A conversation in another thread brought to my attention a "big 'ol" copyright image, designed to be nearly impossible to remove and even more impossible to miss. Frankly, when I see this sort of behavior, I see the "C" to stand for "Clueless" rather than "Copyright".
I would suggest that people who do this do not truly understand the concept of copyright. Only the smallest and most unobtrusive copyright mark is needed to fulfill the legal obligation of notification/claim as seen on the work itself. It seems to me that what those who use ginormous/intrusive copyright symbols are exercising is not their copyrights, but their fear that their images are going to be appropriated by others (which would be a violation of copyright). They are, in effect, more worried about the unauthorized dissemination of their copyrighted work. This would indicate an ignorance of what rewards are available to the copyright owner (and conversely, penalties to the copyright violator) when your work is misappropriated. In addition to misunderstanding the concept and exercise of copyright and severely reducing the income opportunities arising from their violation, you are also making your images far less likely to be enjoyed by those viewing them - damaging your image (in more ways than one). One might wonder why one bothers to put their images online if they are going to act against their own interests by doing so. In fact, the best way to assure no misappropriation of one's images is to not put them online in the first place. Darren Addy Kearney, Nebraska My opinions are free, and worth every penny. - - - Nothing is sure, except Death and Pentaxes. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
