You are probably wondering about the notice of the creative commons license on the top of my page. I shall try to explain this as simply as possible.
Why the Commons?
The Creative Commons is a licensing system set up to provide artists with a way of telling their audience what they can do with their work and grant permission to anyone who wants to use the works for reasons in the license. This means that you don't have to ask permission to use my works within the limitations of the license! Why? Permission has already been granted! The mere appearance of the license means you have automatic permission to use my work as long as you don't violate the terms. The terms are simple:
- Attribution: Put simply, if you copy and paste my photos or text onto your blog or facebook feed, you must attribute me as the Author of the work. Simply say: "Photo Credit: Roland Pedeferri" and you have satisfied that requirement.
- No Commercial use, you cannot use my work in an advertisement, and if you make profit from your site or newspaper, then that is considered commercial use. Email me to negotiate a commercial price.
- Share Alike. This means that you are allowed to adapt, alter, and build on my work on the condition that the finished alteration must stay under this license.
Why are there no Watermarks?
You may have noticed that I upload at full resolution and do not watermark my images. I do this for a reason. I want people to enjoy my work. If I limited the resolution and watermarked my images, then less people would be able to enjoy my work. A full resolution copy is great if you want a new wallpaper or want to share my work.
It also is wide open to abuse. Here is the deal:
I don't care.
Regardless of watermarks and legal threats, regardless of low resolution versions, people will always nick your stuff. Some even sell photos with the watermark still on them! They don't care about the quality. They care about a quick sale online.
Watermarking does two things.
- Stops legitimate linking and enjoyment almost dead in its tracks.
- Serves as a slight deterrent for criminals.
Leaving works unwatermarked allows for:
- Legitimate users to enjoy the work.
- Criminals to sell the work.
As long as the people that are legitimate users get to enjoy the work I'm happy. I don't care about some idiots selling crappy prints.
Enforcement:
I have a few tools at my disposal. First of all, Google reverse image search.
This allows me to upload an image and then search the internet for copies of the image. This helps me track my work, and check if anyone is selling my work or breaching the license.
I then simply report the the criminals for copyright infringement and send them an invoice for the prints.
Simple and effective.
