Before referring to the assignment and regis tration of copyright, one minor clause of the Act must be noted—namely, that which enacts that any person may copy any work in which there is no copyright, and may represent any scene or object, notwithstanding that there may be copyright in other representations of such scene or object. This clause has a very practical application in the reproduction of the works of Old Masters, in which, of course, there is no copyright, but any number of photographers may make copies of such works and severally acquire rights in their copies, even though these latter are practically identical. Similarly, there is nothing to prevent several photographers from photographing a landscape from a particular point of view ; even though the negatives are almost identical, copyright may be obtained by each separate author.
Assignment of the copyright in a photograph may be whole or partial. The sole rights to reproduce in any form or place whatever may be sold with, or without, the negative, though there can be no object in the photographer retain ing the negative, since his rights to make a single print from it have been disposed of. It is more usual, however, to assign specifically limited rights to reproduce, such as in a given issue of a journal or newspaper, as a calendar or window-bill, as a postcard, or as an advertise ment for a particular class of goods. The nature of the assignment being clearly defined, the photographer is left free to dispose of other limited assignments in other ways, but a form of assignment loosely worded (for instance, the following : " Received of A. B. los. 6d. for the right to reproduce my photograph of Trafalgar Square.—C. D.") might be taken to mean the sole rights of reproduction. An assignment or licence to reproduce should clearly state the particular purpose for which the photograph is to be used. In the case of reproduction in news papers, it is usually understood that the photo grapher's name should be acknowledged under the photograph, or on the same page, and that no use be made of the photograph without extra payment in extra issues of the paper, or any other publication of the same proprietorship.
Although anyone purchasing the sole copy right in a photograph or other work is thereby at liberty to reproduce it in any form, the Act forbids the alteration of such photograph, or the reproduction thereof in an altered form, during the life of the author and without his consent—that is to say, that such altered version must not be represented as the unmodified work of the originator.
The registration of a copyright is important to those who have business in selling rights of reproduction, inasmuch as the Act provides that " no proprietor of any such copyright shall be entitled to the benefit of the Act until such registration, and no action shall be sustainable, nor any penalty recoverable, in respect of any thing done before registration." In other words,
registration is a formal claim to rights in the photograph. It is made at Stationers' Hall, on forms provided for the purpose. On this form five columns are provided, but it is only neces sary, when registering a copyright, to make entries in Nos. i, 4, and 5 ; Nos. 2 and 3 are required only when a copyright is assigned by one person to another. In column i a short description identifying the photograph is given, in No. 4 the name and address of the proprietor of the copyright, and in No. 5 the name and address of the author. The author, as already pointed out, may or may not be the same person as the proprietor. This form, filled up on these lines, is deposited at Stationers' Hall, together with a copy of the photograph, the fee for registration being one shilling. The precise form of the photograph is immaterial ; a straight print from the negative suffices to protect the photo grapher's rights regarding the issue of enlarge ments or even of worked-up reproductions in colour by hand or by three-colour printing. It is simply necessary that the photograph regis tered should plainly identify the original work of the author.
Infringement of copyright may take a number of forms. The Act specifically forbids any person to " repeat, copy, colourably imitate, or other wise multiply for sale, hire, or distribution," or to cause or procure these acts to be done. The phrase " colourably imitate " protects the photographer against piracy of his work by draughtsmen or artists, who might use the photograph as a basis for drawings ; it is not necessary, to prove infringement, that the illegal copy should be identical with the original from which it was made.
The Act distinguishes between two classes of infringer : (i ) those who in knowledge or ignor ance commit one of the acts mentioned above, and (2) those who, with knowledge of the unlawful character of the copies, import or distribute the latter in the United Kingdom. The copyist, or person who employs a copyist, is regarded as liable whether he act in knowledge or ignorance of the copyright, whereas an importer is liable only when he acts with know ledge of the unlawful nature of the copies. It will thus be seen that a photographic enlarger, who prepares an enlargement of a photograph sent to him, is equally liable with the person who gave him the order, and this even though both may be in ignorance of the existence of any copyright. Under the Copyright Act there is no need that a photograph which has been registered at Stationers' Hall should be marked " copyright," but it is a natural assumption that any recent photograph is copyright, even though formal claim (registration) has not been made.