Having control over your ‘“author’s rights’”-property online once published

Legend

All true, and in the cases where you are aware of the theft, you can only deal with them on a case-by-case basis. But you can only get there by accepting that some degree of theft is inevitable. (And for brick-and-mortar clients who steal, it's not hard to spread the word among fellow providers. There were a few companies in my original hometown that couldn't get a Kinko's to print them a poster.)

As for being on a website... there are simple ways to extract content even from the most protected sites. If the data is on file and shown on a screen, it's obtainable. It perforce has to be... which is the root of the problem.

You shrug, you move on, you drop clients who think they're smarter than you, you don't lose sleep over it.

Legend

I'm not sure there's much of use to add to this, and no, it doesn't really have much to do with InDesign except in a collateral way. (It applies to pencil, charcoal, oil paint work just as much, and to AI-driven 3D modeling, ditto.)

But a few more thoughts. First, I don't see anywhere that you claim your work has actually been stolen, so this seems to be a case of unfounded fears that someone, somewhere might re-use your work without permission or payment. (With the parallel notion that in some perfect world, they'd look you up to pay you $1.24 for the privilege.) To be honest, that's something you just put aside as a minor (and thus inconsequential) concern, or a very unlikely one — Mercedes stealing your design and using it in worldwide advertising, or such.

So do what you do (or don't, since you claim to have given up the field over this issue), collect payment from those who commissioned the work or will pay for it somehow, and move on. Just like the other millions who do this and aren't Disney or the estate of Andy Warhol.

But a a more fundamental suggestion, fairly far off the beam even for this collateral discussion, is that you might need to re/consider why you think every effort you make is due remuneration. (That's more or less the definition of 'hypercapitalism' and IMVHO — as a writer on consumer economics issues — it's a toxic mindset that infuses the last decade or two.)

Participating Frequently

James giffort: you are just promoting pseudo slavery on this forum, and completely lost track of the Indesign subject I started with. If your concept of economics and hypercapitalism is based on the fact that everyone stills your work, and has the right to still your artwork out of the blue... My response is: I have a family to feed, dress and pay for their future!! You have no idea what economics means> I completely disagree with your statements! I will not move on as you claim!! If inDesign or Adobe inc. dont allow us to prevent thiefs online from stilling one's work, there is a problem➡️ Im not asking you telling me what to do or how to deal with stilling!! You brought up the colateral discussion not me

Legend

I'm going to go elsewhere, maybe a little island where sense and literacy are on the agenda. Best of luck reforming human nature, though.

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

[...] Ex: you create an Advertising campain on facebook for a cliente. Your client simply copy paste your advertising and use it on a different social media without me knowing and moneze (increasing the # of viewers) over my work without my permision and without me earning any extras over my work. [...]

By @Lu37545390878a

That's why you should sign contract with your client - describing where & how he can use what you've done for him.

With other copy&pasters - well, you just need a good layer.

Participating Frequently

Exactly my point. You make a contract, and then... how can you tell, know or prove your client is not breaching that contract on the WWW? I know lawyers exist.. the point is how can you "catch" anyone, or your own client isnt breaching that contract?

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

Exactly my point. You make a contract, and then... how can you tell, know or prove your client is not breaching that contract on the WWW? I know lawyers exist.. the point is how can you "catch" anyone, or your own client isnt breaching that contract?

By @Lu37545390878a

Setup few searches with a name of your client.

Use Google Lens.

Or use AI to search for you.

BobLevine

Community Expert

What does this have to do with InDesign?

Participating Frequently

InDesign is where you create your work, your creations. That is where you can apply any way of "mint" or create a cooky before publishing online. Once saved N published there is no way to add creator's info inbeded in your work. Phsh has now a weak way to "mint" sort of way your creations but still in beta.. . InDesign has nothing at all so far. What is the point of expending so many hours in your creations if someone else can monetize even more than you (with a copy/paste action), the creator? Does that makes sense to you now?

BobLevine

Community Expert

Rule one: If you don't want it "stolen" don't put it on the internet. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing can stop your content from being used and the harder you try, the more you'll inconvenience the people interested in your content.

Of course, if you want to spend the money to set up paywalls, that's up to you but if you're asking about how to protect InDesign generated content, well, the answer to that lies outside of InDesign.

Legend

If you publish it, it can be stolen. If you publish it in electronic format, it will be stolen.

That's the reality of publsihing and information systems in 2024, as it has been for quite some time.

The first question to consider, as I put to all new authors etc. certain their novel idea is going to be "stolen," is... so what? Other than a sale you probably never would have made, what did you lose? (And if someone is so brazen as to make major commercial use of your work, lawyers abound.)

Second question: sure your house isn't pretty glassy? 🙂