Steganography - A way to prevent art theft?

mdeforge

I remember a while back, on one of the numerous "art stolen" threads here on PC, I mentioned an idea I had about water marking images in a non-visible way. No one really knew what I was talking about, and I've since then forgotten the thread I was in, but nevertheless I actually found someone who figured it out and wanted to provide some food for thought: http://www.datagenetics.com/blog/march12012/index.html

If you have time, the rest of the articles in his blog are absolutely brilliant. I can't seem to read enough of this studies. The battleship algorithm he comes up with is pretty damn interesting too.

ambershee

All I have to do is save the image in a different file format, screencap it, or whatever and that system already falls down.

mdeforge

All I have to do is save the image in a different file format, screencap it, or whatever and that system already falls down.

Not really. The lack of a watermark would be proof of your theft, no? EDIT: Maybe not stolen directly from the artist, but it could prove it's not from the source at least.

Blaisoid

i've been using more primitive hidden watermarks - i would add small watermark text with 1 pixel thick letters that's only slightly darker/brighter from background.

but i can't see how this kind of thing could -prevent- an art theft.
it's more like an additional way of proving that art was stolen, but if a theft is visible enough for author to be able to notice it, then i think it shouldn't be hard to prove it?

mdeforge

Yeah, the ol' shaded pixel trick is a simple one. I'm pretty sure it will give itself a way pretty quickly though if the adjust the levels or contrast. The bonus behind this method is that apparently the same isn't true.

You're right, prevent was a poor word. I think this would just add another layer of proof as a tool the real artist can use to point out authenticity.

Anyone catch that huge writeup recently on that forged mega millions ticket. They used some serious photo forensics on that...

EDIT: Slightly off topic, but I found that link: http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/index.php?/archives/478-Fool-Me-Once.html

ambershee

Stradigos wrote: »

Not really. The lack of a watermark would be proof of your theft, no? EDIT: Maybe not stolen directly from the artist, but it could prove it's not from the source at least.

What's stopping me from taking an image, using this technique, then claiming it's mine? It's the same as stamping your watermark on someone elses work - except that at least you can't stamp a watermark over a watermark.

mdeforge

Nothing is stopping you, but as you say, there would be two watermarks then. I wonder if it's possible to figure out which watermark came first using bit math? And of course, the original author would have the "key" image. If you use that image consistently, or use another one of your works as a key, then perhaps it could be figured out?

More coffee is required to figure this out.

eld

The only way is good old fashioned witch hunts, where being an art thief will get you blacklisted, stuff will be recognizable even without watermarks.

Ace-Angel

How about writing your name in the pupil of your art? Zoom in, adjust levels, and BOOM, artwork recovered!

If the DaVinici Code attracted millions of smucks to watch the movie, surely a few smart artist will realize hiding the detail is the way to go.

Amsterdam Hilton Hotel

Steganography is a really cool subject but ultimately it seems like a lot of effort to go to to protect the kinds of images we produce, which typically don't hold actual value in themselves (ie, concept artists are typically paid to produce new images, not to sell their back catalogue, and "stealing" a texture doesn't provide much benefit without the model, or in the case of tiling textures, without being full resolution). Someone claiming your work as their own therefore seems unlikely to hurt you or help them very much, in this line of work, so such extensive methods of "protecting" images are probably unnecessary from a practical point of view.

That said it's a really interesting subject and if it puts your mind at east then by all means, might as well look into it

Autocon

Just slightly crop your image smaller then the original size. That way if someone steals it, you can be like bitch please, I got the uncropped version right here that extends the image by like 10 or so pixles. Which the thief would be unable to do. Problem solved.

Jesse Moody

Autocon wrote: »

Just slightly crop your image smaller then the original size. That way if someone steals it, you can be like bitch please, I got the uncropped version right here that extends the image by like 10 or so pixles. Which the thief would be unable to do. Problem solved.

YEP THIS !!!!

whats_true

Wow, that is realy simple and easy!

McGreed

Or just keep the composed PSD, kinda hard to argue against a render with AO layer.

Kwramm

I don't really see the point. Most people who steal your stuff can't be taken to court - if they're random posers on the internet who want to rake in "glory" on deviantart you pay at least as much for your own lawyer as you can get out of them. If it's a random Chinese company that wants to spice up their packaging you still have to fork out cash first for your lawyer for whatever little chance of success you'll have suing them.

Proving someone stole something gets you nothing unless you can build up a threat scenario (have a lawyer ready) and are prepared to go through with any consequences. Otherwise don't bother. Many people who are aware they stole stuff budge on a lawyer's letter already, you don't even have to prove anything. The proving part is reserved for later anyway.

In the the end you really want to PREVENT theft rather than reacting to the consequences and this method seems as good/bad as most other un-obstrusive methods to me. If you're really that worried, just do not post your stuff online or slap a big watermark on it or show it to recruiters and clients only.

If someone steals something you did for a client or your employer, let them deal with it. They usually have deeper pockets and more time than you have.