Corbis Copyright Registrations Issues

Dear ASMP members:

I wanted to let you know about a decision that came down this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of NY. The name of the case is Muench Photography, Inc. v. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. et al. In essence, it invalidates most, if not all, of the copyright registrations that Corbis has made for its photographers.

The decision is brand new and will go through every level of appeal, starting with a motion for reconsideration. Lawyers for PACA and Coris are working with the Copyright Office on work-arounds to protect the photographers’ copyrights. We are actively involved in this and all of its ramifications, and we will keep you posted.

If you have photographs that have been registered at the Copyright Office by Corbis, you should contact Corbis to discuss the situation and what actions Corbis might recommend.

Have a good week-end,

VicVictor S. Perlman General Counsel & Managing Director American Society of Media Photographers