Protecting your graphics

Probably one of the most common problems website owners and bloggers face today is theft. When I say that, I’m referring to the copying of their original works by another person who then posts it as their own. It’s not a new problem by any means. Ask any college professor today, they’ll tell you that the internet has opened up a can of worms regarding plagiarism. Entire sites have sprung up seemingly overnight to provide papers for high school and college students. So it shouldn’t be shocking that some website owners feel free to take what isn’t theirs. First off, let me say that I’m not an attorney, nor should this article be considered legal advice!

We'll start with the most common element to be copied - pictures and/or graphics. When it comes to photos you have taken, never publish them in the original size. Often they are too large for the web anyway. Shrink them down in size. To prevent theft, there are things you can to keep someone from copying them (at least to keep the most of the copiers at bay). The most effect thing is watermarking the photo. Most photo editing programs have a water marking feature that will allow you to brand whatever you want in the file. Usually a good watermark is the site URL or the name of the person that took the photograph. It’s fairly easy to get a picture removed from a site when it has your web address on it. Another way is to blow up the graphic and install your URL again, in tiny print not easily visible when the picture is viewed at normal size. Another trick is to overlay a transparent image over the photo or graphic you want to protect. That way the thief "copies" the transparent image instead of your picture.

Always keep the original in the original file format and having it date stamped also helps. It will be easier (should you need to) to prove ownership of the image. Same thing goes for hand made graphics. Keep any beta copies or changes you made handy for the same reason.

Unfortunately, a very determined theif can get around everything described above. The main thing is to not make it easy. The harder it is to get your photos, the more likely they'll move on to an easier target.

About the Author: Charles is the webmaster for www.lvrealty.net, a Las Vegas real estate website. You can read his blog here.