"Watch Your Back!" Photographers' Rights in the 21st Century

Please RSVP early as we need to be sure and arrange adequate seating.

If you don't want to become a member of this group but still want to attend - no problem - just show up and it will be $20 at the door BUT NO PROMISE OF A SEAT

This talk will introduce photographers to the concepts of protection, management, and merchandising of their work by long time NY professional photographer, visual arts lawyer and educator Len Speier.

Attendees can expect to receive basic overview of Copyright law and the procedures specific to ownership of your images. Len will explain if and when you should consider copyright registration, and the procedure to register. You will become familiar with the aspects of sales of images and licensing of your work. In addition to that vital information, Len will speak about pitfalls in the system and how to deal with copyright infringement. Expect practical legal information for photographers such as what and who can be photographed and the need for model releases to be covered.

Len will also cover the legalities associated with shooting on the street.

This seminar will answer your basic questions about your rights as a photographer and educate you on the concept of copyright.

Len Speier

As native New Yorker, Len Speier was taken with photography from the time his late uncle Sam gave him a primitive film developing kit on his 13th birthday. Despite college, a stint with the First Cavalry Division on Occupation Duty in Japan at the end of WWII, followed by NYU Law School and a private practice, Len, somehow, returned to his first love, the photo arts, and has been completely engaged for over forty years.

Combining law with photography when he taught at the New School led Len to develop a course entitled: “What Every Photographer Should Know about the Law”. He also taught at FIT for over 16 years retiring as Associate Professor in 2006. Len has also done extensive lecturing on copyright, photography, and related topics at photo organizations, colleges, camera clubs and at the NYS Art Teachers’ Association.

His work is in the Permanent Collection of the International Center of Photography (ICP), Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), Museum of the City of New York, Photo Archive of the New York Public Library, and numerous professional and private collections. Len was also a mentor for ten years for the NAACP program entitled, “ACT-SO”. Len has also had his work at the Darkroom/Vermont Photospace Gallery.

www.lenspeier.com (http://www.lenspeier.com/)

Procedes from this event will go towards paying off our projector purchase.

We will need an apple computer capable of playing a Keynote presentation.