Protecting You Artwork Online
By: Ron Lewis
The Internet offers a great way for artists to gain exposure and show their work to people all over the world. This is great. But it also makes your artwork available for others to copy and maybe even use for their own projects. So to discourage others from using your artwork, there are a few things you can do.
Make sure you mark your work with a copyright. You don't have to register the copyright but because it is your original work, you are entitled to put a copyright statement on it.
The bottom line is, that once you put an idea down on a form of media, be
it canvas, paper, words on a recording device, a song on tape, CD, or a computer file, and its totally your original creation, then you can claim copyright on it.
If you want the © symbol before the copyright info, all you have to do on your keyboard is “hold down the ALT key and type in 0169 on the keypad” and there you have the © symbol.
Another thing you can do to prevent use of your artwork online is to place a watermark on the work you intend to display. Its really quite easy to do in a program like Photo Shop, Coral Draw, or GIMP.
Just create a transparency of your name, logo, or even a large © symbol on your artwork image. Anyone trying to use your art will have to do a remarkable job of editing to remove it. Most won't bother. You can even put your contact information in the watermark so if someone wants to use it, they can contact you for permission. Here's an example of a watermarked image and you may copy and download the © watermark I've provided here if you would like to place it on your work.
If you really feel protective about certain pieces, and want everyone to clearly understand that they can get in trouble for using your work, you could include a statement like this:
“ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This original artwork is protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this artwork is prohibited. No part of this artwork may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.”
That just about sums it up. Of course if you are concerned about a certain piece of art that is unique and very marketable, then it would be best to go ahead and register the copyright. That makes a statement to everyone beyond all doubt that it is protected. To make the symbol after you have registered your copyright, just hold down the ALT key and type 0174 and you'll get the ® symbol.
So hopefully this information was helpful to you and you can post your work online feeling a little more comfortable about it.
Some additional resources: http://painting.about.com/cs/artistscopyright/f/copyrightfaq2.htm
Article by:
Ron Lewis
Oh and: © Copyright 2011
Right click on the symbol to copy and save to your computer.
Painting by: Tavo Barrios
© Copyright 2012 Movistro Art Gallery
