Instaproofs - Blog

How to Deal with your Photographs Getting Stolen on the Internet

Escape the Fate - Wiltern Theater - 2014
 
              Social networking and online photography galleries are some of the most powerful tools available to you as a photographer today. Through websites such as Instaproofs, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter you can reach a slew of potential new clients and share your art with the world. A few simple clicks can get you found by huge companies and land you thousand-dollar jobs! However, posting your photography online comes with an unavoidable risk as well: Your artwork getting stolen. Fans of bands will use your concert photography, pet blogs will 'borrow' your dog photos, and companies will take your portraits as if they are stock images. Unfortunately, there is no way to completely eliminate this hazard. But there are preventative measures you can take to make a thief's work more difficult. Remember: No one is allowed to use your work without your expressed consent.
 
              Let’s start this post off with a few ways to be a nuisance for art thieves that are stealing your photography: watermarks, formatting, and metadata. Watermarks are marks on an image that identify the creator, aka: you. Watermarks can range from logos at the corner of a photograph to transparent text across an image. Although a watermark will not prevent thieving fully, it has two significant advantages: 1. when your image gets re-posted, people will know that you are the creator and 2. thanks to Section 1202 of the U.S. Copyright Act, anyone that removes your watermark (via cloning or cropping) to hide the infringement has committed a crime and can face fines anywhere from $2,500 to $25,000. Of course, it is recommended to consult your attorney at that point, but, watermarks are an absolute godsend to artists everywhere. Contrary to popular belief, you actually do not need to register your image for this law to be applicable! See, as a creator of creative content, a form of copyright is automatically applied to your work at the moment of creation. This copyright lasts your entire lifespan, and a number of years after your death.
 
 
              Next, formatting. Essentially, you want to alter your images so that they are useful for web viewing only. Resizing and compressing prevents people from making quality prints off of your work. You want to size your photos so that they are too small to make adequate prints, and compress the images so that the quality is not as strong when you enlarge. My personal preference is to resize images at 800x800 pixels and save in a lower quality (photo editing programs will allow you to select what quality your images are saved in).
 
              Finally, metadata. You can add copyright information, author information, location information, and more into the image file through metadata. Metadata can easily be added with programs such as Lightroom and Photoshop, and some cameras will even add the information to the images for you automatically as well. Many websites, such as Facebook, automatically attach this information to the image's description box, and regardless of where the image goes the metadata stays with it. Like your watermark, the metadata cannot legally be removed by a 3rd party with the intent of stealing or improperly using your images.
 
              Now, say that despite your best efforts, your image does get stolen. You will understandably feel angry and upset over the situation, but the first thing you should do is take a few deep breaths and decide whether or not it is worth doing something about, or whether it is best to just leave it be. Sometimes it truly isn’t worth the battle! If the photograph in question has no significant value, the website isn’t making a profit, or the image doesn’t necessarily benefit you in any way, it’s probably not worth spending too much time worry about. On the other hand, if the image is worth being belligerent over, or if you feel that you are being specifically taken advantage of, you have a couple of options:


A.      Politely ask the culprit to remove the image or add your credit. This is best used in situations where the person in question is not profiting off of your work, or when it is clear that they are simply ignorant of copyright law. The response you receive from this type of request may not always be a positive one, but there are instances where you can actually find clients through these means! If the culprit ignores your request or responds very negatively to it, you can contact the webmaster to remove the image and/or proceed to approach B.
 
B.      Send a take-down notice or a cease and desist order. These are legal letters written to the thief or their web host demanding that they remove your copyrighted material from their website, account, profile, etc. You can find sample templates via Google, or contact an attorney. This is best used in cases where approach A has failed or you want the photograph removed immediately. If the infringer is profiting off of your work, you can also send them an invoice along with the take-down notice to charge them a licensing fee for its use up to that point. Of course, there are risks involved in sending such letters yourself, and it is highly advisable that you contact an attorney to help you through this ordeal.
 
C.      Sue. File a copyright infringement lawsuit against the perpetrator. This method is best used when your stolen image is generating a profit or providing a substantial benefit to the thief, and they have ignored your other contact and invoicing attempts. In situations such as these, it's time to get that lawyer friend of yours involved! 
 
               So which of these method should you use?  Well, that's really up to you and the specific circumstances around the situation.  Your first step might be to head to Google and research other cases involving stolen photographs to see how others have dealt with similar situations, and then use that information to help you decide where to go from there.

               As a side-note, online photo storefront providers such as Instaproofs have built-in methods to help you combat thievery! When you upload photo proofs to your photography storefront, you have the option of adding watermarks to your images. Additionally, the ‘right click’ save options have been disabled, direct linking to the images is disabled, and printing the page results in a simple blank page.
 
 
Anabel DFlux is a California native who prefers to spend every waking moment with her trusty camera in hand. In 2009 she started her own photography business on a whim and a wish, and has since gone on to work for a variety of publications, companies, and unique clients throughout the country. With her foot in a variety of photographic doors, Anabel is recognized as a zealous individual with a passion for art that knows no bounds.