But what about those memories that were captured by someone other than a friend or family member? What about the videotape you bought of your first skydive, or that time you went swimming with dolphins, or even the family portraits you had taken by a professional photographer? Or that local news segment you recorded from TV featuring your son and his little league team winning a tournament?

All of these are examples of third-party copyrighted material, but they are still YOUR memories, and you have a right to continue to enjoy them and pass them on. This is where a copyright release form comes into play. The release form provides legal means for us to digitize those items that are dear to you but were produced by a third party. They generally fall into two categories:

1. Copyrighted items that were produced and purchased specifically for personal use only.

i.e.: Swimming with the dolphins videos, skydiving videos, dance recitals, school plays, school band concerts, videos purchased from theme parks that feature the individual, family portraits.

2. Copyrighted material that was produced for public distribution and/or broadcast.

i.e.: Any TV programs, Hollywood or Independent films, or publicly broadcast sporting events that feature or incorporate you or a family member.

The key here is that you have a connection to the content. In other words, we cannot digitize 100 episodes of The Simpsons recorded from TV (unless you or someone you are close to was in them). Nor can we digitize your uncle's VHS collection of every Green Bay Packer game dating back to the early 80’s.

All in all, a copyright waiver allows us to continue doing what we do best: making sure your memories last a lifetime.