Avoiding Construction Claims through Guaranteed Maximum Contracts

Guaranteed Maximum Contracts or G-Max are becoming more popular as a corporate vehicle to minimize risk, avoid claims and integrate the diverse interests of a complex project. Not to be confused with cost plus, the G-Max contract is bid exactly the same as lump sum. The contractor assumes the same risk, with a big stipulation: he's willing to share in the savings on the basis of the owner's guarantee of fee and prompt payment of net cost.

There's no difference in cost or risk between Lump Sum and Guaranteed Max, but a big difference in results, particularly on the owner's side of the fence. Don't let anyone tell you that G-Max cost more. They don't! In fact, Lump Sum contracts are sometimes converted to G-Max for the same price or less.

How do they work? In the following example, the best bid price received from a qualified general contractor for a major renovation is $2.5 million. The owner's budget is $2.2 million, but modifications and changes are anticipated for an additional $500,000 estimated construction costs. Time is of the essence. The project must start immediately. The owner wishes to cut $300,000 from the base contract without changing the scope of work and at the same time control cost of the additions without giving away the $500,000. The contractor already dropped his price on the first round of negotiations and won't budge off his $2.5 million. This project is an ideal candidate for G-Max conversion.

The Owner who awards the contract should ask the contractor: "How much fee (or profit) do you want in this project?" (Assume 6 percent). When the contractor states "$150,000," the owner says: "Then what you are saying is that this project's actual cost is $2.35 million. We'll guarantee your fee of $150,000, but we believe you can bring this project in for under $2 million by working with some of our people who know construction. Do you see that as a realistic possibility? " If the contractor answers "Yes," then the owner asks: "Would you then accept a Guaranteed Max contract with the understanding that all costs saved below the $2.35 million will be returned to the owner? " If the answer is "Yes," then you can establish the method of administration. If the answer is "No," then you negotiate a 75-25 or 50-50 split in the savings and ask: "If we guaranteed $500,000 of additional work to the base contract, will you agree to reduce your fee on extras for the first $250,000 of additional work?"

This is just the beginning, there are many possibilities. The yield at the end of the project often exceeds the original objective (in this case $300,000) because the atmosphere has changed from adversarial to partner. With proper controls, and by working with contractors as a team member, it is possible to obtain greater yields on the bottom line than by any other contracting method.

G-Max contracts best achieve the owner's objective because a partnership is formed between owner and contractor wherein the owner agrees to reimburse the contractor for actual cost as it occurs, not from a schedule of values. This eliminates the distrust between parties. It also eliminates the contractor's negligence to pay his suppliers and subcontractors because he gets audited monthly. In today's market, this one issue alone will solve a lot of problems and insure both savings and a smoothly running project.

The owner plays an active role throughout the entire process. The whole issue of cost is manageable when the savings are shared, rather than negotiated from an adversarial position. When the administration is properly set-up and organized, the benefits are truly amazing. Because every purchase order and invoice received from the contractor is submitted to the owner as backup, and because the owner agrees to cut the time for processing and pay promptly, a positive and successful relationship is assured. Front end loading disappears, so does the haggling with price.

There is another reason for using the G-Max contract system: It is the best vehicle for recovering cost when pricing on extras becomes unreasonable. The fact that owners have tremendous leverage on extras is not often mentioned among users, perhaps because it is a business advantage. Consider once again the outrageous cost for a new door. Assume that the contractor wants $1,500 to cut the hole and install a new door, plus another $50,000 to relocate the 4-inch gas pipe that nobody knew existed. Assume also that the true cost of the piping relocation is only $10,000, but the contractor will not back off his estimate. The work must start and he demands approval. Under lump sum contracts owner's haven't got much choice, but under the G Max system, even if you agree to the $50,000, all you've given away is the difference in fees, or $2,400 instead of $40,000. Once the work is complete and true cost is known, even this can be adjusted. There's a strong incentive here to be honest. Nothing like it exists with any other format. Cost plus contracts claim to be the same, but in reality they do not have any incentive for shared savings or efficiencies.

Still another advantage of G-Max occurs when work must start ahead of final drawings. There are often issues that delay completion of the drawings and therefore start of construction. The G-Max format allows owners to minimize risk when proceeding with work ahead of final drawings. It has been my experience to start work on 30 percent completed drawings while obtaining a G-Max price for the entire project based on preliminary drawings and outline specifications. That's an extreme example, but it does happen.

The downside also needs stating. G-Max contracts require more work on the owner's part to administer. The main effort involves defining what is cost. And if you are not interested in collecting discounts, obtaining credits for small tools, establishing realistic labor rates, monitoring rentals, and are not really prepared to act as a partner with your contractor in the project, then this program is not for you. Don't try this if you don't have a strong administrator experienced in general contracting. Contractors resent inexperienced owners questioning their decisions, and they certainly aren't eager to have their books audited by anyone they don't trust. Properly set-up and administered however, G-Max contracts are a win-win situation."

Building Protection into Representative Agreements

Relationships between manufacturers' representatives and suppliers are similar in many ways to a marriage. Before a contractual commitment, there is a courtship, a time during which both parties are able to examine their prospective partner during a variety of circumstances. If the attraction continues, both parties perform due diligence in order to ensure the absence of any nefarious dealings, both past and present. If a commitment is desired, both parties enter into a contractual relationship for the long-term. However, unlike a marriage, there is never a clause in a representative agreement that includes the words, "until death do us part." Representative relationships are expected to last only for a period during which both the rep and supplier reap benefit from the relationship. Once a partner can no longer foresee a benefit from the relationship, the partnership may be dissolved.

During the early years of a representative relationship, little fears on both sides can become irritants that grow, fester, and hold back both parties from achieving greater success. What can be done to reduce the impact of otherwise minor fears? Both parties can build into the representative agreement protection that shields them from some of their greatest fears. Manufacturers' representatives often fear unjust termination by a supplier for whom they work diligently for several months or years with relatively little compensation. Suppliers often fear inability to terminate a rep whose performance has deteriorated. Both fears are real and can be addressed in the representative agreement in an equitable manner.

If mutual success of the rep and the supplier is to be achieved, little fears on both sides must be dealt with in a manner that prohibits those fears from undermining performance. This paper addresses steps that can be taken to reduce fear on the part of both the manufacturers' representative and the supplier. By building protection into the representative agreement, two objectives can be accomplished: First, some natural fears can be either reduced or eliminated. By reducing the impact of some fears, performance of both the rep and the supplier can be enhanced. Second, when the time comes to dissolve the representative relationship, the same protections that were used to enhance performance can be used to unwind the relationship with less acrimony and legal action.

Well Written Agreements Reduce Fear
Suppliers have a natural fear of manufacturers' representatives. Simultaneously, manufacturers' representatives have a natural fear of suppliers. Any solution to this problem cannot be developed unless these natural fears are recognized. A solution, therefore, must identify some of the most obvious fears and work to minimize the impact of their realization. A manufacturers' representative might have a legitimate fear of being terminated if a small supplier becomes very successful and becomes acquired by a larger supplier. In most cases, the rep or the direct sales force of the surviving, (acquiring) supplier becomes the sales force of record and the rep of the smaller, (acquired) supplier is terminated. Termination is the result irrespective of performance.

Any manufacturer, large or small, may fear that the selected representative will not perform to expectations. If the gap between expectations and actual performance is too great, the manufacturer may need to change representation, but may feel trapped in a representative agreement that it feels cannot be changed easily or quickly. Well crafted representative agreements can relieve some of the fears of both reps and suppliers. We'll explore clauses that can be inserted to help protect both manufacturers' representatives and suppliers.

Protection for Manufacturers' Representatives
One common fear among manufacturers' representatives is that termination may come after months or years of hard work, but before significant commissions are generated. This a justifiable concern particularly where the supplier is relatively new and has no established customers. A rep must labor long and hard in order to create the first customers, designs and purchase orders. The world provides many examples whereby a small supplier signs up many reps that are required to provide several months of missionary work with customers before sales are realized. If the supplier provides a great product offering and executes well, its booming sales soon make it an attractive target of acquisition by a larger, more established competitor. During an acquisition, the sales organizations of the acquiring and acquired companies must be consolidated. Most often, the direct sales team or rep from the acquiring company survives, while the rep from the acquired supplier is terminated. Recognizing that history favors the reps of established suppliers, many reps are loath to adding start-up suppliers to their line card.

One solution that protects the manufacturers' representative for a small start-up supplier is the insertion of a clause that provides commissions beyond termination in the event of a change of ownership of the supplier. The rep may be offered six-to-twelve months of commissions after the effective date of termination if termination is the result of a change of ownership in the start-up supplier.

The mechanism calling for extended commissions is sometimes called a "double trigger." The term, "double trigger" is used in this case because two events must occur before the extra commissions are warranted: a) change of ownership, and b) termination of the representative agreement. If an acquisition occurs, but the rep is retained, there are no extended commissions. Similarly, if the rep is terminated, but there is no change of ownership, there are no extended commissions. When, however, termination occurs within weeks of a change of ownership, two conditions will have been "triggered" and the rep becomes entitled to extended commissions.

Inclusion of the "double trigger" clause removes the fear that reps might have when partnering with start-up suppliers. The expense of extended commissions become real to the start-up supplier only if it becomes very successful and simultaneously becomes acquired. The extended commissions can be easily justified and in addition, can be spread forward in time.

At first glance, extended commissions from a double trigger clause result to the benefit of the manufacturers' representative only. Upon deeper reflection, the start-up supplier benefits also. Without a double trigger clause, large and established rep organizations avoid start-up companies because of the risk that they represent. Without the clause, a start-up supplier might be forced to select a rep from among a group of smaller and less established rep organizations. Inclusion of a double trigger allows start-up suppliers to add powerful manufacturers' representatives to its sales team. Such an addition increases the suppliers' chances for success.

Protection for Suppliers
Suppliers seek the opportunity to exercise control over their own fate. Suppliers expect that control to extend over the sales organization. If that sales organization is composed of direct employees, hiring and firing is relatively straightforward. When the sales organization is a network of manufacturers' representatives, control may be muted. A supplier should be allowed, via the representative agreement, to add new reps and to terminate those reps that do not accomplish the objectives of the supplier. All representative agreements allow for termination under various scenarios. A supplier should ensure that it has the ability to terminate a rep both for cause and for convenience.

Most reps readily agree to termination for cause and the description of causes can be defined in the agreement. Some causes are obvious and may include gross malfeasance, change of ownership of the rep, and breach of the agreement. Very often, cause is disputed and leads to acrimony and legal action.

A representative agreement should include a clause allowing for "termination for convenience." In this case, the supplier may terminate the agreement without providing or proving cause. The supplier is provided the flexibility to change manufacturers' representatives if conditions warrant or change. A rep will not appreciate the opportunity to constantly fear termination for no reason at all. To encourage the rep to accept a "termination for convenience" clause, a provision is added to the agreement that adds extended commissions beyond termination, for a period of up to a full year after the effective date of termination. The period for extended commissions is often proportional to the length of service of the rep.

The Best Agreements Provide Balance
Inexperienced reps and suppliers sometimes attempt to insert clauses into representative agreements that favor one party at the expense of the other. Occasionally such too-clever attempts achieve their desired result. Unfortunately, most one-sided attempts fail to accomplish their objective. Too often, one-sided agreements achieve two undesirable characteristics. First, one-way clauses generally build mistrust into the relationship. Such mistrust acts as an anchor around the neck of both parties and prevents them from optimizing the results of the partnership. Second, agreements with one-sided clauses have a higher incidence of litigation when the relationship unwinds. Remember, representative relationships do not last forever. There is no "until death do us part" language. When a relationship unwinds, seasoned reps and suppliers agree that litigation should be avoided. Legal action is terribly expensive. It consumes vast amounts of human resources and management focus, and distracts both parties from their real agendas: growing sales, market share and profits.

Seasoned reps and suppliers agree that representative agreements should be written with attention given to balance. If a rep is allowed to operate in a certain manner, the supplier ought to be afforded the opportunity to operate in a similar manner. If a supplier may terminate the agreement without cause, the manufacturers' representative should be allowed to terminate for convenience as well. Balanced agreements help build trust between their partners. That trust adds to the productive energy applied by both partners. Greater trust and energy are two of many requisites for a successful representative relationship. Ensure that your agreements strive for a balance in the power between the representative and the supplier.

Conclusion
Entering into a new representative relationship can be a frightening experience. The consequences of entering into a representative agreement can be disastrous. By inserting protective clauses into the agreement, both parties can increase their chances of success and simultaneously reduce the likelihood of legal squabbling when the agreement comes to an end. Ensuring a theme of balance and fairness in the agreement further increases the opportunity for a satisfying representative relationship.

About the Author: Glen Balzer is a management and forensic consultant involved with domestic and international marketing and sales. He advises parties involved with contracts between suppliers, global customers, manufacturers' representatives and industrial distributors. He promotes conflict resolution between parties involved in representative and distribution agreements, serving as an expert witness. He has significant experience with integration and rationalization of merged and acquired companies. For 30 years, he has been involved in all aspects of creating and managing marketing and sales organizations throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Where To Incorporate Your Business

By Aaron Larson
Law Offices of Aaron Larson

Contents
Initial Considerations
Delaware Corporations
Nevada Corporations

Most businesses do not need to give much consideration to where they incorporate. They simply incorporate in the state in which they are doing business. But that may not be the right choice for you.

Corporations that do business in more than one state, or corporations that may eventually "go public", may wish to consider the benefits of incorporating in a state with more favorable corporate laws than the state in which they are headquartered.

A corporation that is incorporated in the laws of one state, but does business within another state, is considered to be a "foreign corporation" in that second state. Corporations must register to do business in each state in which they operate, and there are filing requirements and fees associated with registration.

Initial Considerations
When deciding if it will be beneficial to incorporate in another state, factors to consider include:

Tax Rates - What is the tax rate in your home state, as compared to the tax rate in the state in which you might instead opt to incorporate?

Costs & Fees - What are the costs and annual fees associated with incorporating in the other state, as compared to the costs and fees in your home state? If you will be doing business in more than one state, including the state in which you incorporated, what will be the cost of registering your corporation to do business in the other states?

Insolvency - If your corporation becomes insolvent, how are creditors treated under the laws of each state?

Simplicity - If you conduct business in only one state, it is almost always cheaper and easier to incorporate in that state. You also won't automatically be subject to litigation in the courts of a state in which you do not conduct business, by virtue of having incorporated in that state.

Delaware Corporations
Delaware is considered to have some of the most favorable corporate laws in the nation. Almost half of all corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange are incorporated in Delaware, and it is a popular state for the incorporation of businesses which intend to eventually go public. Delaware is also a good choice for the incorporation of a business that has offices or operations in multiple states. Delaware's courts, legislature, and government are considered to be very responsive to the needs and interests of corporations.

Benefits of incorporating in Delaware include:

Low incorporation fees, and a low annual franchise tax;

Businesses do not have to identify or provide addresses for their initial board of directors on their articles of incorporation;

All corporate offices may be held by a single person;

Businesses which incorporate in Delaware but do not conduct business in the state are not required to pay Delaware's state corporate income tax;

For shareholders who are not residents of the State of Delaware, their shares of stock are not subject to either Delaware's personal income tax or its state inheritance tax;

Delaware maintains a separate court system, its "Court of Chancery", for businesses;

It is fast and easy to form a corporation.

A Delaware corporation must have a registered agent within the State of Delaware, but need not have any other offices or operations within the state.

Nevada Corporations
Nevada is also considered to have laws which are favorable to corporations.

Benefits of incorporating in Nevada include:

Shareholders can avoid having their identities being disclosed in the corporation's public records;

-Shareholders, officers and directors may be nonresidents of Nevada.;

-All corporate offices may be held by a single person;

-There is no state annual franchise tax, and no state corporate tax on profits;

-There is no state personal income tax;

-It is fast and easy to form a corporation.

A Nevada corporation must have a legal address and registered agent within the State of Nevada.


Ref : http://www.expertlaw.com/library/business/where_to_incorporate.html

Three Amazing Ways To Make Money From The Public Domain

The Public Domain can be used to create works for countless media categories and category combinations, and sold singly as printed books, magazines, photographs, audio recordings, software, eBooks, films, audio tapes, video recordings, sheet music. Products can also be sold in combinations, such as printed book with CD, eBook with membership site, and more.

Let us look at just a few ways to turn Public Domain creative works into physical and digital products.

While reading this article please take time to seek ways to be individual, better still unique, and turn an item literally anyone can claim from the public domain into your own exclusive products, available only from you!

Let’s go with a few ideas:

* Reprint text and illustrations ‘as is’, in print format, without making any changes. The simplest way to do this is to obtain a physical version of an original document, say a report or book, and to scan or photocopy the information from which to create subsequent copies.

Note that, although this is the fastest and easiest way to recreate and sell public domain works, it really doesn’t take much effort to make a few simple changes to text or layout, or illustrations and pagination, for example. These few changes take very little time but they are highly significant in determining your rights in the book. This is because with a few changes, enough to make the item recognisably different from the public domain original, the new work becomes what’s known as a ‘derivative’ work and its creator is fully protected under copyright law. This means, if anyone copies your version of the product, they can be sued for damages.

Note that, if you take a book from the public domain and recreate it as individual shorter reports, without making changes to the text, your product is again a derivative and becomes your sole copyright.

* Reprint the text and illustrations ‘as is’ and convert to downloadable format. This involves laying out the pages as they were in the original format, by scanning, for example, or by rekeying an exact copy of the document. Subsequently you turn the document into pdf or other eBook format. Arguably, this change from print to digital copy is sufficient to make your product a copyright protected derivative work. But in reality it would be impossible to know if someone selling an identical digital item to yours has copied your work or created their own product from scratch just as you did. So at least make a few changes, design your own front cover, for example, or use a different font, add a few illustrations, create a contents sheet or index section where none existed before.

Note that some of the biggest public domain resource sites provide public domain works as ready to download text. So all you have to do is go to your preferred location – Gutenberg is most people’s favourite – you’re your title, download and add the text to a newly opened ‘Word’ document, choose your own font and size, repaginate the text so that all chapters begin on a new page, and so on. ‘Word’ can be changed into pdf format literally at a keystroke using several free and low cost software programs on the market today. Find them by searching google.com for ‘pdf + creator + free’ or similar.

* Recreate the text ‘as is’, in ‘Word’, PDF or similar fashion, and burn your eBooks on CD. This makes it easier for potential buyers who want your books but are unfamiliar with downloading or have a slow connection or who simply prefer physical media. It’s always a good idea to provide as many product formats as possible and optimise your market potential. You’ll also find that, certainly on eBay, buyers think they know how to download digital products, but later find they can’t, so they take out their temper on you and you receive negative feedback. Sellers of downloadable products can avoid this common scenario by informing buyers that a CD will follow shortly after they access their download links.

Claim Your FREE Copy of THE PUBLIC DOMAIN INFORMATION PROFIT PLAN Any Time of Day or Night at: http://www.public-domain.biz

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Avril_Harper

How To Copyright - Why Register Your Copyright?

Anyone who has had their work stolen knows how frustrating, and often downright infuriating, it is when someone illegally uses their copyrighted work. With the prevalence of the internet in today's society, unfortunately, copyright infringement has become a very real problem for many writers, artists, and other creators.

According to U.S. law, copyright is legally established the moment a work is created. You, as the author of the work, are automatically the legal holder of the copyright when you create a piece of work, granted that the work is eligible for protection. Those works protected by copyright include literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, sculptural, graphic, pictorial, audio visual and architectural works. Also covered by U.S. laws are pantomimes, motion pictures, and sound recordings.

However, you will not hold legal copyright if you have entered into a work-for-hire agreement to transfer all rights of a work you created to another individual or business. In such an instance, you will surrender all of your rights to the work, provided there is a written agreement signed by you or your legal representative agreeing to transfer copyright.

Even though you legally hold copyright when you create a specific work, you should still seriously consider officially registering your work with the U.S Copyright Office for several very important reasons:

1. Copyrighting your work gives you the legal ability to file a lawsuit against anyone who has infringed upon that copyright. You cannot take legal action against another until your work, provided it originates from the United States, has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

2. Should you have to take someone, who has infringed upon your copyright, to court, you can also sue for statutory damages and attorney's fees if you meet one condition: You must have registered your work with the U.S. Copyright Office within three months of having published the work or you must have registered the copyright before the copyright theft or infringement occurred.

If you have not met either of those conditions, you can still take legal action, provided you register your work. However, you will only be eligible to receive actual damages should you win your suit.

3. When you register your work with the U.S. copyright office, the copyright becomes a part of public record.

4. After you've registered a copyright, you'll receive a certification of registration in hard copy form, making it easy to provide physical proof that you hold legal copyright to your work.

5. In addition to being protected against copyright theft and infringement in the United States, registering a copyright also provides you with protection in certain countries that have adopted a copyright agreement with the United States.

For full protection against copyright infringement and copyright theft, you must register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office, contrary to what some believe. Do not fall prey to the notion that a so-called "Poor Man's Copyright" - mailing a copy of your work to yourself then leaving the envelope unsealed - will protect you should your work be stolen or infringed upon.

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, "There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration." Should you register your work before it has been published, you will not again have to register it once it has been published.

Even if you do not register your work, you are entitled to use the Copyright sign or Copyright symbol to provide notice to the public that you are aware of your rights in your work.

Learn more about how to copyright different kinds of works, how to use a copyright sign at http://www.how-to-copyright-it.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kurt_Lehman

How To Copyright - How To Register a Copyright

Creating a piece of work - whether it's a poem, a computer program, or a motion picture - requires significant time and effort on the part of the author. The moment a work is created it is protected by U.S. copyright law, ensuring that the creator has exclusive control over the work unless he has signed over all copyrights to another party.

While copyright is established from the moment a work is created, that copyright doesn't fully protect you against theft and infringement of your work. To ensure you have maximum protection, you must register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Before you can register your work, however, you must ensure that it is copyrightable under the law. Those works that can be copyrighted include literary; musical; dramatic; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural; architectural, choreographic, and audiovisual works as well as sound recordings, motion pictures, and pantomimes.

When you register a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, your copyrighted work becomes a matter of public record, and registration gives you the ability to bring legal action against anyone who steals or infringes upon your copyright. Registering a copyright may also make you eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees should you have to file suit against the offending party.

Registering a copyright is actually quite simple and requires only three simple steps:

Step One: Fill out an application form

Go to the U.S. Copyright Office and download a copyright application form. You can find them on the Web by searching for "Copyright Office". You can also fill out the form online. Be sure to fill out the application fully and accurately. Failing to completely fill out the application form will result in your application being returned.

Step Two: Pay the application fee

Enclose the appropriate nonrefundable filing fee. Currently, the fee for filing your copyright application online is $35. If you submit a paper copyright application, you'll be required to file a $45 application fee.

Step Three: Prepare your nonreturnable deposit

Prepare a copy, which is referred to as a nonreturnable deposit by the U.S. Copyright Office, of the work you want to register. You must adhere to the following general requirements when sending a copy of your work:

• For those works that were created prior to January 1, 1978, you must send two complete copies or phonorecords of your work as it was when it was first published in the U.S.

• For those works that were created in the U.S. on or after January 1, 1978, the U.S. Copyright Office requires two copies or phonorecords of the best edition.

• For those works that were not created in the United States, you must send a complete phonorecord or copy of the work as it was originally published.

Requirements - Special Deposits

There are some special deposit requirements of which you should be aware. Some of the most prevalent special deposit requirements are as follows:

• If you've created a work - literary, musical, or dramatic - that has only been recorded as a phonorecord, you must send the complete phonorecord.

• If you're applying for a copyright for either a published or unpublished computer program, you are required to send the first and last 25 pages of source code for the program. If your program is less than 50 pages, you must send the complete program.

If you're uncertain if your work requires a special deposit, the U.S. Copyright Office encourages you to write (address below) or call (202) 707-3000 and provide a description of your work Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST.

All three items - a complete application, the appropriate application fee, and a copy of the work you want to register - should be mailed in the same package. The only exception is if you opt to fill out an online application. If you're applying for separate copyrights, you should also send all of the relevant material in the same package, ensuring that you separately attach the application fee to each corresponding application.

Failure to send the required materials together will generally result in the materials being returned to you. When your package is complete, send it to the U.S. Copyright Office at:

Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20559-6000

Learn more about how to copyright, and how to use the copyright sign.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kurt_Lehman

Basics On Copyrighting Your Photographs

This article is intended on providing only the basics about copyrighting your photographs within the United States (at this time of writing, 12-11-07). No legal advice is applied. For more detailed information you can visit the official Copyright website (URL below).

--As of March 1, 1989, copyright has been made automatic. The need to register with the Copyright Office is no longer required to provide protection. Once you create a picture, you own the copyright. A copyright notice (for example, a copyright symbol or watermark) is also no longer required to protect your photographs (excluding older works); however, many photographers continue to use to identify themselves and the date of creation.

--As a general rule, for works created on or after January 1, 1978 the copyright is legally yours throughout your life plus 70 years beyond that unless you decide to pass your rights on to another.

--Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary. Registered works (if registration occurs within 5 years of publication) serve as prima facie evidence (proof) of a valid copyright. Registered works may also be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation.

--If someone was to steal your photographs, they can be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 ($150,000 if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner) for each work infringed on and may also be liable for attorney's fees incurred by the copyright owner.

--Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.

--To register photographs you will use the Visual Arts form which you can find at the official Copyright website.

--The current fee is $45 per application. You may register a collection of photos on one application under one title.

--Registration takes effect the day all the required elements in acceptable form are received; however, it takes approximately 4 months to receive your certificate. I suggest sending your application requiring confirmation of delivery since you will not receive acknowledgment from the Copyright Office.

--You will be notified by the Copyright Office via a letter or a telephone call if further information is needed to complete your application.

--If your application is rejected, you will receive a letter explaining why.

--Works created on or after January 1, 1978, are not required to be renewed.

--Online registration is expected in the future.

--Unfortunately a copyright is not protected throughout the world. Not all, but most countries do honor each other's citizens' copyrights.

I hope you find this information helpful but be sure to visit the official Copyright website at www.copyright.gov before deciding whether or not you should register your photographs.

Diana Cooper specializes in nature and wildlife photography. http://www.dianasphotography.com and http://www.cafepress.com/dianasphotos

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Diana_Cooper

What Is Copyright?

Copyright initially was conceived as a way for government to restrict printing. It is defined as the legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher, or a distributor for exclusively producing or publishing their original work. Work that is not copyrighted is known to be available in the public domain, and anyone is free to access such work and use it without seeking permission from the original creator.

Any piece of work protected by the copyright, is usually denoted by a 'c' with a circle around it (which is the symbol for copyright), or the word 'Copyright', followed by the name of the copyright holder and the year of first publication.

Copyright laws are governed by the Copyright Act of 1976 and the work granted with copyright (for any work created after January 1, 1978) is protected for the lifetime of the creator of the work plus fifty years after his or her death. But for any work created before January 1, 1978 (that is, prior to the enactment of the copyright act), the copyright starts from January 1, 1978, and extends up to December 31, 2002. Prior to the enactment of the Copyright Act, the common law granted copyright protection to all forms of unpublished works. However, after the enactment of the Copyright Act, the rights made available by the common-law stood abolished.

Many feel that to restrain the flow of knowledge based resource from one generation to another by using copyrights and patents is ethically and morally incorrect and that it reflects a monopolistic nature to uphold the commercial interests of the rich and the influential.

About Author: Pauline Go is an online leading expert in legal industry. She also offers top quality legal tips to investor like:
Free Information On How To Beat A Speeding Ticket , Constitutional Rights And Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs, Steps For Getting A Patent

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pauline_Go