Watermark problems

IP=Intellectual Property: that may be anything, from a logo, a design, a photo, a painting, a text, a patent. But given the actors, I suppose they were pictures.

Yup, every step has to be considered in that case. But what is an IP asset?

I recently read about a case where Redbubble was sued for thousands of dollars for allowing IP assets to be sold on their site. The prosecution lost the case primarily because the company or person(s) suing them (maybe it was Getty Images, I don't recall) did not provide a takedown notice to give Redbubble adequate time to rectify the issue. I think since then, an initial takedown notice has been the preferred first step to take.

@daniellei4510 ,

I suppose we all saw PowerPoint presentations with watermarked images in. People do not have much unjust-consciousness. It's available from the net, so they use it. And there are indeed customers complaining about the watermarks, as they "disturb" the prototype. But I fear that against those using unlicensed assets, you do not have much at hand, except to defend your interests, where you see it. You were lucky with your takedown notice, because often you need to pay healthy licensing fees for past illicit uses. 

This said, there are tools to protect your IP, but nothing that really works well. 

Interesting story, and that's why I am addressing this issue, because it will be easier and easier to just download, and remove the watermark.

A few years ago on another forum, there was a hot topic about a website that allowed any photo to be downloaded, without the watermark, and in a pretty much high resolution. I've tried that method and downloaded some of my images, with really no hassle. The resolution was not as high as the uploaded one, but it was about 1000px on the short edge. I forgot the dimensions, but the photo was there, on my computer, and ready to be used. And that was about 5 years ago.

I once worked for a company that had no problems using watermarked and non-watermarked images for use as assets on their website. With over 30 years of editing experience, I knew how to remove watermarks and enlarge assets to the point where they were usable, at least for the web, and sometimes for print. I would sometimes remove the watermarks for the simple reason that the higher-ups and CEOs who would review the images or pages before making them available publicly were too small minded to imagine what the results would look like without said watermarks. But I insisted that they be purchased legally after they were OK'd before I'd put them on the web. It was always a struggle to convince them to do so until...

A cartoon for their website newsletter slipped through without the asset being purchased. Within a week, they received a take down notice that said, in effect, that the asset must either be removed, or that they pay for the asset, or that further action would be required (e.g., a lawsuit). They panicked and they had me spend the rest of the day removing said asset and scouring other pages for potential infringements. And from that day on, they gave me carte-blanch to purchase any assets they wanted me to use going forward.