How to protect images on line?

[bellflower]

I'm curious about image protection if used on line. What ways are used to protect the images that are online. If there is no protection, what happens? Thanks, bellflower.

[kex]

I don't think there's a real protection for content in the internet.

If you don't want your photos to be used on other websites, don't publish them on the internet.

As long as the browser shows pictures, you can still steal pictures from the net.

The most complicated way would be to hit the "print" key and cut the picture out.
Difficult but not impossible. if anybody wants your pictures, he'll get 'em I guess.

[calr]

I don't know if Photoshop has this capability but Paint Shop Pro has the ability to put an electronic watermark in the image file. Nothing appears in the image itself. You have to register your watermark (a name or nickname) with a special clearing house and then you can insert it into the file. The advantage of this is that if someone takes your image from the internet and uses it, you have a relatively foolproof way of positively identifying it. PSP can read the watermarks in an image belonging to someone else, but if you are not the owner of the mark, you can't alter or delete it.

Another method is to conceal identifiable marks or letters in the image itself. Thomas Kinkade, the "Painter of Light" places about 16-18 letter "N" in each of his paintings. These letters appear in many different forms. They mignt be in a sign on a shop, a street sign, on a bus, in an architectural shape. In a photograph, you do something similar with text that is nearly transparent and blends so closely with the background that it you didn't know it was there, you'd never see it.

I hope these ideas are helpful.

Cal Rasmussen

[hedwards]

I haven't personally used this, but i seem to remember a thread about it quite a while ago. http://www.moonlight-software.com/webcrypt.htm

[JimC]

You'll have to ask Ken Rockwell. See the text at the bottom of this page:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/gallery.htm

I had to laugh when I read Paragraph 4. :lol:

[RyanH]

You could put a large semi-transparent watermark through the middle of the image. People could look at your image, but stealing it to print would do them no good. Here is an example - (BTW,I did not take this pic. Found it on a photographers website)

[ImKayd1]

From a professional photographer on another forum. His suggestion is to strip the exif data from you photos before you post. That your Exif data is your proof of ownership.

I've been adding my copywrite info to my Exif data. But is anything truly safe? I don't know. Maybe adding a clear proof mark like Ryan, but that can't be done if entering photo-of-the-day contests.



Suzan

[eric s]

I have several thoughts along this topic.

1) Putting text on the picture, especially transparent text, is easily removed. This topic came up before, and someone demonstrated this with about 5 minutes of work. I was shocked how well it was removed. I am not good enough at PS to do it myself, but I bet I could with some research.

2) Put your copyright mark into the picture. Put it in the EXIF data, and into the picture. If you find the picture stolen and that info is gone then you can use that as CLEAR PROOF that the person intentionally removed the copyright and intended to steal it. Catching them is the problem, of course. But proving becomes easier.

3) Bascially, no one here does anything to protect their images. Just the way it is. We're a trusting lot, and probably blind in this respect. I am sure that some people steal our images and either claim them as their own or at least use them without our permission. Someone told me they printed out my pictures and gave them to a friend recovering from chemotherapy. Technically that is a copyright violation, but I didn't point it out to them (and my doing that, I've probably give up my rights to those pictures... sad, but true.)

4) If the user can display it on their screen, they can always take a picture of their monitor. Nothing can prevent that. I know of a system which uses a plugin and a propritary format to protect images. It claims to stop everything (except screen pictures, of course.) Even screen grabbers. I doubt that it is worth it, certainly isn't worth it for a forum like this.

5) BTW, RyanH, you violated that photographers copyright by posting their image here. You didn't claim it as your own, so that is good. But in a discussion about image theft (and copyright) you violated someones copyright. :?

6) I also participate in some professional forums as well. The general opinions there seem to be that there is little you can do. Only post small pictures, making the theft not worth much. Sure, they could make a 4x6, maybe. But you wouldn't have sold them that picture any ways... it's too small and not worth the hassle... and someone who would steal it would probably not buy it.

Eric

[RyanH]

Yup, I technically did violate that persons copyright by taking it and posting it. But as you stated, we are all a trusting bunch here on Steve's and our intentions are not to steal others' pics, but to learn from others.

[bellflower]

Thanks for your interesting thoughts on this topic. I was curious aboutit and what it means for me to post images somewhere. I enjoyed Ken Rockwell's commentary.:-)