The message that you received was laughable and very sad at the same time. People don't have a clue about intellectual property rights, copyrights, or any other rights related to what they see on the web, or the person that created them. If they see it on their screen, they assume that it's up for grabs, and that it's public domain. They will ignore copyrighted materials and steal what they can, and as much as they can. It's as much an indication of society's morals as it is of the openness of the web.

Unfortunately, the best solution for all of is - if you don't want it stolen, don't post it. However, many of us have no choice if we want to legitimately promote our business, skills, or just share stuff with others online.

I've recently been faced with providing security for a few images for a friend. Perhaps the best solution that I've been able to come up with is - creating a Password Protected (Security) PDF file, with a Watermark, for images that are posted online. It's certainly not the best visual thing to present to potential clients, but it might help deter theft of the images to some extent.

You couldn't write a more clueless e-mail. Thank him for giving *your lawyer* a target! Not often a thief comes by and introduces himself.

Jack - great perspective. I didn't even consider that angle.

If he was using images that "disappeared," were they streamed from Terry's site rather than copied over? (Not to excuse what was done - just wondered how that would have happened.)

Yep! The internet creates as well as solves problems.

This may or may not be desirable, but how about using a BIG copyright label on posted images that might, in fact, be a bit of advertising for the originator/copyright holder?

Mike's security suggestion would help in some cases but pose its own problems if an image is intended as promotional.

FWIW, illegal photocopying has been a serious problem in the print music world for as long as copiers have been in existence. The really sad result is that it has discouraged the publication of worthwhile new music, because publishers just can't justify the production/development expenses for stolen work. Composers/arrangers are cheated out of royalties and commissions. Various efforts by publishers to solve the problem haven't yet really done the job well. The internet is creating a similar issue for photographers.

This email has been floating around the internet for years. It was on fark.com yesterday.

We will never run out of stupid people

Is anyone using Digimarc? It's a Filter Plug-in for Photoshop, that allows embedding a watermark in your images. Pricing ranges from $79 to $499 per year. With the top of the line solution, you can even track images that are stolen. The embedded watermark can even be invisible. And, I think that with Security features you can prevent copying and printing. I'd be interested to know more about it, if anyone is using it. Can it be used for all images on a website, for instance. Chances are that it's not affordable for most people, but for Professional Photographers, it might be a solution.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave:
This email has been floating around the internet for years. It was on fark.com yesterday.

We will never run out of stupid people

I wonder if it is actually a spam/phishing email that "hopes" you'll write back & dispute & somehow compromise your computer and/or personal data. ???
The "Please contact me" part, rather poor writing ("i" instead of "I" for example) and "lawyer" threat are VERY VERY suspect.

Not to stray too far off subject but if you wanted to post your works without the watermark or something like that distorting the image, why not set up a website with a password to view it. At least if any of your work got out, you could narrow down the suspects.