Protecting Your Copyright

Protecting Your Copyright

This is a topic that drives people nuts. How do you protect your copyright for your photographs? This has always been a problem – but with digital images floating all over cyberspace, we are more vulnerable than ever. So, what do you do? I’ve heard so many opinions on this that it’s almost impossible to make sense of it all. Registering your photos with The Copyright Office is a good start – but it’s not easy to keep up with that… and the website isn’t exactly user-friendly. And then what do you do if someone uses your images illegally? First you have to find them, and then find yourself a lawyer to handle the complicated legal process. Some people suggest only posting images within a signed frame. Others say that’s not enough. You need to have your copyright information on the image itself – otherwise, anyone can just crop off your frame and go from there. Still others suggest that a watermark isn’t enough either. Anyone with a clone tool and five minutes of Photoshop experience can clone your watermark into oblivion, right? Some people even refuse to post their images online at all – but they’re missing out on the incredible marketing power of the world wide web.