Jeffrey D. Mathias (jeffrey.d.mathias@worldnet.att.net)
Wed, 03 Nov 1999 07:42:20 -0500
Jonathan Hall wrote:
>
> How do I protect my images on a web site from being stolen? I wish to start
> a site and would like to put my images on but am afraid some one will use
> them without my permission is there any way to prevent or at least make it
> difficult for one to do so?
Campos & Davis has the right idea. A digital watermark will provide you
with some sort of proof of ownership. However there is nothing to
prevent one from using the image as is (watermark and all). The essence
of copyright is that IF someone derives a benefit from one's work, the
author may claim damages (revenue that might otherwise be their own).
However, realize that not all countries recognize international
copyright law (some do not even have copyright protection within their
own boundaries. The best recourse is a preemptive strike of low
resolution.
For those places that do adhere to copyright law, there is another
catch. One must make money off the infringement. This must be enough
gain so as to fund a legal professional and staff and the pursuit
through the court system. This is unlikely unless the culprit is a
large company like, as Judy put it, a Walmart.
For the lonely, bankrupt, thieven photograbber, the threat of being
labeled a plagiarist may serve as a deterrent. Not to many publishers
will deal with known plagiarists (bad for their reputation).
And concerning the alt-processes, an electronic facsimile is nothing
like an alt-print.
The best of all situations seems to be to put the low resolution,
digitally watermarked, images out there. Hope that others can
appreciate them and purchase prints. And, not to different from
fishing, just wait for some big, wealthy corporation to grab one and sue
the pants off them. I guess your worry should be that perhaps some
corporation will sell millions of your image and will make you and your
attorneys some profit.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
P.S. If someone really wanted to steel your work, it would seem more
likely that they could purchase a print and duplicate it. They would
get much better results and could claim they were under the impression
that they had purchased rights to use.
-- Jeffrey D. Mathias http://home.att.net/~jeffrey.d.mathias/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Sun Dec 05 1999 - 17:09:23