Professional Photographers of America Launches Copyright Awareness Campaign

April is Copyright Awareness Month

ATLANTA, Ga. (PRWEB) March 31, 2015

This April, Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is offering photographers opportunities to better learn their copyrights and inform their local photo retailers. The goal is to reduce copyright infringement on photography nationwide.

Chances are most photographers have had their copyrights infringed upon at some point in their career. The worst part is both the photographer and the retailer probably didn't even know it. Often retailers commit or allow copyright infringements simply because they do not fully grasp that they actually have some responsibilities.

But PPA wants to help make sure it doesn't happen again. April is Copyright Awareness Month and as such, photographers can work with PPA to better inform photo retailers across the United States. Local retailers (including the big ones like Target, CVS and Walmart) might just be printing whatever comes in and not checking for copyrights.

"No one wants to infringe the law," said Lindsey Forson, coordinator of PPA's copyright and government affairs coordinator. "You can help them know what they don't know. And most large chain stores don't offer systematic training for their in-store lab attendants or clerks. They will appreciate you helping protect their business, while you will also be protecting your own work. It's a win-win."

Photographers can inform and train their local photo retailers by signing up to participate in PPA's copyright awareness month program. As soon as anyone signs up, PPA will send them the "Helpful Tips For Handling Professional Photographs" brochure to use as an icebreaker.

"The most important point to get across to printing retailers is ‘when in doubt, never print or reproduce a professionally-created photograph without written consent from the photographer," said Forson. "This is a great way for photographers to protect their images, especially since such a critical part of photography revenues come from printed work."

In addition, photographers can better learn their rights through PPA's live webinar: Are Your Images Protected? Thursday, April 23, 2015 , from 3 to 4 p.m. ET. The webinar is free for all to tune in.

About PPA:
Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is the largest international nonprofit association created by professional photographers, for professional photographers. Almost as long-lived as photography itself, PPA's roots date back to 1869. It assists more than 27,500 members through protection, education and resources for their continued success. See how PPA helps photographers be more at PPA.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/04/prweb12623995.htm