Don't steal my stuff!

I had my first personal encounter with copyright this week, and I thought it applied to the points I have been making thus far.

I consider myself a photographer, and although I don't yet sell prints and haven't been in any contests I still take it very seriously. Like almost all photographers, I post my work to websites: Facebook, Tumblr, and Flickr in particular. And as I was scrolling through someones blog on Tumblr, my eye was caught by a picture that I knew very well... my own. And I instantly became angered when I saw a quote and credit edited onto the front of it with my name nowhere to be found.

Eventually I worked it out with the blog owner, but it got me thinking how easy and painful it is to have your work taken. Many people don't seem to understand the problem. To them it is just a picture, or a song, but to the artist it's more. It's their time, effort, thought, emotion, and the physical cost of putting everything together. And whether they are using their art to make money or simply as a form of expression, there is a cost when it's used without permission.

And in order to prevent having something like a photograph stolen, the best way to protect it is by adding a digital variant of a "watermark"; a distinguishable mark, usually text, placed on a photo in a translucent font so that the artist's name is displayed directly on the work. The downside? There's a slew of type on the face of the photograph, which usually takes the audience "out" of any intended emotion.

Bottom left corner: Example of a digital "watermark"

I think the most frustrating thing about art theft over the internet is how easy it is to NOT steal another's work. So many things can be done that only take a small amount of time and little effort to unsure the artist is happy and get's the deserving credit. Simply contacting the artist about using their work, creating a link to the artist's webpage or the location the photo was found, and putting the artists personal or business name in the description can prevent so many lengthy and often costly disputes in which the law and occasionally the court system has to intervene. The more I think about, the more it appears to me as a sad topic. I feel almost disappointed to have grown up with a group of people who are either too lazy or too selfish to give proper recognition, and are too numb to realize where the limits rest.

I wonder if this virtual world has really caused more laziness, disrespect, and ignorance than at it has allowed us to be proactive and open our eyes.