How Digital Watermarks Combat Copyright Infringement

Thanks to the Internet, anybody can share photos at the speed of light. However, this does not always mean you want people sharing your pictures. Just head to Google or any search web site, and you can find personal photos of just about anybody. Most people do not even realize that web sites like Photobucket and Webshots allow search engines to spider images made for public viewing. This can create a problem where somebody begins sharing personal photos of you on a vacation or at work or just having a good time when you really do not want them to. Using digital watermarks, you can safeguard your images from being used by other people and make it hard for them to pass photos you took off as their own.

Digital watermarking allows a person to hide copyrights on audio, video or images. This information usually includes the maker, the copyright itself and any other data the owner wants to include. Watermarking began as a way to keep money from being copyrighted and developed into ways on the world wide web to keep documents and other items safe from being reproduced or shared without credit.

The Internet is now rampant with illegal file sharing on all levels. While the original copyright holders are trying to track down and keep their work within the circle they want, it is impossible with the speed of the world wide web to keep track of everything on it. Digital watermarking is one such way to keep track of their work and make sure they are getting their dues for creating, distributing and selling it.

The most common type of digital watermark is the seal. Any Internet users has seen it. It's a seal, usually the name of the copyright holder, placed over the most interesting aspect of the photo. It is placed in such a manner so that people viewing cannot distribute without it being shown and it cannot be edited out easily. There are two types of digital watermarks: Visible and invisible. Visible takes the form of a translucent overlaid, such as described above, whereas invisible is hidden within the coding of the object itself.

Stock photography, from places such as Getty Images, use visible watermarks on their photos. These are images placed on top of the primary image. In this case, Getty Images types out their name in such a fashion that it ruins the overall beauty of the photo unless you purchase it without the digital watermark in place. Since Getty Images loses money each time the photo is shared, placing the watermark is supposed to cut down on sharing of the image without them being paid a royalty.

In other uses, photographers may use a byline watermark to denote that they took the photo. They are generally sharing their images, and they want to be doing this, so this watermark is along the top, bottom or sides of the image in a smaller print that does not take away from the beauty of the shot. Since the primary purpose of this type of watermark is simply to claim ownership, it works well for sharing photos on the Internet in that capacity, but it does not provide for protection from people mutilating the work or editing out the watermark to claim as their own.

Invisible watermarks, on the other hand, do not show themselves on the image, audio, video or other type of file. They are coded within the signal of the file itself, and they are used to track down the file to the original copyrighted owner. Many programs that open a file that has an invisible watermark will note this. Such programs as Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word are examples of this type of notice being displayed upon opening an invisible watermarked-file.

Digital fingerprinting is a new technology designed to "fingerprint," so to speak, the file with the purchaser's information. If multiple copies are made and distribute, this fingerprint will be in the file and can be traced back to the purchaser. They can be either invisible or visible and are being used by many stock-based photography companies to keep track of where their photos go after being purchased.

Adding watermarks for the basic web user is easy. Depending on the type of file you are working with, many programs allow for you to add a digital signature or watermark. Check with your programs Help files to see if they allow for you to do so, if not, you can search the Internet for ways that will work with the types of files you are using.

In image editing programs, you can easily add a byline to your photos and art work, but keep in mind it can be easily edited out, too. Adobe allows for you to digital sign PDF files, and this is one such way to keep your documents safe from copyright infringement. Digital watermarking is one way to combat copyright infringement and learning how to protect your files and documents keeps you safe from being infringed upon. While it is not foolproof, it will do the job for the average computer user and their work.