Seeing as I’m one of two lead developers for subVariance, I’m well aware that a good number of artists read this blog. If you’re an artist, then this entry is for you.

Maybe you’re a photographer. Maybe you’re a painter. No matter what your specialty, it’s likely that you’ve worked hard to create your art, perhaps with the intention of seeking little more than attribution from others. But, as many of you are already painfully aware, it’s easy to take art from the Web and claim it as your own. Here are a few quick — and, hopefully, useful — tips to help prevent it from happening to you.

Never upload anything you wouldn’t want subjected to unauthorized duplication.

If it’s your masterwork, don’t upload it. No matter what steps you take to prevent others from duplicating your work, it can be stolen. As long as it’s in a format that can be read by a computer and displayed on a monitor, it will be possible to create a duplicate, even if it isn’t perfect. The MPAA and the RIAA, notorious for their easily foiled copy protection and litigious behavior, could save a lot of money and time by taking stock in this simple rule.

Be weary of art forums and sites like MySpace.

While it’s often tempting to display your work in a community, there are also times when your willingness to share will be exploited. For a good example of this, look no further than deviantART, an online art community whose management was once known to frequently license the artwork owned by their users. At one time, their user agreement entitled them to relicense your submissions to third parties without necessarily requiring your consent. This should underline the importance of thoroughly researching any art community before you join it.

There are still many art sites whose managers are ethical. At subVariance, for example, we have a clear policy that prevents us from using your work for any purpose other than displaying it on your behalf. Don’t settle for a site that could lay claim to your art at a later date.

Add a watermark.

It doesn’t need to be especially obvious. In fact, a subtle transparent watermark can be time-consuming or altogether impossible for most people to remove. A small logo, your name, and your URL will prove to be more than sufficient in most cases.

Make it lossy.

If you’re a photographer, don’t upload your high resolution original. Use Adobe Photoshop or a similar application to create a low resolution version for public display on the Web. A 600 x 400 pixel image will obviously be less suitable for printing than a 3456 x 2304 pixel image. Additionally, should you decide to use a watermark, it will be more difficult to crop out at a lower resolution.

JavaScript and other browser-based solutions to this problem don’t exist.

It’s not unlike installing a steel door and deadbolt on the front of your house, but tearing down the fence and removing your back door at the same time. Although a JavaScript solution might work in some browsers, it can be circumvented by attacks as simple as pressing the Print Screen key. More sophisticated measures, such as those implemented at Flickr, can also be defeated in about thirty seconds.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 17th, 2007 at 9:54 am and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.