“You can also add a 'digital watermark' which creates an invisible marker in the picture identifying it as yours, but this may not be very effective. Copyright generally lasts for 50 years after the death of the photographer. Find out more about digital watermarks in the About Photography feature on 'Your Photos Under Threat'.”
HOT TOPIC RESENTLY - Either there seems to be a rash of this dishonest and unethical behaviour or web site owners are just finding out that their treasured works have caught the eye of others who feel it is okay to use them as their own.”
“You work hard to come up with what you include on your web site and are probably more than willing to allow some of it to be paraphrased by others but when the culprit doesn’t even ask permission, you get that “heads will roll” feeling inside.”
“The World Intellectual Property Organization www.wipo.org, which is “an international organization dedicated to promoting the use and protection of works of the human spirit”, includes the definition of copyright on their web site, which reads, “Copyright is a legal term describing rights given to creators for their literary and artistic works.””
“With regard to copyright in relation to the Internet, WIPO has established two treaties, which outline, among other things, that each country “provide a framework of basic rights, allowing creators to control and/or be compensated for the various ways in which their creations are used and enjoyed by others.” More information on WIPO and its mandate can be found on the Copyright and Related Rights page of their web site.”
A warm THANK-YOU to Mr. Marshall and Ms. Byer for your enlightening and precise information on this topic ! Since this website has currently been a victim of a “copyright infringer” your knowledge on photo copyright laws will be invaluable to us.
Being on the Web Doesn't Make it Public Domain - Protect Your Rights:
“Copyright on the Web seems to be a difficult concept for people to understand. If you did not write or create the article, graphic, or data that you found, then you need permission from the owner before you can copy it. Remember, when you use someone's graphic, HTML, or text without permission, you are stealing, and they can take action against you.
“If you're not sure if an item is copyrighted, it probably is. Reproduction can include: printing a Web page; copying the HTML, JavaScript or other code of a page; downloading an image to your hard drive; and printing an image.”
“Even if a document or image on the Web does not have a copyright notice, it is still protected by copyright laws. If you are trying to protect your own work, it is always a good idea to have a copyright notice on your page, and you should also include your copyright in the alt text.”
“The most common types of copyright infringement on the Web are images being used on Web sites other than the owners. It doesn't matter if you copy the image to your Web server or point to it on their Web server. If you use an image on your Web site that you didn't create, you must get permission from the owner. It is also common for the text, HTML, and script elements of a page to be taken and reused. If you have not gotten permission, you have violated the owner's copyright."
“By: Jennifer KyrninA warm THANK-YOU to Ms. Kyrnin for her enlightening and precise information on this topic ! Since this website has currently been a victim of a “copyright infringer” your knowledge on website copyright laws will be invaluable to us.
SOURCES:
Peter Marshall; photographer:
Janice Byer
Jennifer Kyrnin
