33. You at the back, stop copying
If you put something onto the internet, someone will download it. Which is nice. Just so long as you control the terms and conditions – and keep your jewellery in a box.
Gone are the days when the internet promoted free sharing of information. Free dinners are now off the menu – so charge what you can for every serving, even the cold chips.
Show Me What You Got
It is important that your web site provides information of some description and that this information can be accessed by users; after all, that is the point of the World Wide Web… But in this cut-throat commercial world the author/provider of the content must be acknowledged and rewarded – whether that be in fiscal terms or just in copyright acknowledgement.
Although the founding principle was that all information posted on the internet should be available for free, it wasn’t long before organisations wised up to the fact that information that is in demand can come at a charge. What is at stake here is the ability to offer information, and as many organisations themselves have to pay for the creation of content, they must pass this cost on (hopefully for profit) to the end-user. And this is where we enter the murky waters of public domain. No matter what protection you may think copyright offers you, unless your developers actually turn the functionality off, every word, image, product, price and typo can be lifted quite easily from your web site and used elsewhere, without the copyright owner being paid and most likely without them even knowing…
Lap-Dance Rules
That’s where PDF (Portable Document Format) comes into play. By saving and posting a file as a PDF, you can answer the need to provide information but protect that information by allowing viewers to see, but not touch. PDFs are marvellous in that large documents can be attached to a web site in the form of a download, available to anyone who requires them; but the content of the document can’t be directly altered or stolen. Web site and copyright owners are happy and the end-user is happy.
Sign Your Name Across My Heart
Images can also be protected by a number of methods. First, by setting the resolution to 72 dpi (dots per inch) you’ll maximise the quality of the image as viewed on a web site, but it will look dreadful should somebody print it out. Secondly, by saving the image as a small .gif or .jpeg, users will be able to look at and even steal the image but will not be unable to make it any bigger without the image quality suffering. Finally, you can use watermarks to protect your images. Many image sites mark every one of their images with a shadowy name across the image, which brands it as their own. When viewed on the host web site, this image looks clean and respectable and is clearly the property of someone; when ‘borrowed’, the image appears to be exactly what it is: stolen property!
How did it go?
Q. How do we go about turning a document into a PDF?
A. You will need to purchase Adobe Acrobat. Once installed, you can print to Acrobat Distiller much like you would to a regular printer. Instead of getting a paper print out, Distiller will create a PDF copy of your document which can be sent as an attachment or posted onto your web site.
Q. Our photographer is not that precious about his images. He’s not too concerned about copyright infringement. We’d rather not involve ourselves in the whole messy business. Could this prove problematic in years to come?
A. If he isn’t, you should be. Allowing users to steal your images is foolish and you are cutting off a potential revenue stream. If you have great images, someone, somewhere will want them too – and will be willing to pay for the privilege. Charge them, albeit a small fee.
Here is an idea for you…
Look at the viability of protecting all of the images on your web site (assuming that you are the copyright holder); this can be done quickly and cheaply by reducing the file size. If your images are particularly rare/special/unique you should talk to a developer about using watermarks or turning off the browser’s ‘save image as’ function. For text-based documents of importance or value, you should look to remove this text from the source code and make it available instead through a download, such as a PDF file.
Defining idea…
‘Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.’
Paul Klee
Defining idea…
‘Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend; And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry [economy].’
William Shakespeare
Defining idea…
‘It is a poor wit who lives by borrowing the words, decisions, inventions and actions of others.’
Johann Kaspar Lavater