I am a beginning photographer and I give my clients a CD of their shoot. I need to know how to give them full copyright on the CD so they can go get their pictures printed anywhere they want. How do I go about doing that??
      Answer1:Most photographers type something up in Adobe or Word that releases all images to the client and they add it to the CD. Some places will let them use the CD as proof and others may ask them to print it out. Either way, if it is on the CD, your clients can download it to the computer and not lose it as they may with a hard copy.If you have your own letterhead, scan that and use it, if not, type it at the top of the release. "Snapper PhotosYour motto in italics123 Smith StreetSan Fran, CA 11111555-555-5555"Then in the body of the release it would be something like, "Snapper Photos gives all legal rights to ____(clients) for photos from session 01/01/2009. Snapper Photos is not responsbile for any damages or unsatisfactory work due to alterations or reproduction not performed by Snapper Photos."
      Answer2:They dont need to own the copyright, but will need a license from you for any duplication or online distribution of your copyrighted works. There is rarely any reason for you, as an independent contractor, to want to sell your copyrights. You should, however, have a variety of licenses available for various fees (in addition to your own service fees for initial work and proofs): client making hard copies, digital copies (CD, stick, etc), or internet posting of photos of which you are the author, for starters. Third-party licensing is a bit harder, as where a client wants to get permission to submit a photo (which you authored) to a newspaper or other journal, for further publication, distribution, archival and other media. You are often better negotiating such a license yourself, as the author.Note that licenses can also be restricted as to how many copies, the time limit, the field of use, and so forth, and can require royalties" that ratchet up or down according to the number of copies, type of use, etc. For example, you could authorize up to 10 copies for personal use, and a single digitized copy for internet distribution for non-commercial purposes, for a period of 5 years for a fixed fee, with no fee beyond 5 years, and with a one-percent royalty for any copies commercially distributed (i.e., for their profit or which would have denied you the profit of making the copies in your lab).If you REALLY want to transfer your ownership of a copyright, it can be done with a simple written and signed contract in which you "assign" (meaning transfer ownership) your right, title and interest in and to the identified works (typically worldwide) for a referenced sum (e.g., for "good and valuable consideration, the amount and sufficiency which is hereby acknowledged"). Note that under US law you (or your successors) can choose to later revoke such transfer (say 40 years later), regardless of what the contract says.