Protect image files with Copyright on Photoshop
Here is a simple way to use the File Information box in
Photoshop to take every advantage of the copyright laws. Remember that you gain
additional protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by providing
notification to viewers of your work. This also prevents your images from
becoming Orphan Works.
This should not be done as your sole means
of protection. I would also suggest using a "visible" watermark (such
as that described in this About.com tutorial) that includes, at minimum,
the copyright symbol and your name. This can be placed as a layer above the
image and ghosted or embossed into the image. This is a simple task with
programs such as iView Media Pro, or Breezebrowser, and can be done as a batch
process.
You will obtain the best quality by working with files that
are in an uncompressed or lossless format such as TIF rather than jpeg.
Performing this action on jpegs will subject those files to another round of
"lossy" compression which could lower the quality of your images. At
minimum I would suggest observing the original jpeg to the twice-saved jpeg to
make sure that quality is acceptable.
You may also find the use of utilities such as the Image
Info Toolkit, or PhotoMechanic better
suited for embedding metadata into jpeg files.
How to create in Photoshop (I used Adobe Photoshop cc, but this should work in
most other versions as well).
1. Open any image in Photoshop.
2. Under the window menu choose "Show
Actions".
3. On the right side of the actions palette you
will see a little triangle. Click and choose "create new
action".
4. Name the Action (example, "Copyright 2016")
5. Choose a set from the pop up menu (you could have created
a new set if desired like one named copyright). If you wish you can map
your function keys as a shortcut (for example, Mac "Command + Shift +
F8" or pc, Ctrl+Shift+F8).
6. You are ready to start recording, go to your open image
and choose File, File Info.
7. In the Caption box, type in © 2016 (designer/photographers
name), All Rights Reserved. If you wish, add your phone
number, address, etc. ( to get the © symbol use Option + G [mac], or hold
down on the Alt key while typing the 0169 from the numeric key pad* [windows]).
See the asterisk point below if you are using a windows laptop.
See the asterisk point below if you are using a windows laptop.
8. There are several sections under the toggle bar depending
on which version of Adobe® Photoshop you are using. For version cc, look under
the "copyright" section (Command + 6, Mac; Control +
6, PC), in version cs6 this is in the "general" section. Check the
box labeled "Mark Copyrighted" and place ©
2016 (designer/photographers name), All Rights Reserved. (this is so
you are fully covered in any countries that are signatories of the Bern
Convention). Since not all IPTC readers work the same, I also suggest putting
the same info into the "caption" field as well.
9. If you wish, add your website URL in the field provided
below. However, as noted above this may only be visible if the client opens the
file within Adobe® Photoshop, so you may wish to also place this within the
caption field as well.
10. Choose OK- You will notice the
copyright symbol is now in front of the image name on the top of the image
window.
11. Go back to little triangle at the edge of the actions
palette and choose "stop recording" from the
menu or click on the little black square at the bottom. If you wish to use this
as part of a "batch" process as mentioned below, you will need to add
a "Save As"** step before you stop recording.
12. You now have an action for inserting this data into
every image by simply running this action..
You may wish to backup this action at this point. See your
help file or manual for specifics on how to do this.
Just Automate it!
If you want to make this process even easier, set up a batch
process so that you can process many images at once with this action.
1. Create a folder on your desktop, you might call it "copyright".
Move the files you wish to protect into this folder.
Note: This will overwrite any existing data you have in your
"file info" box, so use carefully or only place copies of your files
in this folder.
2. Under the "file" menu
choose "Automate" and select "Batch".
Choose the copyright action (it should appear automatically
if it was the last action you ran), select a source folder be
sure to check the box labeled override action "Save As"**
commands and chooseplay.
Then sit back and watch, or use the time you saved for more
production purposes.
*If you are on a windows laptop and can't easily use the
numeric keypad, try using the "Character Map" program (read your help
file if you've never used this). You can find it using Start >> Programs
>> Accessories >> System Tools >> Character Map.
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