Copyright -

Who owns the copyright?

The minute any original content is created, be it a photo, painting, text or piece of music, it is copyrighted to its creator.

There's no need to register, if you created it then it is legally yours and should not be used without your consent. There is no register of copyrighted works for the UK and no legal need to place large watermarks on your images. Once you make it, it is automatically copyrighted. The most notable exception would be if you were working for a photography company, then your employers will retain copyright of all work you do for them.

Copyright Infringements -
What counts as copyright infringement?

If your image gets used in the following ways without your consent, it’s a copyright infringement:

Distributed
Reproduced (example: photocopied etc..)
Displayed publically
Publicly performed (in a show)

You can legally take action against the guilty party and request that all use of your imagery be withdrawn.

Even if your work was used accidentally, adjusted to appear different, posted with a disclaimer citing you as the owner or immediately removed from use, you can enforce your rights of ownership. In most cases, copyright infringement is settled with the payment of an agreed fee.

I hope this helps,

EDUK