Forum Moderators: not2easy
Basically, I've written a few copyright policies in my past but normally it's for written works and not photographic works and was looking for some guidance.
Any input about protecting my client's rights would be most appreciated.
One difference between images and text, perhaps, is the ease with which images are stolen for use on other sites - hence the use of watermarks by sites expecting to make money from images. Text can be stolen too, but usually only makes sense in its original context - a good image, in contrast, can be put to many uses.
Stock photography agencies and reputable print/web publishers will probably never attempt to utilize your client's photos without approval. For the rest of the world, it comes down to striking a balance between the cost of prevention/deterrence and producing an enjoyable experience for site visitors.
In my case I've come to realize that if people want to download images, there's little that can be done to prevent it. I can, however, deter it through a combination of coding, compression/resizing, watermarking, and plain old fashioned copyright statements.
Coding: I suggest you do the simple things like disabling the image toolbar in IE and right click options (I've done the first, haven't done the second yet.)
Compression/Resizing: I never put originals or even high resolution photos on the site. I compress and resize to a point that balances viewing quality with file size. In most cases this provides a nice looking image on the screen that looks terrible when printed.
Watermarking: I haven't done this yet - still researching the issues.
Copyright: Most on-line photography sites have simple "Copyright 200X by .... all rights reserved" statements. My understanding is that your content is protected regardless of whether this statement is on the site, but it does seem to deter people (I've had email and calls asking for permission to download photos.) There is a copyright registration process that is managed by the Library of Congress, but it can get expensive for a large photo collection.
Anyway, hope this longwinded response helps.
I'm thinking a standard copyright policy combined with my current efforts should be sufficient.
Thanks for the help.
You can register a website as a collection with the Copyright Office, form VA and update it regularly as you add new images. Cost $30.
I never place JPGs on my pages except as thumbnails. I embed the images in Flash files, which essentially disables right-click downloads by enabling "protect from import" in the publish settings.
I don't like methods that prevent hijacking of images because they can prevent people from using the site.
Unfortunately digital watermarking, like with Digimarc, does not work with .swf files, even if you watermark the jpgs before placing them in your Flash files. But digital watermarking is not foolproof either, so I opt to prevent right-click downloading which I think is the source of most of the copyright infringement on the Internet.
I agree whole heartedly with strategically posting a copyright notice and creating a copyrights page on the site, educating users/visitors.
Usage policy is strictly up to each individual.
If you use photo's on his website, you should watermark them and put a statement saying that these pictures are not allowed to be used with out permission of the owner. Did you ever see pictures posted that had the word "SAMPLE" embedded into the picture? You should do that too.
Debbie
Strictly speaking, even possession of the negative or tranparency is not proof of ownership, as having a painting is no proof that you also own the copyrights.
Registration is proof of ownership in a court in the US (unless that registration is challenged somehow) so a timely registration of your work may be an important step in this process of establishing proof in a digital age.
Create a portfolio website, upload your images in batches and register as often as makes sense to your work flow - I upload around 100 new images every three months, so I update my photo registration (US form VA) about every three months.
I also create greeting cards with my photos and animations, and I sometimes have joint copyrights with composers, so I register additional copyrights for the text (US form TX) and the performances (US form PA) and for the musical compositions that I hold joint copyrights, I also register them seperately (US form SR).
To manage the costs, I register batches, or collections of the works as they are presented on websites. I know that registering websites is acceptable in the US and in Canada and I bet this is true in the UK/EU as well. Files from the website on CD are used as the deposit.
