Let them steal

I've never defaced any image I've produced with a stupid watermark. So what if someone wants to steal a low res JPEG version of it I've posted on the net.

I do however digitally watermark them. It's invisible, can't be seen or detected.... survives manipulation, EXIF stripping and crops. I can prove it's mine should I need to.
 
Last edited:
It's not stealing. It has its own word to describe it - infringement.


Steve.
 
OK.. if they wish to infringe my copyright.... Pedantry aside, we all know what we're discussing here: The illegal use of someone else's images.
 
I agree with what he says about picking your battles, I'm not going to take another using my work for their own commercial gain, especially if that involves them using it to sell their own 'ability'. But thats not the same as smiling and moving on when someones using a few of my photos on her personal blog (for example)
 
The largest images I put on any website are 850 pixels in the longest dimension. They are of no real use to anyone other than re-using them on a website so I'm not really bothered.

No one can take an image that small and use it to make prints to sell.

boyfalldown said:
especially if that involves them using it to sell their own 'ability'.
Click to expand...

That's not going to happen with any of mine. Perhaps someone might use one in a photography book as an example of what not to do!


Steve.
 
Last edited:
Anybody notice the irony of using a link bait rant about letting people "steal" work as an ad for selling an eBook?

Authors really shouldn't worry so much about DRM.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Anybody notice the irony of using a link bait rant about letting people "steal" work as an ad for selling an eBook?

Authors really shouldn't worry so much about DRM.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Peter F Hamilton insists on no DRM on his e-books. I've still bought every single book he's published.
 
Pookeyhead said:
I've never defaced any image I've produced with a stupid watermark. So what if someone wants to steal a low res JPEG version of it I've posted on the net.

I do however digitally watermark them. It's invisible, can't be seen or detected.... survives manipulation, EXIF stripping and crops. I can prove it's mine should I need to.
Click to expand...

Can I ask what you are using to digitally watermark them? Is it a digital steganography type system?
 
graphilly said:
Can I ask what you are using to digitally watermark them? Is it a digital steganography type system?
Click to expand...


Sorry.. I thought this thread had died.


I use Digimarc.

The thing I love about it, is the watermark is invisible, even to other Digimarc users until you enter a password into the software as it's web based.. you sign into your account, and manage your images there, and it has search functions and web crawlers to search for images with your watermark signature. If your password doesn't match the watermark password account, you can't even see the information. Obviously, everyone else can't see it either. It can't be removed, it survives pretty much all post processing, cropping, and manipulation.

Beats defacing your images with a huge, ugly watermark.

It's not cheap though. The pro version with the features I listed above (and more) is $100 and that's only for up to 2000 images. After that, you pay another $100.


There are probably alternatives.. I've not checked.
 
Last edited:
Pookeyhead said:
Sorry.. I thought this thread had died.


I use Digimarc.

The thing I love about it, is the watermark is invisible, even to other Digimarc users until you enter a password into the software as it's web based.. you sign into your account, and manage your images there, and it has search functions and web crawlers to search for images with your watermark signature. If your password doesn't match the watermark password account, you can't even see the information. Obviously, everyone else can't see it either. It can't be removed, it survives pretty much all post processing, cropping, and manipulation.

Beats defacing your images with a huge, ugly watermark.

It's not cheap though. The pro version with the features I listed above (and more) is $100 and that's only for up to 2000 images. After that, you pay another $100.


There are probably alternatives.. I've not checked.
Click to expand...

I hope they have improved their software in the past few years because it wasn't that long ago that you could remove a Digimarc watermark as easily as it was put on. At one time a simple resize could remove it :)
 
Then they must have done. I couldn't shift mine no matter what I tried.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top