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April 24, 2019

How to Protect Your Images from Copyright Infringement

Online image theft is a huge problem for photographers and all creative professionals alike. Almost half of the images on Pinterest are a result of copyright infringement. Similar statistics are true for most social media platforms. According to a 2016 survey done by Berify, a reverse image service based in Southern California, 64 percent of professional photographers said they’d had their works stolen more than 200 times. 

Here’s the challenge.  As a photographer, you want to display your talent and build a following on social media. But how do you share your work without having your images stolen the minute you upload? In short, you can’t completely prevent it. However, there are several ways to combat this problem. Here are a few.

  1. Become an active participant in copyright lawmaking. You can take action now by urging Congress to support the CASE Act that gives small creators like you the Copyright protection you deserve.
  2. Register your work with the US Copyright office. A list of current fees can be found on their website.
  3. Add watermarks to your images and a copyright notice to your site. You can find samples on PPA.com.

While digital copyright infringement can’t be completely eradicated, it can be fought. For more insights on the current climate of copyright infringement and ways to protect your work, read the full article on Entrepreneur.com

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