wrote in message
I use Windows XP and PhotoShop Elements to make my jpegs. They are posted
on my url via Earthlink. I use these sample images to sell original photos on Ebay. However, there are some Ebay sellers who routinely copy my samples and then sell the copied samples as original photographs. Ebay safe harbor is useless. Also useless is writing "copyright" or "for sale by" on the image, because the other sellers somehow remove such text. I notice that there are some Ebay sellers whose jpegs cannot be copied. When I right-click on their image, there is a pop-up notice "Photo is copyright protected."
Unfortunately for you, even this is easily cicumvented. Just right-click on the image, holding down the mouse button, then left-click on the X, and the photo is easily copied.
You can add javascript (or DHTML) code to your website to prevent right clicking. Just Google for "disable right click", etc, you’ll find lots.
However, this will NOT protect your picture. Can still be gotten directly from source code URL (View/Source), from one’s browser cache, or simply screen capture.
In short, if you put it on the web, it can be stolen.
People are printing them and selling? You must be posting links to higher rez files or something?
Mac
Thanks for the advice, Mac. I was hoping there is a command I can use via PhotoShop Elements to "lock" the jpeg once I save it. Then (after the locked & saved image was sent to my website) it would not matter whether someone saw the source code or even knew the directory address for finding more photos…. Typical resolution is about 100kb per image. Experience with smaller images has taught me that the higher resolution does make a difference in the sale price. Some collectors need to be romanced with the better picture. But there’s the catch-22. I can sell a photo for $100 or more because of its antiquity. The copycats settle for $4 or $5, knowing that they can just keep relisting something they never paid for. THANKS AGAIN!
I’m surprised there is a market for a "100k image", period
Mac
Mac is absolutely correct. At best, you can only block the naive user. If the image can be displayed, it can be taken.
There are only a few things you can do. Easiest is to make the image worthless for those that steal it. One way is to make them too small to be useful for thieves and put a larger sample image to show the customer what quality to expect (labeled with "SAMPLE" or some such message imbedded across the image so it can’t be cloned over and removed).
If you don’t want to put a large text "Sample" message on the high res sample images, you can imbed a digital watermark that is imperceptable but trackable. Digimarc is probably the best known (see:
http://www.digimarc.com/products/MYPICTUREMARC/default.asp).
The full Photoshop comes with the embedding plugin already included. Elements only has the plugin to detect an embedded watermark. However, you can purchase the embedding plugin from digimarc and it will probably work in Elements. Talk to the company to be sure. It has a volume based fee structure, see the webpage for rates. Digimarc also has a web tracking and reporting service but I don’t know what the fee for that is.
I’m surprised there is a market for a "100k image", period
Mac
I was assuming those were samples. For $100, I would expect a larger higher quality image or an actual print. But, what do I know. Collectors are a funny lot.
If I were setting up something like this operation, I would use digimarc on the full sized high rez images to protect my intellectual property (assuming I have the rights to the images), use smaller thumbnails linked to a higher rez sample with visible watermark, and only provide the actual full sized high rez image after they had purchased it and then serve it up from a server that can’t directly be reached from the Internet. This can easily be done with a web based application (behind a firewall) that can retrieve the image from a non-Internet connected server.
Bob
When I was viewing my niece’s wedding album I saw a couple of 4×6 images that she had downloaded from the gallery I created. She didn’t bother to ask me for the full resolution image, just downloaded the file and printed. I was startled by the quality of the image from a 100k file.The original is 20x that size. Being family and all, I’ve decided against taking legal action. 🙂
BTW, Sguy. You could take legal action if you can track ’em down.
Go to www.partypics.com (use Password RSVP) and you see a method they use to prevent this.
There is an ebay seller called starlight-collect and he sells great photos on ebay. If you open any of his auction pages, you will see a high resolution scan. But his scans cannot be copied, and that’s the sort of protection I am trying to add onto my own samples. I got his seller name from someone who said his jpegs are a good example of I myself could protect photos from getting copied. I did write to that seller (starlight-collect), who gave me a polite reply saying he did not remember how or why there is a copyguard on his samples…. So any guess as to how starlight-collect is protecting his photos? I badly need to do this myself… PS the digimarcs don’t stop the other ebay seller who is making copies of photos. He does this for a living and is willing to take the 5-10 minutes to obscure such things.
hi, i am an ebay seller, I want to find out how to put my user id (transparant) accross my photo..any tips?
Thank you, C Elegance
C Elegance,
Create a new layer. Put your text on it. Change the color of your text to a neutral gray, something like RGB values : 169-169-169 (adjust them depending on the picture underneath). To be as neutral as possible, always keep those 3 numbers identical. Then, set this layer’s blending mode to Overlay.
For a better effect, apply a drop shadow to this layer.
Ray
Protecting an image, even with a JavaScript as I suspect this person did, will do little good because, when using Internet Explorer under Windows at least, all that is viewed in the browser (except for streaming medias) is kept in a folder. All one has to do is to go to this folder, sort it by last modified date, and the last picture viewed magically appears at the top of the list. Copy / Paste this image into any other folder, and the image is stolen, even with a JavaScript protection script.
Of all the scripts I saw so far, they only do one thing : prevent the user from right-clicking / saving an image. They do not prevent the image from being saved onto the viewer’s hard drive, unfortunately.
But, if it’ll make you feel safer, have a look at this website :
http://www.wdvl.com/Authoring/Graphics/Theft/disable.html Ray
SuburbanGuy,
I looked at a starlight-collect auction page and you do get a copy protected message when you right click on the large image. Is this what you are talking about?
That is being provided by a java script routine on the web page. Looking at the source for the page, it would appear that this is being generated by ebay so there is probably an option somewhere that lets you turn it on. I would have thought that would have been something that would always be on. From your question, I guess it isn’t.
The photo itself is stored on ebay photo hosting. I don’t use ebay so I don’t know how you would specify using that copy protection feature, perhaps there is a faq on their site that tells you how to do it.
However, the photo itself is not protected. The web address for the photo is clearly given in the source for the web page and the photo can be easily downloaded once you locate that address. The photo is a standard jpg with nothing special done to it at all.
Bob
Edit: Ray is absolutely correct. I forgot about the browser cache on the local disk and that makes it even easier, you don’t need to know anything about html!
There is an ebay seller called starlight-collect
Just picking one at random:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1 8824&item=3808190 248
The script is NOT eBay’s, it is the sellers:
<!– Begin
function right(e) {
if (navigator.appName == ‘Netscape’ &&
(e.which == 3 || e.which == 2))
return false;
else if (navigator.appName == ‘Microsoft Internet Explorer’ && (event.button == 2 || event.button == 3)) {
alert("Photo is Copy Protected.");
return false;
}
return true;
}
document.onmousedown=right;
document.onmouseup=right;
if (document.layers) window.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN); if (document.layers) window.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEUP); window.onmousedown=right;
window.onmouseup=right;
// End –>
</script>
And the picture, of course, is NOT protected, the URL (as revealed in View Source) is:
http://i7.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/9e/65/17_1_b.JPG And you call this "high rez"? (400×300 pixels).
At any rate, as you see, the picture is far from "protected".
Mac
Thanks for the correction Mac.
At least we all agree that the image is not protected.
I am a new PhotoShop user. I have 6.0. Can someone give me step by step how to on creating a watermark? Shadows and all.
Thank you!
Lady Di,
Read this exact thread (5 messages above yours), the answer is there.
Ray
I am sorry, my question is incorrect. My apologies. Here’s what I want to learn to do:
Raised Logo <
http://whaddat.com/events/mound.html>
The logo at the very top that reads ‘Whaddat NY’ is raised but in color. Then on their photos it is transparent but raised? Can this be done in PhotoShop? If so, how? And if not, where can you acquire this effect?
Thank you!
Lady_Di,
Here’s one way to do it using just the native capabilities of Elements. Both effects can be created exactly the same way by just changing the background.
1. Choose your background. Graphic or photo.
2. Select the "horizontal type mask tool".
3. Choose the type face and size you want to use and type the text in the desired location. This will give you a selection with the "marching ants" around it.
4. Select the image layer with the background you want (this would be the photo or the graphic you want in the "letters"), then create a new "layer via copy". You will now have a separate layer with the image making up the letters.
5. The new layer should now be the active layer. If not, select the new layer in the layer palette to make it the active layer.
6. Bring up the layer styles palette (Window->Layer Styles). Select the Bevels option from the dropdown menu on the palette and click on "simple inner".
7. Now go back the the layer palette. The layer with the text now has a round icon with a cursive "f" in it. Double Click on the cursive "f" to bring up the Style Settings dialog. Adjust the bevel size to get the effect you want. Set the bevel direction to up.
8. With the text layer still the active one, simplify the layer. (Layer->Simplify Layer).
9. Now select the text: press the ctrl key (if in windows) and click on the layer in the layer palette. The "marching ants" should surround the text.
10. From the edit menu, select "stroke". Set the width to 1 or two pixels ( you may wish to experiment with various sizes to see what you like), set the color to white (click on the color box if necessary), and the location to outside. Then click ok.
That’s it, you’re done. If you’re doing the one over the photo that’s all you need to do. If you’re doing the one for the web page logo, simply move or copy/paste the text layer to the image that contains your desired background image and move it into position.
Have fun!
Wendy – thank you for your response. I don’t know if the glass effect is it now after tinkering. You’ll be able to see what I tried here:
See here <
http://shaggysstudio.com/shaggyUB2.jpg>
Robert – I am going to try your way too. So far here’s what I found in a net search:
Transparent in PDF <
http://www.adobe.com/print/tips/phstransparent/pdfs/transpar ent.pdf>
I have version 6, so I kinda matched it up. Again, see photo linked above. I don’t know for sure how I did it but it needs tweaking I do know. Any suggestion, criticisms are welcomed.
Thanks everyone and Happy Easter!
I’ve been thinking about this anti-theft thing for images…
Another thing to do to prevent people from stealing images, or at least make it a little harder for them to try and succeed, is to slice your images. On E-Bay, I don’t think it’s possible, if you don’t do you own web ad, but on a regular website it’s easy. You can cut you images in a number of slices, then with a little HTML, you can reassemble all. It’s transparent for the viewer, and demand a little (if not a lot) of work on the pirating person.
Ray
Hi Lady Di,
I couldn’t get through on your original link but "Finally" worked 🙂 It is looking good …. how did you do it?
Wendy
The easiest way to create a clear emboss of text in PSE 2 is to use the following:
Type your text and go to:
Effects –>Text Effects –> Clear Emboss
You can then drag the clear embossed text layer onto your images.
Barb
Wendy – yeah I took the original off b/c it wasn’t right. But, yep, FINALLY is just that. I finally figured it out. And now I am tweaking, adding shadow effect, make it larger, etc… I have had this program for a year at least and never touched. Everyone was telling me I should have PSP for the ease of use. So I was a scaredy cat, you could say. FEAR NOT… she is learned. LAUGHS!
Anyhow, this .pdf file gave me clear steps. Hope it can assist anyone one else as well. I typed ‘adobe transparency’ in Netscape search and this file popped up. 2 pages long, that’s it.
PhotoShopTranparent Tip .pdf <
http://www.adobe.com/print/tips/phstransparent/pdfs/transpar ent.pdf>
Surburban Guy, sorry for messing up your original post.
Barbara – PSE = ??
Lady Di – people have been helping you get the effect you want, but "PSE" stands for Photoshop Elements, and that’s the forum you’re on. You really wanted, I’m sure, to be on the forum for full Photoshop.
Beth – my apologies. I don’t know how I landed here on this forum but I appreciate everyone being patient and forgiving.
Have a great day!
Your post made me curious. Try these Google searches:
prevent web image capture
prevent image copying
They give different lists but both include a product called Copysafe which costs $500 but might be worth a look if you are losing a lot of money. They also give other solutions.
Also (free)
1. What about a low visibility watermark on the image?
2. Resizing to a defined pixel height or width around 480 / 640 depending on aspect ratio? This will give a reasonable on screen display but very poor prints if saved. Combined with barring right clicks, attempts to copy would be very frustrating.
Beth,
Lady Di said she was using Photoshop Elements in the post that started this thread. She’s on the right forum.
Bob
Bob,
Lady Di didn’t start the thread, she came in later with "I am a new PhotoShop user. I have 6.0. "
BTW I enjoyed your Bilibie entry.
—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/ wrote in message
Beth,
Lady Di said she was using Photoshop Elements in the post that started
this
thread. She’s on the right forum.
Bob
Thanks, Ray. I set aside Tuesday ALL DAY to nail this down. I do not use the Ebay image system, mainly because it is a small size and they crop to fit their screen. (Because my photos are very rare and obscure, it is vital for me myself rather than Ebay to decide what to show on the auction site.) So I include some html lines in the auction description that automatically routes my samples onto the auction. Long-winded way of saying I use my own web space to post the jpegs, then discard the jpegs after auction ends. Of course, thanks to all you guys I now realize the 2 or 3 crooked ebay sellers are downloading straight from the web site long before I take them down. Anyway, thanks for all the advice. — SuburbanGuy
Thanks, Mac. I may add the extra script you provided anyway, as I am not totally sure just how clever are the people making copies. They may be using windows & just right clicking away, in which case that script while stop some of them. I’m going to spend all day tomorrow (Tuesday) trying to fix this. The guys making the copies don’t stop me from selling — but they are flooding the marketplace with copies, and that puts a black eye on an otherwise honest industry. — SuburbanGuy
OOPS! Sorry about that! I got myself confused. Guess I should have gone back and checked instead of just going by memory.
Glad you enjoyed the picture.
Bob
Bob,
Lady Di didn’t start the thread, she came in later with "I am a new PhotoShop user. I have 6.0. "
BTW I enjoyed your Bilibie entry.
—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
wrote in message
Beth,
Lady Di said she was using Photoshop Elements in the post that started
this
thread. She’s on the right forum.
Bob
I didn’t mess with that javascript, it might be specific to some other script he’s running, called for elsewhere, or specific image for image. Just noticed that it had at least partially something to do with it.
But if it doesn’t work, there’s lots of them for download with a Google.
Just search for "diable right click" and etc.
But heck, anybody can grab a screen shot; if what you’re selling is the online JPEG itself, at that size, it’s pretty much same quality.
Mac
Hi Lady Di,
Glad you now have the effect you wanted … and are finally using Photoshop. Practise is what you need … when you get stuck just come back and ask.
Enjoy the effects
Wendy
Hey, Mac. Many thanks for the copy-protect code. I just now added to all my listings, and they are definitely protected against right-clicking and saving. So now the remaining issue is how to protect the jpegs that are stored on my own website (i.e., the url that gets referenced in the html for the auction descriptions). This could shut the barn door once & for all. Oh, btw, there was one very small omission in your text — the entire html should start with and the go into <begin> . Just thought I’d mention so you knew I was not a total tool. Thanks again — maybe we’ll talk more. I think I should post my solution on these PhotoShop pages when I get it figured out. – SuburbanGuy
Thanks, Davee. I just checked the CopySafe sites and it seems feasible but I need to check around to be sure it keeps the barn door shut. As for watermarks — the 1 ebay seller who does most of the copying is too good for that. He either crops it out entirely, pastes a blank credits box on top etc. He gets away with it because he will darken a black & white so it resembles a sepiatone photo from way back. Keep in mind he only sells for $5-$10 a shot… the real collector know it’s not original. But he only needs to sell one, and it’s all profit because he never paid for it. If he gets 2 bidders, it’s easy for him to solicit the second bidder for the same price, as he now has many copies saved in his photo base. But thanks for the tip anyway. — SuburbanGuy
I recalled reading about a product which copies entire websites to a PC. A Google search turned up a thing called WinHTTrack. It seems this will copy an entire website on to a PC, with all the links and images fully operational. This is one of the Google references: <
http://download.com.com/3000-2377-10149393.html>
From its description it’s the sort of product your ‘ripper’ might use to get your entire website and take the images at leisure. You would need to check if it would overcome a product like CopySafe before spending real money.
I think for a first try at protection I’d go for low-res images which would give poor prints.
Sub’Guy,
Why don’t you just use an overlaid pattern on your samples in such a way that it would be extremely difficult to remove? Here is a quick example I just made:
http://home.comcast.net/~hey-m0e/marked_tut.jpg While it would be possible for someone to clear up the image, I think that it would take quite a bit of effort and time.
All I did was define a pattern using the "no" shape, fill a new layer over the image, blend the layer with lowered-opacity overlay, and Save For Web.
Now you can see what a beautiful shot of Tut I have for sale, and you can copy it all day long. But you can’t "fix" it easily, or at all, depending on your skills and desire.
When someone decides to buy a copy, they get one without the overlaid pattern…
Minimum effort on my part, the image is displayed with enough discernable quality to attract a buyer, and the rip-off artist can’t easily profit.
Byron
The Tut image treatment seems a pretty good approack.
And here’s another image protection product that costs a lot less then CopySafe. <
http://www.cellspark.com/imagesafe.html>
As the image display relies on executing protected code on the host site I doubt if website capture programs would work with it. But you would have to have some sort of superimposed (moving) text or image to stop screen captures.
