Web site pictures: Legal copyright ownership issues?

[Ken W2KB]

To expand on the above post, think of it this way.
1. You may sell the original and put in a sale contract that the buyer cannot publish the original.
2. If the buyer publishes the original, you must claim enough damages in good faith to cover lawyer fees and court costs, then have something left over for yourself.
3. It's hard to, in good faith, claim enough damages, unless you're somebody like David Lustig or Richard Steinheimer, and expect to get decent royalties from a book with those pics.
4. If your damages claims aren't in good faith, the judge will throw your case out or give your lawyer hell for failure to do due dilligence.

I'm not a lawyer [yet], so make sure you have a contracted and paid consultation with a licensed lawyer in your state before you act on any advice like mine.

Good advice, but one point. Copyright is a federal right and thus the state of admission of the lawyer doesn't matter with respect to obtaining legal advice.