Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
months to receive a certificate, you are covered as soon as the Copyright Office
receives a complete and correct form.
A U.S. copyright is valid in most other countries, so you don't have to worry
about taking out additional copyrights to show your work on the web, or to send it to
people in other countries. If you are in the U.K., copyright is considered automatic
and you don't have to fill in a registration form. However, there is a useful PDF with
relevant copyright information at
www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-about.htm.
Using the copyright symbol with your name can stop innocent appropriation.
The proper format for doing this in the U.S. is:
Copyright © 2010 Your Name. All rights reserved.
However, any statement on your web portfolio that clearly states your copy-
right is considered valid.
Luke Williams displays his copyright in
shorthand as part of his nav bar. It is present
at all times, and on all pages of his site.
Jonnie Hallman, who programmed his site,
used code to make the copyright for his
portfolio update automatically when the year
changes. That way, as the portfolio is updated
with new work, the most recent edition of it
is recognized.
The most common way to claim copyright on a digital image is to simply add
the copyright symbol and information directly to the piece. Although more than ade-
quate warning for the well-intentioned, this is not much protection against anyone
with a good eye and a cloning tool, especially since you can't put the notice anywhere
that is critical to viewing the work.
One compromise between paranoia and laissez-faire is to provide low-resolution
images. An image large enough to represent your work onscreen but well below print-
able threshold prevents someone from easily “borrowing” your work. However, this is a
less useful solution than it used to be. It doesn't prevent a determined or clueless vio-
lator from copying your image and using it in low resolution. And it negates one of
the most critical reasons for putting your work online in the first place: to display it
in the best possible way. Most portfolios are showing big, beautiful images, but they
