How to Protect Digital Photos

Digital photos and other electronic arts products are protected by intellectual property laws. Intellectual property is the commercially valuable result of an individual's intellect, including both finished products and production processes. The rise of file sharing and social networking websites, however, has increased the possibility of unauthorized use of digital photos. There are various ways to protect digital photos in order to ensure commercial viability and artistic integrity.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Ascertain the best approach for protecting digital photos before placing them on a website for public consumption. Trademarked photos are typically used for corporate promotions or logos while copyrights cover artistic and literary usage of photography.

2. Be aggressive in seeking out violators who misuse your trademarked photos. Search engine queries can help a trademark holder look for websites that may be using an infringed version of their digital photos. Regular Internet searches can ensure the sanctity of your trademark.

3. Apply for a copyright if you are looking to use your photos for a wide range of activities. Copyrights prevent others from using your digital photos without permission. These copyrights also ensure that a photographer can reproduce, adapt or display his or her work in any way that does not infringe upon another person's rights.

4. Protect your reputation by documenting any usage of your digital photos by the general public. Copyright law allows the public ways to use protected materials through the "fair use" doctrine. This doctrine covers excerpts or usage of images for criticism, reporting or academic research. Wholesale copying and distributing, however, should be reported by the copyright holder immediately.

5. Utilize the trademark process to protect your work if your digital photo is for business use. Registered trademarks are used for products or services readily available to the consuming public. Without a trademark, a digital photo used for promotional materials can be stolen, and this can diminish the public profile of a company.

Tips & Warnings

• Develop an understanding of the larger issues involved in the copyright process. Groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation are active in lobbying for greater transparency in the copyrighting and trademark process to benefit digital artists (see Resources below).
• Appreciate the repercussions of not protecting your digital photos. Photos placed on a website without proper protections can be copied by any Internet user. A doctored and unprotected digital photo can harm an artist's reputation without legal recourse.