Use of copyright

[Janice]

I found in the menu the ability to embed copyright info in each photo taken. Does anyone do this? Why or why would I not want that embedded? TIA

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

In-camera menu or a menu on this site?
I suppose it would be useful on a camera if you were a sports photographer and you had to provide all your shots to an agency and they had to be able to tell who took it. I wonder if my a6400 has that feature?

 

[spudhead]

I found in the menu the ability to embed copyright info in each photo taken. Does anyone do this? Why or why would I not want that embedded? TIA

I always copyright images

 

[AlphaWorld]

Putting your copyright information into the camera results in it being embedded in the EXIF metadata. It can also be carried across into your output files (eg: JPEGs made from the processed RAW) if you choose to do so. Useful if you want to sue someone for using your images without permission. It isn't hard to remove the EXIF data, but that goes toward showing intent.

One of the first things I do when setting up each new camera is put in the copyright notice - it has been possible to do so for at least 15 years (yes, back in the stone age of digital photography we chipped out copyright notices in granite...).

Why might you not want to add copyright information? If you wish to remain anonymous then putting your name in the images is a bit of a giveaway :-D If you do wish to be anonymous, you probably want to remove the whole of the EXIF data, too, because it includes things like the serial number of your camera (although you can choose a setting which does not save that in the EXIF, at least on some models).

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

wow, I never knew this existed on the camera. Fascinating!

 

[Hank]

If you want to protect what you put online, join Pixsy. They've found my images here and there. One image was found being used in a video that someone produced and is playing on You Tube. I still need to take action on that one.

What will you do about it? Is it a video that has many views from a high subscriber youtuber? How does Pixsy know what images are yours? DO you have to supply them your library?
This is quite interesting to me. I highly doubt an of images would be desireable to anyone, but interesting none-the-less.

 

[Hank]

You can take action yourself through Pixsy and send a cease and desist or have Pixsy do it. You can also ask them to get you compensation from the people using your photo. There was a guy on another forum who collected a lot of money from Pixsy pursuing his photos they found being used illegally. I think they keep a part of the money. They have free accounts and paid accounts. When you sign up you tell them where your photos are posted, such as Flickr, Imgur, Smugmug, etc. They scan those photos and then look for them on the internet. When they find one, they tell you. I get a monthly (?) report telling me where my photos are being used. Many times it's simply a forum post, but sometimes not. Of course it's not going to work if you upload all of your photos directly to different forums, one reason I rarely do. They found one of my photos in a video about the B-17 Bomber that someone produced. Here's the photo, I made it while taking a flight in the Yankee Lady, the Yankee Air Force's B-17.

Nose net by telecast, on Flickr

Thanks Tim. That sounds like a useful service. Also, cool photo!

 

[MrFotoFool]

I have had my copyright entered in my cameras I think for as long as I have shot digital SLR's (which is since 2010). You set it up once then forget about it. I started with Canon and did it on them, then switched to Nikon four years ago and did it on them. I recently got a Sony A74 specifically for the Sony 200-600 lens which I use for wildlife (using Nikon with shorter lenses). I set it up on my Sony but it took me a while to figure out how to choose the letters, becuase Sony is far less intuitive than Canon or Nikon. With the latter, each letter has its own block that you scroll to. With Sony the letter blocks each contain three letters and I had a hard time figuring out how to choose the second or third letter within a block.

 

[AlphaWorld]

I have had my copyright entered in my cameras I think for as long as I have shot digital SLR's (which is since 2010). You set it up once then forget about it. I started with Canon and did it on them, then switched to Nikon four years ago and did it on them. I recently got a Sony A74 specifically for the Sony 200-600 lens which I use for wildlife (using Nikon with shorter lenses). I set it up on my Sony but it took me a while to figure out how to choose the letters, becuase Sony is far less intuitive than Canon or Nikon. With the latter, each letter has its own block that you scroll to. With Sony the letter blocks each contain three letters and I had a hard time figuring out how to choose the second or third letter within a block.

It is one of those interfaces that you might know if you ever sent an SMS from a phone with only 12 buttons. If you never did that, then yes, it is FAR from obvious. I think maybe the software developer who created it worked on phones last century

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

As with others, I've always embedded it in my images in camera. Though I put it on my images I post as part of my signature, that is easily removed, so is a bit meaningless, but I like it.

 

[Janice]

In-camera menu or a menu on this site?
I suppose it would be useful on a camera if you were a sports photographer and you had to provide all your shots to an agency and they had to be able to tell who took it. I wonder if my a6400 has that feature?

I found it in-camera set up 5 pages 5 of 7.

 

[AlphaWorld]

For the most part copyrighting an image is useless. Unless it's really special, something with serious value, you'll spend more trying to sue the group using it than you'll get out of the lawsuit.

If you want to protect what you put online, join Pixsy. They've found my images here and there. One image was found being used in a video that someone produced and is playing on You Tube. I still need to take action on that one.

Well, technically, you own the copyright in an image the moment you take it, unless you are working for hire (that part varies by jurisdiction). It's not a case of "copyrighting an image" - you can't not copyright it :-D You do have the option of putting it into the public domain after you create it.

Putting your information into the EXIF is supposed to: 1) make it possible for a legitimate user to find who the owner; 2) show that you have made it an effort to assert your copyright.

 

[AlphaWorld]

I understand how it works. The fact is that you own the content regardless. In the US a photograph is considered intellectual property. Your post confirms my first, it's pretty much useless to include a copyright. Not only that but it's redundant.

The point of my post was that the cost of attempting to recover any losses or to obtain a cease and desist on your own is way more than most people want to spend, and beyond what many can spend. As such, unless you have some really special image with some value, once it's been made public on the internet you should just consider it fair game or join a service such as Pixsy to protect it.

Your use of the term 'public domain' may be confusing to some. At least in the US, Public Domain doesn't mean it's out on the airwaves, it means specifically that it's available for free use by the public, no permission or fees required.

What other meaning is there for “in the public domain”? It is basically the opposite of copyright. An item under copyright is controlled by the owner of the copyright - only they can allow the making of copies (hence the term “copy right”). It is made more complicated by “fair use” conditions, etc (let’s not wade into that morass!). An item in the public domain does not have a copyright holder, and can be copied by anyone.

Copyright law varies by jurisdiction (more so since a certain greedy American organisation keeps trying to extend the length of copyright…).

I see no harm in setting the copyright information in your camera. It does not instantly protect all your images from being copied - there is no automated check on Flickr or Facebook or Instagram (as far as I’m aware) that the person posting an image is the person named on the embedded copyright notice (and I doubt there ever will be, because the poster may have permission from the copyright holder…). But if you were ever in a court case, it could be used to refute claims that you were placing your images in the public domain. And it could be used to refute claims that the infringer “didn’t know who owned the image”.

Protecting your copyright can be expensive. You pointed out a way to make it less expensive. That does not mean that people should not embed the copyright assertion in their images.

Arguably, the simplest way to protect your images from being copied is to take lousy images that no one would want to copy (I am tempted to say that I’m good at that, but I’m getting better!)

 

[Westydude]

I have had my copyright entered in my cameras I think for as long as I have shot digital SLR's (which is since 2010). You set it up once then forget about it. I started with Canon and did it on them, then switched to Nikon four years ago and did it on them. I recently got a Sony A74 specifically for the Sony 200-600 lens which I use for wildlife (using Nikon with shorter lenses). I set it up on my Sony but it took me a while to figure out how to choose the letters, becuase Sony is far less intuitive than Canon or Nikon. With the latter, each letter has its own block that you scroll to. With Sony the letter blocks each contain three letters and I had a hard time figuring out how to choose the second or third letter within a block.

I found this to be an informative YouTube vid....https://youtu.be/95wkAGauSsY