I was getting ready to post some of my work for critique and wondered if this is ok or are you just supposet to put your name and no copyright?

why not? you dont need permission to put your tags on your hard work. as long as you didnt purposely take a pic made by some other guy and pasted it on yours without permission then go ahead n make your tags as big as possible....hell, id put my face of my 3D work if my mug wasnt that ugly. as long as you dunt do plagiarism---or whatever thats called--- then ur kewl dude.

Thanks biggert!!!! Does anyone disagree with that? TIMMYLYNN

Not only is it OK, I strongly suggest it. Some people even put a watermark across the image to prevent theft or tubing. Do whatever you feel is necessary.

Thanks guys....

On any image you create yourself you should put your name on it.

heres what hapens with some 3D work... OK, so you spend what, like 12 hours doing making it trying to make it look the best you can...then you post if for free....they an AHOLE takes it and posts it on his website and charges people money to look at it and stuff....this happens usually with porn 3D well....i am into 3D mainly for Pornography makin....so i LOOVE makin 3D porn pics and postin them for free on FREE websites so people can just look and download the pics if they want....i spend many hours making a single pic and dunt charge a miserable fraction of a cent....THEN I FIND OUT THAT SOME AHOLE SET UP A PAYSITE AND MY STUFF IS ON THIS A**HOLE'S WEBSITE....WAS SUP WITH THAT? THIS GUY MUST HAVE MADE A PRETTY $20 (MY WERK ISNT THAT GREAT FOLKS, TRUST ME) TOTAL ON MY WORK ALONE FOR BEING OPEN FOR SOME MONTHS. so i figured, look....if theyre gonna steal it, your work is as good as theirs....thats a fact in the cyberworld....BUT HERES THE THING....IF THEYRE GONNA STEAL MY STUFF, UM GONNA MAKE THEM WORK FOR IT.....UM PUTTING UP A TAG RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE PIC.....THEYD HAVE TO SPEND SOME TIME PHOTOSHOPING THAT PIECE OF CRAP TO REMOVE THAT "COPYRIGHT" YE...THATS RIGHT BABY...WORK FOR IT! AINT THAT A BAD IDEA?

I almost always put my name and copyright on my renders.

good point where is the best place to put the copyright. for it to protect you the most? In the center?

RIGHT SMACK DAB IN THE CENTER! well....that's if u dunt mind messing up your sweet pic a bit. or put it in a place where if they cut out your tag theyd be cutting out an important part of the pic....that way you know theyd have to Photoshop it. you can also experiment with text effects...the simplest is changing the text transparency so it doesnt strike the person looking at your pic like "WHAM!" the tag catches his attention right away..

Well sometime, for non malevolent users/watchers, a big watermark right in the middle of the pic or on a detail can be annoyingh (especially when using as a wallpaper for everyday or such) aside from a discret copyright notice, a signature in one corner, two things can protect you a bit from dirty thieves and pics leechers... 1) make a distinctive feature visible on your character, it can be a scar, a tatoo, or something 2) have a very special drawing/postworking style that is easily recognizable, not only to you but to people who like your work for what it is. Chances are that if THEY recognize your style on a website it isn't supposed to be on, or fromsomeone who claims its his, they will help and report it

... really make 'em work for it. ;=]

hehehe. Very good! Dr Geep, are you taking some of your own pills by any chance? Love esther

I use a visible watermark signature that touches on parts of the image in ways that make it a pain to remove easily (it can be done, but it'll discourage the lazy and unskilled). I try to make it unobtrusive but still noticible. My particular watermark/signature is my nick and a little copyright symbol. bonni

Geep....your funny......:o) does anyone know the answer to my morphing posting??????Any body use Amorphium???

Heh... good one Geep :o) Thomas

There's no particular reason to put a copyright symbol on a render other than a reminder. Your image is copyright anyway, so your name is enough to mark it as your work. The one thing you musn't put is a trademark symbol.

Put your name on it and a watermark, like bonni already explained. If you have your work stolen and tubed with a different name and copyright plasterd all over it and shared on various Yahoo Groups (like some of mine) you are starting to make the watermark as large and visible and heavy to remove as possible. A small copyright line somewhere at the border of the image can be cropped away. Make it visible and hard to remove.

All original image work is automatically copyrighted by its creator. However, LEGALLY there is no real recourse other than a 'cease and desist' without a visible opyright symbol. And better yet, registered opyrights hold infinitely more sway in court. Registering a opyright can be done in the U.S. for $30 via the U.S. Copyright Office (see http://loc.gov/copyright).

If your image has been stolen for profit, AND YOU CAN PROVE IT, you are far more likely to receive compensation with a visible registered opyright.

Caveat/Warning:
U.S. Copyright Laws do not apply everywhere, so goodluck if your goods are stolen by individuals from most Asian continent nations (China, Russia, etc). Its one of the drawbacks to the internet.

Lastly:
This is a digital age. ANY image can be modified to remove Watermarks, Trademarks, Benchmarks, Stretchmarks or Skidmarks with time and expertise. Just because a opyright symbol can be cropped/blurred/erased/etc. does NOT negate it. It merely requires you to provide proof of orginality. Posting here at Renderosity timestamps your image. Conversely, it opens you up to being ripped off. Your choice.

so what you say is that, unless you pay 30$ for each of yourpicture, you are just an open invitation to rampaging thievery and plundering and that if that happen, you can do nothing but eat your tie with it ! well after copyright threads about marketplace and freebies, it seems that it is pointless and just another waste of time and another source of worrying to even dare to make pictures after all... i guess i'll better stop doing anything at all :(

btw do you have the rights tro put a copyright notice and sigle with your name even if you did not pay/register the copyright itself, or is it illegal ?

Attached Link: http://www.whatiscopyright.org/

As a matter of fact, the DMCA makes it very easy for a legitimate copyright holder to get their materials removed from improper digital use. The copyright holder has the advantage, and the infringing party is under the burden to prove that they have NOT violated copyright. The copyright holder does NOT have to prove anything other than showing that it is their original work. Once a complaint has been filed, the accused then has to prove that the work is their own. Also note that many countries don't have any means of "registering" copyrights, and instead rely on the provisions of the Berne Convention (to which most western nations are a party). The fact is, if you catch someone mis-using your work online, you DO have legal recourse, starting from complaining to their ISP and going from there. The ISP is obligated to take an interest once they've been notified. And if they don't, you can go to their provider and THEIR provider, and so on, all the way up to the root servers. Fact is, though, a single complaint to their provider will usually do the trick. Incidentally, registered or not, the only way you'll get a court monetary award for copyright infringement is if you can show you've suffered monetary damage from the action. You can, of course, get someone to stop using your material in ways you don't want them to. The visible watermark certainly can be removed, but it does discourage the lazy and the unskilled, and those are usually the people who steal images. ;-) bonni

Oh, and of COURSE you have the right to put a copyright notice on your work. It is legally copyrighted the moment it's "fixed in tangible form" according to the law. The notice isn't even necessary (it's just a good idea ;-). bonni

Unquestioned acceptance of ANY information submitted by strangers from the internet is no way to do business or make rational decisions. Always follow up with your own research.

It will cost $30 US at the U.S. Copyright Office to OFFICIALLY register a copyright. However, you can register as many images as can fit in the envelope for THAT price, whether it be one or 1,000 images. Each image will require either a photocopy, slide, or transparency etc.. As I mentioned in my above post, GO TO THE WEBSITE. Likewise, you can get a copy of 2004 Artists And Graphic Designers Handbook at your local Borders Books & Music. Therein you will find copyright details as explained above.

My reference above was in regard to "recompense" for stolen work, i.e., receiving MONEY for ones work. And copyright theft is not limited to a reposting on another website. Rather I refer to having it used in commercial venues wherein the thief receives a profit from your work (magazines, books, television) without your knowledge. On www.whatiscopyright.org, third paragraph clearly states, "He then registers his copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office which is a requirement in order to sue for monetary damages should a violation of his copyright arise." Simple and simply said.

And the FACT is, you do have to provide proof. I don't know what country you are from, but in the U.S. we support the notion that you are innocent until proven guilty (with some albeit arguable exceptions). THIS is the very reason why you would officially register a copyright. Proof. If you have no interest in monetary compensation, and consider the registration of copyright an unnecessary expense, disregard it.

Hypothetical example......I complain to Webmaster@Joe3D.com stating that X-Poster has posted MY work under her name. Yet I am lying and have no means of backing up my complaint. And X-Poster has NO means of proving it is her original work, since she ignorantly deleted everything from her harddrive after posting her image, Its a skewed unrealistic scenario, but were it to happen, who should be believed? A crime with absolutely no evidence at all is not a crime.

so to sum it up, unless you pay 30$ each time you make images (because at the time you buy a copyright for a bunch of images, it won't protect those you would make afterwards), you are a legitimate target for theft, impersonation, and people making money or fame from your work... Unless you keep up each and every project file you could EVEN be accused to be the thief by someone who stole your work.. that's how it sounds to me... well if this is how it works, it is kinda depressing and i would rather stop posting public images, because each one can bring me trouble by some thief. oh i forgot, it won't happen to me because i am lame and my pictures do not worth stealing. I am relieved !

There is absolutely no reason to be hostile. I was addressing some issues that were not addressed, and providing a link with information. As a matter of fact, I do have a copyright laywer, I own a business which relies on knowledge of International Copyright law, I've been on the net since 1993, and I live in Australia, one of the members of the Berne Convention. I suggest that you take a chill pill, and I also suggest that you read up on the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. I also worked at an ISP, and I was the official copyright contact. When a complaint was made, we dealt with it IMMEDIATELY. We didn't say, "Prove it's yours." We took it down and then sorted it out from there. Generally speaking, and based on many years of experience, when a complaint is filed ISPs are far, FAR more likely to act first and ask questions later, and the burden of proof IS on the person who has been accused. Yes, proof is necessary, but it's a hell of a lot easier to prove you made something than for a thief to prove you didn't... Now relax. Most people here are not going to take some idiot at Geocities to court if they find their images being misused, so the fact is, knowing how to get them to remove your stuff is probably of more practical use than telling people how to register copyrights with the Library of Congress. And that's all I was doing. shrug bonni

thank you all for your responses and Bonni I think you have the final word. I had already investigated sending my images in for the 30 fee when i have enough to copyright. But I had read something that stated this was not necessary as long as your name was on the image it was auto copyrighted. But thank all of you for your responses. I definitely know how to copyright my images now and also why it is so important to do this. THANKS AGAIN ALL. YOUR TERRIFIC!!!!!!! TIMMYLYNN