Re: Hmmm Water-Steg
A Sharp phone I bought in Tokyo in 2004, and other phones I've seen in Korea in 2012, will let users add painted-on-like info to the photo. Now, if the site to which the photo is uploaded dares to remove THAT, and dares to try to justify it by saying some sh*t such as "viewers of your photos do not want to be distracted by textual copyright info...", I'd say really, REALLY run over such an asshole with a steam roller. If viewers can read text and crayon-like text describing the location, time of day, and feelings, then the image can carry "copyright/full-attribution/no-sales or resales/no 3rd-party-collection-use" info.
If only the damned phones in the USA came with such watermarking AND steganographic software BY DEFAULT, rather than for free, users could be taught their inalienable right to not have their copyright stolen from them. But, then, fb, instagram, and all number of other sites would scream murder and end the world -- or the lives of those such as us who decry their greed for free photos they intend to monetize without permission and without compensation.
Hobbyists who misappropriate works without attribution get slammed in courts, and depending on the medium, get ungodly fines. Corporations do it, and most of them could expect to get off free, even if the work they use is the next undiscovered Ansel Adams photo. Stripping the metadata makes it nearly impossible for the specific originator of a photo to be found or compensated, even if out of 985 claimants only 1 or two have originals that are exact vantage/shooting point matches.
Engineers and others are taught to be clear, concise, accurate, honest, and more, such as citing their sources, with their work and notes, in the name of preserving the integrity in and the respect for their respective fields. Marketers and boards of directors, driven by profits, seem to not value such admonitions.
And, now, fecal-skinned politicos and lobbyists advocating the analogous wild west on IP against individuals by claiming orphaned works, it is almost akin to declaring war on the inventor. This should be smacked down harder and more painfully than any fake wresting *appears* to look.
What nerve.