Copyright Assault in UK

[adan]

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RE: copyright protections

 

1) Anything visible on a screen can be captured with a screen-shot (a functionality built into any current OS), which will totally ignore anything except the visible pixels. Only way around this is a visible "copyright" type overlay - ugly as they may be.

 

2) There have been ways of embedding "invisible watermarks" in the actual image pixels - a sequence of slight alterations in luminance or chroma values of certain pixels that can be detected and read by appropriate software (this used to be available as a PhotoShop plugin) - however I was talking to an image software guru who pointed out that those embedded patterns can be wiped out simply by resampling the image (or even just adding a blur or sharpen filter) - turning the encoded pattern into random nonsense. Again, a visible copyright notice is the only thing immune.

[trylab]

Henry Ford was told a V8 was impossible to build. He refused to listen.

 

There you see!

 

In 1902, Léon Levavasseur took out a patent on a light but quite powerful gasoline injected V8 engine.

Don't give the Henry Ford the honour

Ford build his V8 in 1932 I think

 

 

Regards

Edited May 12, 2013 by trylab

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[Paul J]

RE: copyright protections

 

1) Anything visible on a screen can be captured with a screen-shot (a functionality built into any current OS), which will totally ignore anything except the visible pixels. Only way around this is a visible "copyright" type overlay - ugly as they may be.

 

2) There have been ways of embedding "invisible watermarks" in the actual image pixels - a sequence of slight alterations in luminance or chroma values of certain pixels that can be detected and read by appropriate software (this used to be available as a PhotoShop plugin) - however I was talking to an image software guru who pointed out that those embedded patterns can be wiped out simply by resampling the image (or even just adding a blur or sharpen filter) - turning the encoded pattern into random nonsense. Again, a visible copyright notice is the only thing immune.

 

I guess the point I'm trying to make is a new implementation and a partnership between a software developer and Apple and Microsoft. Something that gets in at OS level and communicates with the various software, browsers, previews, screen captures etc. that locks out the ability to copy and capture. If you have the particular file format open on your computer then you can't screen capture, you can't save it etc. Not to replace all formats but to give a photographer, artist or who ever the ability to display, deliver their work in a way that doesn't allow it to be ripped off.

 

This would also stop alot of metadata stripping.

 

Also the ability to self destruct or delete in a given time period would be very beneficial too. I have jobs where I send of high res of images. These are images with high value and the fact that they are downloaded by clients, designers, printers, magazines, papers en masse means they are all too easily distributed. Quite often I find my pictures on ebay I hvae no idea how they get there except for they are taken in this instance and where a watermark or copyright notice is inappropriate. There is one on there right now without my consent and both ebay and the seller just ignore all attempts to communicate. So a self destructing file would be amazing. One that even if you copied it would carry forward the destruction timer.

 

I'm not denying it would be hard, near impossible and would take a few years to proliferate but it's certainly worth some consideration.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Paul J

[Paul J]

There you see!

 

In 1902, Léon Levavasseur took out a patent on a light but quite powerful gasoline injected V8 engine.

Don't give the Henry Ford the honour

Ford build his V8 in 1932 I think

 

 

Regards

 

I realise this but it's not my point.

[giordano]

I guess the point I'm trying to make is a new implementation and a partnership between a software developer and Apple and Microsoft. Something that gets in at OS level and communicates with the various software, browsers, previews, screen captures etc. that locks out the ability to copy and capture. If you have the particular file format open on your computer then you can't screen capture, you can't save it etc. Not to replace all formats but to give a photographer, artist or who ever the ability to display, deliver their work in a way that doesn't allow it to be ripped off.

 

There's more parties involved than Apple and Microsoft: think Google (Chromebooks) and Linux/open source movement to name but two. It would take hardware features (bring in Intel and the others) mandated by legislation enforced by the world government everyone's so afraid of. And even then hackers could easily create a device that mimics a printer and reconstructs an unprotected, non-self-destructing TIFF from the stream of print data.

[Paul J]

There's more parties involved than Apple and Microsoft: think Google (Chromebooks) and Linux/open source movement to name but two. It would take hardware features (bring in Intel and the others) mandated by legislation enforced by the world government everyone's so afraid of. And even then hackers could easily create a device that mimics a printer and reconstructs an unprotected, non-self-destructing TIFF from the stream of print data.

 

Well I agree you're never going to wipe out Piracy but you can make it hard for the 98%. The majority of the problem is where someone posts your picture on their blog. The meta data is stripped and someone yoinks it from their site, claims they can't find you and robs you of a £50K licensing fee. As pico said in an earlier post, as monitor res increases it's going to become even more of a problem as high res images are unleashed on the net. You can get a decent image already from a site that is optimised for a Retina Macbook.

[pico]

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Paul:

 

Look into Digimarc It is one good attempt to create some answerability for copying. It is not fool-proof, nor free, but it keeps the honest honest. I busted it several years ago, but not via an automatic process that weak hackers would require. (Don't know if I can bust it today. Too busy.)

 

It is built into later versions of Photoshop, under 'filters'.

[pico]

One more thing

http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/images/searchbyimage.html

[Paul J]

Thanks Pico. Digimarc looks interesting.

[pico]

Thanks Pico. Digimarc looks interesting.

 

I finally spent some time last night trying my old trick to defeat Digimarc. I failed. It is more difficult than before. Some time ago I thought Digimarc would simply go out of business. I am glad they continued their effort. If I had anything worth protecting I would subscribe.