How you choose to watermark your images is up to you.Īgain, the watermark itself is not a copyright. A watermark may use your company’s name, your personal name, or your logo. Watermarks Can Serve as a Reminder of Your Copyright and Can Be a Great DeterrentĪ watermark is a graphic that is added to an image to assert your copyright or ownership, typically by using photoshop or another online program to apply the mark. You don’t have to put a special warning on your images to receive such protection your art is copyrighted from the moment of creation.
The good news is that in the United States and most western countries, a piece of art receives copyright protection the second you click the button on your camera, hit save in photoshop, or apply the last brush stroke on your canvas and upload an image of that painting to social media. Images Automatically Have Copyright Protection While watermarking can be a great deterrent, it’s not the same thing as a copyright, nor is it a substitute for officially obtaining copyright protection from the US Copyright Office.
Understandably, artists have resorted to “watermarking” their images online to prevent others from stealing their work. Images are easy to steal, and many artists have had the unfortunate experience of seeing their work end up in places that they did not authorize or receive compensation for. Artists of all types and media take a risk when showcasing their work on the internet.
