copyright

The Creative Commons licensing scheme is a tool that allows you to control just how your content is released into the wild. If you're okay with people using your images as long as you're credited, it's the way to go. But with six different licenses, how do you choose which one fits with what you want? This flow chart from Creative Commons Australia takes you through the steps to do just that.

Many photographers release their images under Creative Commons licenses, so that they can be widely used, but with some basic restrictions put in place. But does this license offer any substantive protection? That's a question that has started to percolate on news that a Creative Commons image was modified and used without permission to win a photography competition.

Fed up with his images being stolen on the internet, photojournalist John D McHugh enlisted the help of a programmer to make an easy to use watermarking app just for the iPhone. Rather than forcing you to go via a computer app, McHugh wanted an app that could be used by anyone, regardless of skill, and without the need to transfer the images onto a desktop or laptop. So he created Marksta.

The world of image copyrights is a murky one, but Canadian photographers have just won a major victory in retaining their rights. A newly passed law ensures that shooters own the copyright to the image, even if the photo was commissioned by another party. That means that if you're hired to do shooting work, you own the image, not the people you shot it for.