Home >> Hobbies >> Photography

How Can I Get a Copyright Release From a Photographer Who Went Out of Business?

Whenever a photograph is taken, the picture instantly becomes copyrighted and the property of the person who took it. Professional photographers often will register this copyright with the United States Copyright Office in Washington. However, even if the picture is not registered, it still is copyrighted. This is also true for professional photographers who went out of business. Before you use any picture in any publication, public document or presentation, you need a copyright release from the photographer.

Instructions

- 1
  Conduct an Internet search. Most professional photographers will have their contact information posted on the Internet. Depending on when the photographer went out of business, there still may be contact information for the individual posted somewhere.
- 2
  Search the "Yellow pages" of an older copy of the phone book. If you have the individual photographer's name, you also can search the residential listings for this person.
- 3
  Inspect the picture itself for contact information. If you have a print of the picture, look for the photographer's signature in the bottom corner of the print. Not all photographers do this, and it is more common for them to sign the mat on top of the picture. Look on the back of the picture for contact information. If the picture is an electronic version that is posted on a website, right click the picture and select "Element properties" from the drop-down menu. In some cases, the photographer's contact information may be included in these fields.
- 4
  Contact other photographers in the city in which the photographer worked. The photographer you are looking for may have belonged to a professional organization or had colleagues in the city who will know how to reach him.
- 5
  Contact the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington and try to obtain contact information from there.

Photography