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

"When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch." - Bette Davis