Protecting a design

[danman03]

So, I had a first happen to me today. I had a client of mine email me saying their logo was stolen and being used on products for sale. She asked me if she had all the rights to the design and I told her yes. She paid me the money and I relinquished all the rights over to her. I found the products she was talking about which were t shirts on amazon. I looked at the design and I knew exactly what the seller had done. They saved the image from a website and just threw it in Illustrator and did a image trace. Very easily noticeable. So, this got me thinking, what can someone do to keep this sort of thing from happening? I know you can use watermarks, but for a watermark to be really effective, it needs to cover the entire design and that can be distracting. Plus, who wants to show off a logo with a watermark? Other than that, I really don't know how to stop someone from stealing a design. I feel like editing software has gotten so advanced, that with a little practice, anyone can just steal a design. What are some of the methods you use to prevent something like this from happening?

 

[IamSam]

Hello and welcome to PSG.

You may know this but when you sell the rights to an image/logo to a client, any misuse of that image/logo becomes a legal matter for the client. Once that client posts that image/logo in public domain, then they assume the risk.

As for your images/logos before you turn over rights, there's not much you can do unless your financially capable and willing to pursue the matter legally. You need to protect your assets with watermarking or simply not allowing it to be seen in the public realm. In other words, don't post anything on the internet you don't want stolen.

 

[danman03]

When it comes to my personal designs, I cover myself by using watermarks, but only if it's something I plan to make a financial gain with. If it's just a design I want to share with friends or something, then I usually don't mess with a watermark because I don't care who uses it.

I know that once I hand over the logo/design to a client, it's theirs to worry about and not me. But, I also don't want my clients getting stolen from if there's something I can do to prevent it. I'm just pretty sure there isn't much one can do to prevent theft.

 

[dv8_fx]

Not being a harbinger of bad news but it's a sad truth that there is nothing that can be done to protect one's intellectual property from being stolen or immitated.

The copyright or TM marks or even watermarks are meaningless and will not discourage the unscupulous from taking and tweeking the design in any image editing application to suit their needs.

Anything posted in the net is fairgame. Even with right click disabled, all it takes is a screen shot. Anything printed or displayed can be scanned or photographed.

Although It's usually up to the copyright owner to pursue copyright infringement of their asset design and brand identity with the assistance of relevant authorities, there's nothing much we can do to assist them except to provide concrete, irrefutable proof of the designs origin.

In the event your yet to be approved and purchased artwork was "scooped", you may chase and politely request the offending party to discontinue using the item. But in most cases, it falls on deaf ears unless you take a class action suit against them.... but are you willing and able to go through the legal process?

In the end, we all have to live with the sad truth..... this carreer and business we're in has it's darksides and risks.

 

[IamSam]

Anything posted in the net is fairgame. Even with right click disabled, all it takes is a screen shot. Anything printed or displayed can be scanned or photographed.

I don't share how it's done, but most browsers have the ability to circumvent right click disabled content, you don't even need a screen shot! You have access to the uploaded images directly!

Here's a kicker.............anyone worth their salt can defeat most watermarking. There's only a few watermarking techniques that offer any real resistance to a determined thief.

 

[dv8_fx]

I don't share how it's done, but most browsers have the ability to circumvent right click disabled content, you don't even need a screen shot! You have access to the uploaded images directly!
.

That I know..... hehehe.... shhhhh...

I was speaking in terms of the easy lazy way.... What these thieves do is all about easy and lazy, anyway........ lol....