In a world where the internet allows people to share information and ideas, one would think that sharing your artistic creations and expressions would be something admired and enjoyed, and perhaps drum up some business for you, if you’re looking to go from a hobbyist to professional.

Posting your artwork publicly, however, has become a difficult decision to make.  On one hand, you want to share your work, and on the other hand, you need to protect your work.  Given technology and its rapid changes and advancement, simply putting a watermark on your work and stating ‘all rights reserved’ isn’t a surefire way to protect your work from copyright theft.

There are plenty of controversial stories bouncing around; most prominently is Sheperd Fairey’s. He’s been subject to copyright infringement as well, but the bottom line is the use of someone elses work as your own.

How do you protect your work?  There are a few ways.  You could simply never post anything online.  That’s really the only guaranteed method.  No one would see your work, though.

What are the alternatives? You could:

• Use a watermark on digital files that leave your studio or are posted online.
• Disable right-click capabilities on your Web page.
• Use password-protected galleries.
• Use Flash-based galleries to display your online portfolio.
• Embed metadata into digital files that leave your studio.

That doesn’t leave you invulnerable, but it provides you with some security. In the event that your work is taken and published as someone elses, you should document the infringement, contact the offendor, and, providing the person is responsive, decide upon a way to remedy the situation and get it in writing.

You can also send a DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) notice to the ISP of the person infringing. Check out their “Terms of Service” or “Terms of Use” page for contact information; there’s usually an ‘abuse@xxx.com’ email address associated with larger hosting companies.

It sounds like a lot of doom and gloom, but it’s disheartening to put time effort and expense into a product that is your own creation, only to have someone display it as if they created it.  You have rights, and should exercise them to protect your work, whether it’s photography, digital illustration, or writing.