4 ms·

I'm pretty technically advanced (both with computers and with photos) and I don't know how to remove watermarks. They prevent theft like the lock on my front d

I'm pretty technically advanced (both with computers and with photos) and I don't know how to remove watermarks. They prevent theft like the lock on my front door prevents theft: not by making it impossible, but by making it harder. They're both fairly unobtrusive ways to prevent opportunists from stealing.

zalew 15y ago
oh, the old 'watermark vs no watermark' online rant. if you want to get into that please define 'stealing' in this particular scenario and how making your picture uglier is a 'lock'. if you are afraid of people who want to see your photos, don't publish them, and btw thanks for assuming upfront I'm a criminal, I just wanted to look at your work.
Mithrandir 15y ago
Depending on the watermark, it's usually easy to remove a watermark. In fact, Wikimedia Commons has info on how to remove them (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Watermarks#How_to_remove_watermarks https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Watermarks#How_to...) not to mention the numerous guides online (https://duckduckgo.com/?q=remove+watermarks https://duckduckgo.com/?q=remove+watermarks). As to "stealing", it's the nature of the internet for people to use images they find online elsewhere for gratis, usually without attribution. I can completely understand if the copier claims they alone made the image, but these sort of claims can be and are disproven by the original author or other people who have seen the original work and are sometimes removed thanks to current copyright laws (at least in the USA.) Tools like TinEye or Google Images can also help find the original image. However people do generally attribute images; those who don't (and don't claim the image as their own) are only "stealing" potential profit from the author, which can easily be prevented by either selling it to some group, like a newspaper or magazine, or not uploading the image to the internet at all. Aesthetically, watermarks can look pretty gnarly, but this of course depends on the person and the watermark. For example, my current wallpaper is that of my favorite anime/manga and has only the compiler's watermark (not the author's) on it, one that is small and translucent. I don't mind it, because it's unobstructive, but if I put the image on Imgur, am I "stealing" from the author or just not giving credit where credit is due?
rbritton 15y ago
There's one benefit of watermarks (to the copyright owner) that's often overlooked. Removal of a watermark makes it much easier to prove willful infringement in a copyright lawsuit, which has a lot higher penalty. I don't remember the particular case, but there was one where that was a primary reason cited in the awarding of a particular penalty.
- jemfinch 15y ago
  That's an excellent point that I wasn't even aware of. I look at unobtrusive watermarks like I look at the BSD license: you can use the image, but you're legally bound to preserve attribution, because the creator released the work for notoriety.

zalew 15y ago

oh, the old 'watermark vs no watermark' online rant. if you want to get into that please define 'stealing' in this particular scenario and how making your picture uglier is a 'lock'. if you are afraid of people who want to see your photos, don't publish them, and btw thanks for assuming upfront I'm a criminal, I just wanted to look at your work.

Mithrandir 15y ago

Depending on the watermark, it's usually easy to remove a watermark. In fact, Wikimedia Commons has info on how to remove them (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Watermarks#How_to_remove_watermarks https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Watermarks#How_to...) not to mention the numerous guides online (https://duckduckgo.com/?q=remove+watermarks https://duckduckgo.com/?q=remove+watermarks). As to "stealing", it's the nature of the internet for people to use images they find online elsewhere for gratis, usually without attribution. I can completely understand if the copier claims they alone made the image, but these sort of claims can be and are disproven by the original author or other people who have seen the original work and are sometimes removed thanks to current copyright laws (at least in the USA.) Tools like TinEye or Google Images can also help find the original image. However people do generally attribute images; those who don't (and don't claim the image as their own) are only "stealing" potential profit from the author, which can easily be prevented by either selling it to some group, like a newspaper or magazine, or not uploading the image to the internet at all. Aesthetically, watermarks can look pretty gnarly, but this of course depends on the person and the watermark. For example, my current wallpaper is that of my favorite anime/manga and has only the compiler's watermark (not the author's) on it, one that is small and translucent. I don't mind it, because it's unobstructive, but if I put the image on Imgur, am I "stealing" from the author or just not giving credit where credit is due?

rbritton 15y ago

There's one benefit of watermarks (to the copyright owner) that's often overlooked. Removal of a watermark makes it much easier to prove willful infringement in a copyright lawsuit, which has a lot higher penalty. I don't remember the particular case, but there was one where that was a primary reason cited in the awarding of a particular penalty.

jemfinch 15y ago
That's an excellent point that I wasn't even aware of. I look at unobtrusive watermarks like I look at the BSD license: you can use the image, but you're legally bound to preserve attribution, because the creator released the work for notoriety.