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December 18
03:39 2019

Copyright might sound like an overkill or an outdated term.  In reality, it is the best form of protection that an artist can put into place for their work.  The last thing a hardworking artist wants is to receive a notice that their work has been pilfered and stolen. 

What is a simple definition of copyright?

Copyright is a law that gives the owner of a work (for example, a book, movie, picture, song or website) the right to say how other people can use it. Copyright laws make it easier for authors to make money by selling their works. … With copyright, a work can only be copied if the owner gives permission. (Wikipedia)

What is copyright infringement definition?

Copyright infringement (colloquially referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright law without permission for a usage where such permission is required,  thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the … (Wikipedia

 Is your art safe online? 

For the most part …No, but you can take precautions to limit image theft:

  1. Use low res images this will limit the quality of the image from unwanted downloads. It is always best to keep max resolution at 72 dpi.
  2. Keep the pixels to max size 500 and the other dimension smaller.
  3. If you require a section to be larger to show quality take a section that larger in pixel size up to 1000 for the largest dimension.
  4. Add copyright by line to the image.
  5. Add a watermark across the image.
  6. Make it easy for interested parties to contact you to get permission to use your art.  This can be for free or you can charge a fee, but always make sure you understand the way they are going to use the image. Look up licensing artwork.
  7. Scan the internet for your image to see if it is being used without your permission.  If you find your artwork being used without permission make contact and ask them to take it down before you proceed with legal actions.
  8. If you can make sure the “right-click” function for copying images is disabled on the website you are displaying your art.
  9. Most importantly copyright all your works with the US Government Copyright Office.

 These are all steps that you as an artist can take to protect your investments in time, effort and monetary sacrifice.

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