HLKphoto.com

When sharing your photographs online it is important to understand just how your works are protected, additional steps for further protection, options to make it more difficult for people to use your works without permission, and what you can do in case of infringement.

Here are some helpful resources in protecting your online photographs:

• U.S. Copyright Office – Frequently Asked Questions
• How To Copyright A Photo
  “You don’t. It’s already copyrighted. That said, there is an advantage to filing for copyright. If a dispute arises, you can get punitive damages (in addition to compensatory damages) if a form was filed before infringement.”
• How Do I Protect My Photos’ Copyrights?
  “An overview on copyright protection, policy, law, photographer rights and best practices”
• How to Protect Your Digital Photos from Being Copied
  This resource gives you the hows of Blocking Right Click or the Context Menu, Shrink Wrapping Images, Using Flash to Protect Your Images & Watermarking.
  “If you post your images online, it is possible for someone to steal them and use them somewhere else. No matter what you do to protect them. If your image is so valuable that you want to be sure no one ever steals it, then don’t post it online. That is the securest and safest method of protecting your digital images.” That said, watermarking is pretty effective as it is more difficult to remove. But some will go through the effort of cropping or photoshopping it out.
• DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement – Sample Template

Personally, I don’t worry too much. I figure I’m so little known that most of my photos are protected by virtual anonymity. And most of my photos are available under a Creative Commons license, so I welcome use with attribution.

The nonprofit Creative Commons offers six default licenses as an alternative to full copyright so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

“How does a Creative Commons license operate?

A Creative Commons license is based on copyright. So they apply to all works that are protected by copyright law. The kinds of works that are protected by copyright law are books, websites, blogs, photographs, films, videos, songs and other audio & visual recordings, for example. Software programs are also protected by copyright but, as explained below, we do not recommend that you apply a Creative Commons license to software code.

Creative Commons licenses give you the ability to dictate how others may exercise your copyright rights—such as the right of others to copy your work, make derivative works or adaptations of your work, to distribute your work and/or make money from your work. They do not give you the ability to restrict anything that is otherwise permitted by exceptions or limitations to copyright—including, importantly, fair use or fair dealing—nor do they give you the ability to control anything that is not protected by copyright law, such as facts and ideas.

Creative Commons licenses attach to the work and authorize everyone who comes in contact with the work to use it consistent with the license. This means that if Bob has a copy of your Creative Commons-licensed work, Bob can give a copy to Carol and Carol will be authorized to use the work consistent with the Creative Commons license. You then have a license agreement separately with both Bob and Carol.

You should be aware that Creative Commons licenses only affect your rights under copyright. You are not licensing your trademark or patent rights, if any, when you apply a CC license to your work.

Creative Commons licenses are expressed in three different formats: the Commons Deed (human-readable code), the Legal Code (lawyer-readable code); and the metadata (machine readable code). You don’t need to sign anything to get a Creative Commons license—just select your license at our ‘Choose License’ page.

One final thing you should understand about Creative Commons licenses is that they are all non-exclusive. This means that you can permit the general public to use your work under a Creative Commons license and then enter into a separate and different non-exclusive license with someone else, for example, in exchange for money.”

When I have come across one of my photos used but improperly credited, I send a polite email and the issue is usually resolved quickly.