New way to protect on line images?

[Shelly1204]

There's a couple of new Copyright protection service companies popping up, that for a fee, will monitor your content on the net by embedding it with traceable something or other. But, they're working on perfecting a technology that uses the order of the pixels in the image to trace when your image pops up on the net, and send you alerts.

I don't think the technology is quite there yet, but I think it's foreshadowing the ability to track use of your pictures in the next couple of years. Interesting.

 

[chammer]

if its embedded information inside the jpg file itself like exif data, then it can easily be gotten around by someone taking a screenshot of the image and cropping and posting that version since it wont contain that tracking information.

unfortunately, with computers, there's always a way around something if someone wants it badly enough. it can be made a complete hassle to deter the majority, but the determined will still get what they want.

 

[Josh66]

Yeah - this comes up from time to time, and basically - the final word is "if you can see it, you can steal it". The only 100% sure way to prevent theft is to not make it available to those who would like to steal it.

It would be nice to know where my pictures are being posted/used though...

As long as 'whoever' credits me, and links to where they got the picture from - I don't have any problem with people showing off my work for me.

That is my personal opinion (for now, lol) - I'm sure many people will feel much differently about it.

 

[chammer]

yea, i dont much care either so long as credit/link to my site or flickr is included. i take pictures because i enjoy them, and if others find enjoyment from them as well then even better. even if i were shooting professionally that'd be the case.

the only problem i'd have, obviously, is if someone takes my images and turns a profit from them by plastering them all over mouse pads, mugs, prints, etc. i think it'll be hard though as the biggest image i upload anymore is only 800px on the longest edge, and more often than not now even 533px on the longest edge.

 

[Josh66]

the only problem i'd have, obviously, is if someone takes my images and turns a profit from them by plastering them all over mouse pads, mugs, prints, etc. i think it'll be hard though as the biggest image i upload anymore is only 800px on the longest edge, and more often than not now even 533px on the longest edge.

Yeah, I think I'd be kinda upset about that too...

Lately, I've been uploading the full size pictures to my flickr. My family lives thousands of miles away from me, so I do it so they can see what I'm up to, and get good prints if they want to.

 

[Josh66]

Most of the stuff I put on there is just family snapshots, I can't imagine people making money off of it, but you never know...

I do have stuff (full size even) that *could* sell on there though.

I'm probably just being stupid, but right now I don't care. When I make it big I will delete it all, lol!

In a way, it has already paid off for me (a little). I have a pro account on flickr - that was given to me in exchange for pictures. Pictures that I retain copyright of, and got full credit for. Yeah, it's pretty much free - but I know where they are being used, and what they are being used for - so I'm cool with it.

 

[Shelly1204]

if its embedded information inside the jpg file itself like exif data, then it can easily be gotten around by someone taking a screenshot of the image and cropping and posting that version since it wont contain that tracking information.

unfortunately, with computers, there's always a way around something if someone wants it badly enough. it can be made a complete hassle to deter the majority, but the determined will still get what they want.

Right, hence the technology to trace your image by the order/type/color of the pixels. In other words, if someone deletes your EXIF, or re-posts a screen capture of your image, it will still be traceable, as long as it remains substantially in the same form as your original (which, no doubt, will be the new route that thieves will take to get away with swiping images- changing enough of the pixels around. But then it might be considered a new "artistic" work anyway under copyright law..round and round the circle we go).

 

[chammer]

Most of the stuff I put on there is just family snapshots, I can't imagine people making money off of it, but you never know...

I do have stuff (full size even) that *could* sell on there though.

I'm probably just being stupid, but right now I don't care. When I make it big I will delete it all, lol!

In a way, it has already paid off for me (a little). I have a pro account on flickr - that was given to me in exchange for pictures. Pictures that I retain copyright of, and got full credit for. Yeah, it's pretty much free - but I know where they are being used, and what they are being used for - so I'm cool with it.

same here. i've already off loaded all my lightroom stuff to my fileserver and started over from scratch at the start of this month as most of it was garbage and my poor laptops hard drive is only 320gb. since i've been shooting in raw more often that space was being eaten up like crazy. over 100gb of shots since last september .

once i have a bit more serious stuff added to flickr i'll remove the crummy shots (which is most of them), and only post the stuff which is good enough to post which has been my recent strobist stuff. going back though is really neat, however. its funny to think that at one point i thought that stuff was good, but most of it is over processed, over saturated, poorly exposed piles of crap lol. if someone wants those they can certainly have them...i really dont care.

i dont really share my stuff with family yet mostly because of what i shoot at this point in time, and partially because im not a family type person. pretty much no one sees my stuff other than the few images i post here, and the couple of puppies pictures i send to my mom here and there. a few of my flickr images were uploaded full size, but i have download full size images disabled. prints made to date have been for personal use.