Andrew,
That ninety day window applies to published images. You will still be protected after the ninety days if you register the published work before it is infringed. The ninety day windows allows people to place work out in public in a timely fashion but still be protected. Imagine if the news organizations had to register their work prior to publishing it or putting it on the news.
If your work is unpublished you can register it anytime you want before it is published and it will have the additional protection starting the day the Copyright Office receives your application and copies of the work. If you have registered your work (published or unpublished) in a timely manner and you can shoe that the use was willful then you are eligible for up to $150,000 per use and legal fees.
There is the occaisional situation where it didn't matter that your work wasn't registered in a timely manner. I forgot the specifics but there was a photographer (?) who had his work used without his permission in a commercial manner. It was a high end commercial use. The profits gained from that use was in the millions of dollars. The work may or may not have been registered, but the suit went after the profits (the choice of the copyright holder) since the statutory fines would not have come close to the amount of profits.
Everyone has to make their own choice as to how they will deal with infringers. There is no way to fully protect yourself from infringers getting your image off the web. Accept the fact that it will happen and deal with it in a manner that suits you.
BTW - registering images is easy and cheap. I have registered over 20,000 unpublished images at one time for $45. Not a bad deal.
Scott
Scott Sharick Photography
www.scottsharickphotography.com
www.scottsharickblog.com
www.flickr.com/photos/scottsharick/
On Mar 9, 2011, at 6:42 PM, Andrew Mills wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I'm sure many of you may have seen the (the now somewhat viral) video
> done by fstoppers on Noam Galai's story where one or more of his images
> he posted online were ripped off and used for financial gain, and
> without his permission.
>
> http://vimeo.com/20718237
>
> A bit of a dichotomy - as artists we want the exposure, but not to the
> point where other people are claiming the image as their's, etc., left
> right and centre.
>
> It does make me wonder though, as this appears to be a mostly US based
> list, how many people here bother to register their work? Do you know
> that you don't get "full" protection in the US unless you register your
> work with the Library of Congress?
>
> I did research into this some time ago for an article I never finished
> (well, I did, but it was too long and involved for the site I was
> writing for). If I recall (and my memory is a little rusty), in the US
> you have up 90 days to register works of art. If you do not do this and
> you discover someone has used your work of art without your permission
> after the 90 days, you cannot sue for anything more than loss of
> earnings. For example, if the defendant has sold the image(s) for $500,
> then that is all you can sue for. If you have registered, you can sue
> for other damages. I can't remember if you can still sue for legal costs
> or not if you have not registered.
>
> Like I said, my memory on the US specific side of it is rusty as I am in
> the UK, but if you do not register your work, it may be worth looking
> into.
>
> --
> Andrew Mills
>
>
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