I was at a party last night and was showing my portfolio. One of the guests mentioned she had seen the Bondage Bride photos before. Upon questioning I found out they were sent to her in a Goth Girl Newsletter (E-letter). She would not give up the name of the author of this newsletter no matter how I asked, so I am limited in how I can proceed. The fact is that the only place these images have been "published" is here on Renderosity. The person did admit that she knew the author got the images from here. If I find out the name of this thief my lawyer will be sending a cease and disist order immediately. This is just an example of how your images can be stolen and used easily anywhere. Michelle or Misha, Can we ask the owners to disable the ability to Right Click and "Save Image As"? It is a simple Javascript that can be easily applied to every gallery and image. I would even be willing to supply the script if needed. Magick Michael

That is a real suck story Mister Zhounder....and I understand Your anger....nothing worse than a low down ankle biting shiester....I can also imagine Your astonishment that the Bondage Bride has been seen. I believe it is a lucrative business....stealing others Photos....and We can only keep them small....well....I hope You get some satisfaction if You catch the Bugger....I must confess....I right Clicked on that Bridal Babe in Rope Myself....sigh...but, I have only had pleasure from it....not Profit. Good Luck. HC.

Attached Link: Digimarc is the global leader in digital watermarking technology

(1) As a go forward protective measure, consider the use of Digimarc to apply a digital watermark to your images. (2) Use your friend Google to search both the Internet and Groups (Usenet) for your image -- search words would be words from the title of your image, graphic elements in it, etc. You might find the website for the eMail newsletter. (3) Speak to your lawyer. This is how I read it ... At the party, you met someone who has knowledge of a theft. If she were summoned to a hearing or trial and would not testify, she could be charged with conspiracy by concealing the crime. Your lawyer will know how to suggest that the woman at the party give up the information she has now and avoid additional entanglements. For that matter, could she be the one who sends the newsletter? Identity hiding is not limited to the internet. MGD

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=1379854

This sucks for you, it really really really sucks.... If it were me I'd be foaming at the mouth. There is no justification for image theft, and to have the balls to publicly distribute the image in a newsletter is downright maddening. I think that MGD has given you some very good advice. And I am amazed that this person will not hand over the name of the newsletter or the person who runs it. As MGD suggested maybe it is her or a friend of hers? The right-click discussion comes up often and last August measures were taken to disable the right click function here on the site..... Here's the link to the thread just to refresh everyone's memory of the event. It was met with a furor of anger for the most part..... I am pretty sure that if this were to be enable again the members would react with the same hostility as they did before. Michael I am so sorry this has happened, and good luck in getting it settled. I will bring it up to the moderators forum as a courtesy, but I suspect I already know what the answer will be.

Right click does not stop them saving source and does not work if java script is turned off!

Seems a big issue with the "right-click" is the one sabretalon brought up; it does not really work effectively. Though the "furor of anger" seems surprising; who's "rights" are being violated? It may be reasonable and more effective if the cease and disist order comes from BondWare's lawyers? zhounder- please also post in Copyright Forum. Maybe folks there have some more practical suggestions.

As a rule of thumb, don't post anything on the web if you are not accepting the idea that it might be used against your wish. In the end, people can still take a screenshot - no matter how much protection you implement.

Just to let everyone know I am fully aware of the risks of posting on the internet. Yeah it sucks but hey its the price of fame. I have to look at it in the way that at least they saw fit to steal my image! I guess that is some kind of compliment. Is there mush we can do? Not really. the real B*tch is that to hold a copyright you have to "actively persue violations". The question is how and what defines "activly"? I am sure this is not the last time this will happen to me. At least I hope it isn't, I mean I hope I am good enough that people WANT to steal my work. Thing is that the one person that is dumb enough to get caught by me will end up paying for all those that don't. If I drank I would propose a toast and a hope that all of us get good enough that people want to steal our work (and that we stay one step ahead of them). Magick Michael

I have good new for you then.... You have to actively pursue TRADEMARKS.... not COPYRIGHTS. Copyrights are yours wether you send the lawyers or not :)

Unfortunately, disabling right clicks are no deterrent at all. * Internet Explorer 6 completely bypasses any right-click disabling when they added in the "image toolbar". (an icon to save ANY pic comes up when your cursor is placed over an image) *Also, you could just click "File>Save As". Your browser will save the entire page, including ANY pictures, onto your hard drive. Really, all you can do is; * post smaller dimension pictures. * use some sort of trademark/watermark/signature all over your picture. * don't post anything you absolutely don't want to risk being used by someone else. (all of which are sucky propositions, imo.) It always blows when someone steals your work. ;o/ AgentSmith

i found one of my pics slightly altered once... it was even emailed to me! as one of those funnies i was hot... tracked it down & let him know too... he denied it now it doesn't surprise me anymore sorry michael, still sucks :(

I feel your pain, but don't let it get the better of you. Not worth it. I'm always getting e-mail from people telling me that I should put smaller images on my website, that I'm just asking to get my stuff ripped off with shots that large. I could try to protect myself with tiny photos or a big-a$$ watermark in the middle of the image, but I hate that stuff. I can't stand going to someone's gallery and seeing pictures the size of postage stamps or their name slapped across it. If I see that, 99.99% of the time I don't even bother looking. So, I live with the risk that some SOB will snag one of my images and misuse it. I count on the Karma System to deal with any of those people that I don't see and I'll let my lawyer deal with those I do see. But I'm sure not going to waste any energy worrying about it. Life's too short. -=>Donald

Last week there was a general Q&A session being run on copyright issues, and one of the things that appeared was a link to a boiler-plate cease-&-desist letter. Worth following up on if you're in the US. For somebody like me, a bit less useful since I'm not in the US and cross-border copyright involves different stuff.

@AntoniaTiger - > a link to a boiler-plate cease-&-desist letter Could you please post the link here? Thanks MGD