Should You Copyright Your Body Parts?

"Revenge porn" has led to some very interesting court cases; you may be surprised to find out how far some people have had to go to protect themselves.

The concept of revenge porn--the unapproved sharing of private, generally explicit photos--has led to some very interesting grey areas. Obviously it's a violation and an exploitation, but it's forced the courts to face questions about who owns such photos, the subject or the photographer? Who has the rights? And how can you stop someone, legally, from posting photos of you on the internet?

Well, CNN has a very interesting video about just that:

So what recourse do victims have to a crime that's only illegal in 17 states and to which the law "hasn't caught up"? Registering for a copyright of the photos you don't want anyone to see.

Registering a copyright isn't difficult; but doing it right can be complicated and time-consuming. And you have to give the Copyright Office a copy of the material you want protected. When it involves intimate pictures, that means exposing yourself all over again -- this time to the government.
It made Hilary cringe. "I thought, well no, this must be wrong ... they're forcing me to disclose them further when that's what I was trying to prevent."
(The U.S. Copyright Office told CNNMoney that only the person processing the application would see the pictures.)
All told, Hilary made three different registrations for a total of over 100 images. She tried to supply stills from the videos instead of the actual videos as part of her application but was denied. She ultimately chose not to copyright the videos.
Hilary's pictures were not put in the Library of Congress (a request for special relief can prevent that), but her real name and the titles of the images do appear in its public catalog. One of the titles refers to her lingerie.

Pretty remarkable how much catching up we have to do, but it makes sense considering how long it takes for any laws to go through. And with technology developing at absolute light speed, it's going to be interesting to see what measures are taken to make sure people are protected.