Can You Prevent Misuse of
Your Photos?
Your Photos?
Q: I am trying to find a way to secure my images on my web page before I launch it. Any ideas or
A: Secret revealed: Many veteran photographers who have dozens and dozens of photographs published each year, are finding that the public is stealing those images and not paying for them. More importantly, those photographers don't care.
"What?" you ask.
Yes, it's true. But I'm not talking about the Web. Those high quality images are being stolen from magazines, calendars, textbooks, brochures, newspapers, and other periodicals. And no one is policing this.
To steal them, the culprits are using .low-tech tools: scissors and razor blades. It's been going on since the printing press was invented.
It's even happening in your household. Look around your home. On your kitchen bulletin board, your refrigerator, your child's bedroom wall. Some are in frames in your neighbor's den or your best friend's studio or workshop. All stolen.
I can remember a time twenty years ago, when color copiers became popular. Photographers learned color photocopies of their images were being used by art directors in layout mock-ups to influence a client's decision. Photographers became incensed and mounted a campaign to take art directors to court if they 'illegally' used a photocopy of a photographer's image in a comp. The effort got no results.
Unable to stop this type of rampant 'misuse' of their photos, photographers gradually realized that such a practice was actually free promotion and advertising for them. The crusade died out. Now it's common practice for art directors to "borrow" images for comps, from magazines, stock books, and the web.
With the advent of the web, the cycle is starting again. And with millions of viewers, policing the practice is nearly impossible. So the question is: Should you put your pictures up on the Web and promote them, or should you hide them and protect them? Photographers, who cannot remember this history lesson,
True, there is some outright thievery going on. That is, there is stealing of photos for monetary gain. But it is not by professional art directors, researchers, or photo editors -- the clients you deal with. These professionals have little to gain by infringement, and much (their reputation) to lose.
The stories of thievery that are reported to me have always been hearsay. When I ask for documentation, there usually turns out to be none, or else it's a case where the photo was illegally used for a private website decoration, Boy Scout newsletter, foreign regional magazine, or due to plain ol' ignorance on the part of the amateur printer or designer.
The bare bones bottom line for you as a stock photographer is, "Do I want to pursue such small infringers?" My advice is "no". If you do take such an infringer on, you'll learn a lot about the stock photo industry, human nature, lost time, and the cost of attorney and court fees.
In the early days of the Internet, there were a few spectacular court cases regards infringement, but it's leveled out. It's rare that you'll find infringement by a genuine thief. You'll find some, examples of "innocent infringers", but the court always rules in their favor.
Let yourself feel an ease of mind about this question. Free up productive energy to meet the challenges of your stock photography.
Rohn Engh is director of PhotoSource International and publisher of PhotoStockNotes. Pine Lake Farm, 1910 35th Road, Osceola, WI 54020 USA E-mail: info@photosource.com Fax: 1 715 248 7394 Web site: www.photosource.com
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