myself, I have over four hundred photographs on my web site and some of them were taken without permission from other web sites. Simply said, I welcome some distant cousin contacting me for posting a photograph on their branch of the family. Moreover, the same goes for something written about my relatives in a newspaper, book and etc. Anyway, the way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. Therein, Copyright protection is available for all unpublished works, regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author. Note: "Copies" are any material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm. Moreover, if a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a particular date constitutes the created work as of that date. Published works are copyright protected, if you met the conditions by the date of first publication, and by one or more of the authors being a national or domiciliary of the United States. Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories: (1) literary works; (2) musical works, including any accompanying words (3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music (4) pantomimes and choreographic works (5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works (6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works (7) sound recordings (8) architectural works Furthermore, the 1976 Copyright Act defines publication as follows: "Publication" is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication. 1. The symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copyright," or the abbreviation "Copr."; and; 2. The year of first publication of the work. In the case of compilations or derivative works incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying textual matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful article; and; 3. The name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner. Most importantly, works that are published in the United States are subject to mandatory deposit with the Library of Congress. Therefore, they must be filed with the US Copyright Office the required “Form VA” for published and unpublished works of the visual arts (pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, including architectural works). This can be confirmed through there office: Library of Congress Copyright Office Publications Section, LM-455 101 Independence Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20559-6000 In closing, the use of the copyright notice is important because it informs you and the public these photographs are protected by copyright by identifying the copyright owner, and showing the year of first publication. Furthermore, in the event that a work is infringed, and since the proper notice of copyright appears on the published copy or copies to which a defendant in a copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be given to such a defendant's interposition of a defense based on innocent infringement in mitigation of actual or statutory damages, except as provided in section 504(c)(2) of the copyright law. Innocent infringement occurs when the infringer did not realize that the work was protected. I almost forgot to tell you another part of the copyright laws: Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on the date a work was published with a copyright notice or on the date of registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. In either case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28 years from the date it was secured. During the last (28th) year of the first term, the copyright was eligible for renewal. The Copyright Act of 1976 extended the renewal term from 28 to 47 years for copyrights that were subsisting on January 1, 1978, or for pre-1978 copyrights restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), making these works eligible for a total term of protection of 75 years. Public Law 105-298, enacted on October 27, 1998, further extended the renewal term of copyrights still subsisting on that date by an additional 20 years, providing for a renewal term of 67 years and a total term of protection of 95 years. Isn't that wonderful, a person can own a copyright for 95 years. However, it all needs to be done in accordance with the provisions of law, and most are not. So don't worry about it.