I heard it all now. $600 for a road sign anyone could have taken. I read a book by Nancy Wolff (professional photographer's legal handbook). It's actually a decent book and gives you insight as to how the "system" works. I believe this is the book where they talked about taking pictures of the golden gate bridge and some guy tried to copyright it and sue everyone. The judge ruled that anyone and their mother could have taken that shot and there was no artistic skill involved. He lost. Another example had a picture of someone standing infront of a sign/picture (prolly in New York) I believe. That artist/person tried to sue over the copyright he had on the sign. Judge said the sign wasn't the main focus of the picture. He lost. I'm not a professional, but at best, this guy might try and take you to court and get laughed at as you show a snapshot of the 0.3% of the screen he thinks he owns for $600. I think he owes you for the publicity you have given to him. I know if I ever want a shot of a sign post, I'll be knocking on his door. As a side note, most people think that just because they took the picture, it is copyrighted. That doesn't always hold up in court. I think now you have to go to the government website and pay for it. It's only $30 for a crap load of pictures and only takes a few minutes to do. Of course, as seen above, that doesn't always hold up in court either. The book I mentioned...you might want to read pages 126 and 127. Sorry ahead of time for your ordeal. If life was fair, everybody would have one. Best of luck.


Greg