How to Protect the Copyright of Artistic Works

1. Sign the work

This is the first step to protect your artwork from copyright infringement. Develop the habit of signing all works, preferably in the year of completion. After completing a work, you must insist on signing your work. You can carefully sign in the corner of the work, or let your signature be part of the work of art.

2. Keep a good picture record

A picture is worth a thousand words, especially if someone claims your work is theirs. Having a digital record of your artwork will save you a lot of trouble in copyright infringement events, because you can show this record in court.

3. Consider adding a watermark to the image

A watermark is a logo or name placed at the top of an image. Watermark will clarify your identity as the image owner, and it is difficult for anyone to delete/change this picture. The most commonly used is the copyright notice, the most famous is the C symbol (), plus the year of publication of the work, or the abbreviation Copr.

4. Improve risk awareness

You have created many works of art, so copyright protection should focus on areas that need special attention. For example, if your work is more abstract or conceptual (and therefore harder to copy), the risk of infringement of your copyright will be greatly reduced. However, if your work contains objects or characters that may be borrowed or copied, or if the images you create are very iconic or highly market attractive, you should always use the above steps to protect them.