Photo Protection

Dave:

Isn't there some way to protect our photographs from being copied. I know when you go to some sites and right click a picture, it doesn't allow you access. Is there some way you can set up something similar here?

Please check out this thread, where once again an Ebay seller has stolen a member's brug photo:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/458500/#new

Thanks for your help on this!!!

Gretchen

PS: The new features are really nice!

There is only one way to protect an image from being stolen: never publish it. But, once you publish it on the web, there's nothing you can do (short of legal threats) to prevent it's theft. I'm willing to provide a demonstration: show me an image on the web that seems to be protected, and I will download and email you that picture as proof that the security of the picture was only an illusion.

Now, we do have legal threats as a solution, and we have no qualms with throwing our weight at people (especially ebayers) who are stealing pictures from our members. Give us ALL the details (including links to where the picture appears on DG, as well as links to where it is appearing elsewhere, like ebay, etc). We usually are pretty successful at getting the thief to take the stolen image down. Send all the details to us using the "Contact Us" form at the bottom of the page.

dave

I think if you have a '"screen capture" software (i.e. Russ has "Snag-It") it can be done, but most people don't have it, and don't even know what it is.

This is used by people to capture windows, etc on a page, that are not accessible by doing a normal right click, and save pic as. You can, however, set up your website to make them non accessible with the right click button and eliminate the majority of the threat. Only if they have certain softwares (like the one listed above) and know how to use it, can they still steal the pics.

This person from Ebay doesn't seem to know much about what they are doing, if they couldn't even removed Poppy Sue's name from it, very easy to do in photo editing programs.

I hope he took it off Ebay and took his own pics of what he is auctioning off.

Screen capture doesn't need fancy software. Simply click Shift PrtScn, followed by Control C. Move into a graphics package and click Control V and you have a copy of the screen, from which you can select out an individual image. I just captured the start of this thread that way.

If you use Windows and have a 'Print Screen' key on your keyboard you don't even need additional "screen capture" software.

Edited for oops, didn't refresh to see the previous post before putting in my two cents.
Ken, in Win98 I don't need to hit Control C during that procedure. You probably don't either.

This message was edited Sep 22, 2004 7:16 PM

I've emailed him - for practical purposes, he's not going to remove an image for an auction with less than a day to go, but I did let him know that future auctions cannot use any images from our site without prior consent from us and the photographer.

As Dave said, the sad fact is if you publish it anywhere, anyone can copy it. It's undoubtedly easier now than pre-technology, but before the internet, digi cams and scanners people used photocopiers to copy artwork from books and magazines. Before that (and still today) forgers abound, recreating work worth copying. Duplicating someone else's work has gotta be one of the oldest trades in the world :(

Kenny & Ulrich - just how many people on the net know all that? I don't think very many. Russ explained that to me as well, and said it comes in windows packages, but there are not very many that know how to do that, nor would ever even venture trying. I sure didn't! But if I stole someone's pic, I'd be sure to photo edit the copy right out of it, I mean, what was that guy thinking, anyways, lol!

Maybe that is his way of giving credit to the originator of the picture? LOL
BTW, I'm pretty good with PhotoShop but would be hard put to remove those watermarks without making a mess of it.

Karrie -- I think the "PrtSc" is more commonly known than you might think. With DG pictures though, all you have to do is right click the photo and use the "save as" feature.

If one knows how to put an auction together, or make their own webpage, you can be sure they can figure out how to capture an image from a site. It's very easy.

The bottom line is: it's so easy to get around it, that I am not willing to spend a lot of time putting in insufficiently false senses of security into DG.

dave

'Nuff said -- thank you for your response! Gretchen