Proposed US Bill Reduces Fees and Barriers to Copyrighting Photos

A new bill that is being proposed by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wants to make it less expensive for visual artists, which includes photographers, to protect their work. Called the Visual Artists Copyright Reform Act of 2025 (VACRA), it wants to reduce fees associated with copyright protection, “ensuring that professional creators can afford to register all their works.”

The bill is co-sponsored by Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) and strongly supported by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). It is the result of “years of effort” from the ASMP and its sister organizations. The ASMP bills it as the largest step forward in recent history to “modernize and simplify the copyright registration process for photographers and all visual creators; thereby allowing these artists to finally receive the promise and protection of copyright law.”

VACRA focuses on increased limits for group registration submissions, deferred registrations, subscription models, and third-party registries — four key areas that alleviate what ASMP describes as widespread pain points faced by hundreds of thousands of creators.

“VACRA breaks down the barriers that prevent so many creators and photographers across the country from being able to protect the fruits of their life’s work and passion,” ASMP Chief Executive Officer Thomas Maddrey says.

“These sorely needed and common-sense reforms are long overdue and are a first step in bringing so many artists back into the very copyright system that is designed to support their efforts in the creative economy. ASMP applauds Senators Blackburn and Welch for their leadership and support of VACRA, and the far-reaching effects this bill will have on photographers and all visual creators in this country.”

VACRA would increase the cap on group photo registrations to 3,000 works, up from 750, and would order the US Copyright Office to create a new deferred registration option for photo, graphic, and sculptural works, reducing the cost of a deferred registration by half and delay examination of those works until the copyright owner requests it, Bloomberg Law reports. Additionally, a work’s registration would become effective the day a deferred application is submitted, which would allow a copyright owner to enforce that copyright in court even if it hasn’t been examined by the Office.

The bill would also get rid of a current requirement that group registrations of published photographs only include those that were published in the same calendar year — and they must also be registered separately from unpublished photos. The bill would instead allow registrations to occur “without regard to publication status, date of publication, or date of creation.”

“Visual artists produce incredible work that deserves to be protected, but current copyright law has fallen short,” Senator Blackburn says. “This bill would fix a broken system by cutting unnecessary costs and bureaucracy, helping America’s creative community thrive.”

The bill also calls for the Copyright Office to create a searchable registry of electronic copies of copyrighted photos. Because the Office would have to build that system, the bill would allow Copyright Office-certified private-sector registries of photographs until that time.

“ASMP and NANPA have worked closely with PPA and many others in the Coalition of Visual Associations to get to the point where this legislation is now a reality. But the work is not yet done, and we will be asking not only our 7,200+ Members, but all photographers and visual creators, to do their part to help support this bill as it takes the next steps to becoming law,” Maddrey adds.

The full VACRA bill can be read here.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.