Copyright

claudiusmaxclaudiusmax Registered Users Posts: 78 Big grins
edited September 18, 2009 in SmugMug Support
I've noticed some of my pictures on Myspace that had the copyright protection on. How is this possible ?

Comments

  • photokandyphotokandy Registered Users Posts: 269 Major grins
    edited September 14, 2009
    I've noticed some of my pictures on Myspace that had the copyright protection on. How is this possible ?
    If it is online, it can be stolen.

    Any of the various protection methods are just there to try and deter people. Anyone with a little bit of web knowledge or enough determination will figure out a way to copy it if they really want to.

    A watermark can be as easily removed if it is at the edges; the only way to make it even a little difficult is to plop the watermark in the middle with some diagonal lines, but a lot of people actually won't bother to remove the watermark for something like myspace. They think, "hey, I'm crediting the photographer, that's enough, right?"

    You could complain to myspace or the account holder and let them know of the infringement, but in reality there is no real way to simultaneously let people see your pictures online and also prevent them from copying them somewhere else. That's just life on the web, unfortunately.
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  • claudiusmaxclaudiusmax Registered Users Posts: 78 Big grins
    edited September 14, 2009
    photokandy wrote:
    If it is online, it can be stolen.


    Any of the various protection methods are just there to try and deter people. Anyone with a little bit of web knowledge or enough determination will figure out a way to copy it if they really want to.

    A watermark can be as easily removed if it is at the edges; the only way to make it even a little difficult is to plop the watermark in the middle with some diagonal lines, but a lot of people actually won't bother to remove the watermark for something like myspace. They think, "hey, I'm crediting the photographer, that's enough, right?"

    You could complain to myspace or the account holder and let them know of the infringement, but in reality there is no real way to simultaneously let people see your pictures online and also prevent them from copying them somewhere else. That's just life on the web, unfortunately.




    Thanks for your reply Kerri. I had the watermark right in the middle which helped me spot the photo so quickly. Oh well, such is life.
  • NorthernBuckNorthernBuck Registered Users Posts: 99 Big grins
    edited September 18, 2009
    Thanks for your reply Kerri. I had the watermark right in the middle which helped me spot the photo so quickly. Oh well, such is life.

    I shoot college football and just found out they have my pictures in facebook. What I heard is that they use the "Print Preview" screen and then they do a print screen of the "Print Preview" screen to save the entire page to their computer. Then all they have to do is crop out everything but the picture. How can we fix this?
  • photokandyphotokandy Registered Users Posts: 269 Major grins
    edited September 18, 2009
    NorthernBuck,

    There is nothing you can do. Print-screen is an inherent feature of all operating systems and can't be disabled by a web page.

    So - you have a choice, essentially:

    1) showcase your work online, at the risk of it being copied
    2) take your work offline

    You can try to discourage people from copying your image with watermarks, but the more intrusive and annoying that watermark is will quite possibly adversely affect your sales (since no one else can see the image clearly).

    Or, some people don't care if the image is watermarked. They use it anyway - thinking that crediting the photog is sufficient.
    ~ Kerri, photoKandy Studios ( Facebook | Twitter )

    Need customization services? View our packages or see our templates.

    Note: I won't be offended if you edit my photo and repost it on dgrin -- I'm always open to new interpretations
    and ideas, and any helpful hints, tips, and/or critiques are welcome. Just don't post the edit anywhere else
    but dgrin, please.

    My Gear List
  • jfriendjfriend Registered Users Posts: 8,097 Major grins
    edited September 18, 2009
    I shoot college football and just found out they have my pictures in facebook. What I heard is that they use the "Print Preview" screen and then they do a print screen of the "Print Preview" screen to save the entire page to their computer. Then all they have to do is crop out everything but the picture. How can we fix this?
    To add to what PhotoKandy said, you have to realize that anything you display on the web can be taken. There are various deterrents, but they are ALWAYS circumventible. The browser after all is just an application so if the browser can display it, so can any other application, including an application that wishes to make a copy of it.

    So, in addition to what PhotoKandy suggested, you can also:
    1. Limit the size of what can be displayed on the internet to something pretty small. Then, you are at least making sure that no reasonable print can be made from what you have displayed online (at the risk of losing some sales because people can't really see enough of the image to appreciate it). This will probably not protect against facebook use because those sizes can be small and still be useful.
    2. Protect the image with a watermark. As has already been said, this often doesn't prevent people from displaying your image on other web site with the watermark intact, but does usually prevent them from making prints.
    3. Communicate to your intended audience (and perhaps in a visible spot in your site too) that these images are for sale only. In addition to print orders, digital copies of the images are also available for sale in both a facebook/myspace size and larger sizes. Any "borrowing" of the images by any other means for your own use is not permitted. Please respect my business and my copyright.
    4. Make something reasonably priced for use in Facebook and perhaps even offer a way that a high school age student could pay for it (given that they don't usually have credit cards).
    --John
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