Watermarking for Digital
Images
Watermarking your work can be a
way to protect your art from pirates, but nothing is foolproof. There are a
couple of different types of watermarking you can use: visible and invisible.
Invisible Watermarks: Can
be used for copyright protection and recognition of digital images.
Unfortunately an invisible watermark may slightly alter your image. Also the
technique is so new that there is not yet an “industry standard.” Please be
aware also, that watermarking has not yet been tested in the court. However,
most commercial printers such as Kinkos and Copy Max’s Impress use software
that can detect watermarks and will refuse to make copies when they detect
them. Eikonamark is one of the Software programs available for casting
"invisible" watermarks on digital images and detecting these
watermarks. However, I have never used it so I don’t know how much distortion
it will cause to your images.
Visible Watermarks: Putting a
visible watermark on art that you post to your website identifies it as yours
and hopefully discourages pirates. If you have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements,
look under the “Security” section of the setup dialog. You can add a semi-transparent
overlay to many images automatically when you use the Web Photo Gallery Creator
feature. Watermark Factory is one of the software programs to help you to protect
images. You can add a visible watermark to your digital images and photos. The
watermark can be your copyright or the URL of your site or your logo or just
about anything else you choose.
Books on and about Copyright
The Permission
Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle by Joy R. Butler
All About Right for
Visual Artists by
Ralph E Lerner & Judith Bresler
The Professional
Photographer's Legal Handbook by Nancy E Wolff
The Writer's Legal
Guide: An Authors Guild Desk Reference by Tad Crawford & Kay Murray
Digital Copyright By
Jessica Litman
