I am trying to convince someone that image copy protection such as watermarks, javascript no right clicks, blank image overlays etc is not worth the effort since they are easily bypassed by even non-technical users.
I am also trying to convince them that these measures annoys customers as it impedes the user experience and does nothing to prevent image theft. At the end of the day if its on the internet, its public and people can take it if they want.
So what I’m looking for is a good study, proof, research, anything which has numbers to back up a fall in sales, user experience etc before and after these measures.
Any ideas?
You could present the following:
PrtScrn – even if the right click is prevented the user can still do a print screen of the print screen and cutout the image in Paint
Retouching – even if the watermarek was on the picture it can be easly removed by any user who has read a basic photoshop/other graphic editing software tutorial on retouching photos.
But in the end I think that the best protection against theft is to actually have the image licensed and if you spot or get notified that someone used it without your premission I think you have all the arguments to go against him. You can’t blame if the user saves it in his Documents folder – it same as if you hand out 1000 flyers and than sue people for having them in the drawer at home since it uses your picture.