Copyright and signature stamping

[M3_Boogie]

Since a lot of people do it, I was wondering if there is any legal benefit to copyright and signature stamping your digital photos before posting them on the web? Do people actually fill out the copyright paperwork to go along with it? Or is it just a peace-of-mind kind of thing?

And how do the non-professional photographers feel about putting their full name on an image could easily circulate outside of the intended audience?

I prefer to remain somewhat anonymous with people I don't know, but I appreciate that other's stealing your art could be upsetting, to say the least.

Undecidedly,

[nondescript]

Few things on this... No; it really doesn't have much bearing on people saving a copy; or emailing it to a friend; etc... That is why they are always resized and downsampled... if you really want a high quality print you will need to find me to get the original.

However, If one of my pictures shows up on a commercial site; or printed in a book or other commercial publication with out my permission - that's where it does have some degree of importance. It's more of an intellectual property issue; much like the difference between selling a bootleg CD recorded at a concert vs. keeping a bootleg CD you recorded at a concert for your own listening purposes... Both weren't authorized by the band, but only one will get you in trouble if you do it enough...

As far as the protection of identity... I don't post anything that I wouldn't put in a book or sell prints or posters or whatever to whomever wanted to actually buy it... so no; I really don't mind people knowing who did the work - I actually hope they do know who did the work; it would be a nice source of alternate income if people ever did think my work was worth paying for...

To get back to your question - the intended audience for anything I put on any website anywhere is everyone... That is just how the internet works, you have to accept it or avoid it.

[teqxero9]

in addition, any picture uve taken is copyrighted to you, whether you put a watermark on it or not,and whether u fill out paperwork or not(filling out the paperwork is only REALLY benficial is if it goes to court and u have paperwork to back it up, which is very rare) i think it really only matters if u see someone else using the pic as their own, otherwise a stamp isnt needed, but i always do cuz i want people to know who took the pic

[kesslerbmw]

Sorry for the threadjack

What can I use to make a logo or put my signature into a file that could be used in my pictures?

[M3_Boogie]

Originally Posted by kesslerbmw

Sorry for the threadjack

What can I use to make a logo or put my signature into a file that could be used in my pictures?

I use Photoshop, with it stored as an "action."