Copyright in photographs, images, videos, and other content posted on the Internet allows you to protect your property rights to them. This gives the author a decent reward for the work spent on its creation. A watermark is one method that allows you to indicate this fact. This article will discuss what it is, how to make it, and what advantages and disadvantages this copyright protection method has.
What is a Watermark and What are Its Features
Humanity has used watermarks for more than a century to distinguish real securities, such as money, from fakes. Their first documented use dates back to 1281 when the Italians started using watermarks on their banknotes.
In the era of the Internet, the problem of copyright has not only not disappeared anywhere but, on the contrary, has become more acute than ever. After all, it has never been so easy to borrow the fruit of someone else’s hard work than with the advent of the global network. Getting your content into the wrong hands takes just a couple of mouse clicks. Therefore, watermarks have become ubiquitous, designed to prevent the copy-paste of photographs, various illustrations, or documents.
As a rule, it is performed in the style of the company’s or individual author’s brand to serve as a clear and irrefutable indication of the authorship of the content used. One of the primary visual features of such a sign is its transparency, which gave rise to the name of the water sign.
Another equally important task of such branding is marketing – thanks to high-quality content, such a watermark, over time, begins to serve as a quality mark for its consumers. Many illustrators and photographers have gained worldwide fame and fame by using such effects on their products.
Therefore, it’s time to discuss exactly what methods are at the disposal of the average Internet user to protect the rights to own copyright content.
How to Make a Watermark for Copyright Photos Using Online Services
So, if you’re looking for how to make a watermark for photos, there are a lot of services on the internet that are supposed to help you with this goal. One thing to remember is that all watermarks on your content should be of the same style.
For example, let’s check the makewatermark.com service out. All the others have an almost similar way of making watermarks.
- You should select an appropriate file– one or few photos.
- Choose – «Add Logo» or «Add Text».
- Upload your logo directly from your computer or write text and have fun with as many experiments as you wish, adjusting its size, choosing the color and font, selecting opacity or even picking an effect, and much more.
One of the most incredible benefits of using makewatermark.com is good content protection. Especially if you use a batch application option when the sign changes slightly on each photo, it is much more difficult for AI to remove it.
Pros and Cons of Watermarks
The method listed above should be enough to quickly and efficiently watermark any custom content you want to share on the Internet, if necessary. Let’s discuss its pros and cons.
The main advantages of watermarks:
- Content theft protection.
- An additional marketing tool.
- Support for the corporate identity of the company.
- Easy to add in online services.
- The absence of specific rules for its appearance.
Main disadvantages:
- This can ruin exterior photos.
- Takes time to create.
- Relatively easy to remove.
- They do not provide legal protection.
However, all the minuses may not be too critical if the watermark is not too pronounced. And the simple online service we discussed above will allow you to create your symbol in a few minutes.
Summarize
Fortunately for content makers, the primary trend of recent years is increasing respect for private property, including in the field of copyright. That is why even small sites try not to steal someone else’s content or, at least, leave an indication of its author. Therefore, in the current realities, watermarks are becoming not so much a defense as part of a strategy to increase the awareness of a promoted brand. Be sure to keep this method of protecting your work in mind if you are taking unique photos or videos.
Interesting Related Article: “The Crucial Role of Copywriting in PPC Advertising“