Australian-Media.com.au Watermark

The practice of watermarking images and video is a divisive issue. Some people have no problem with it whilst others object to it. Unfortunately there is no common ground with this issue and unfortunately we are unable to please everyone.

It has become apparent to us that some people have created false theories on why we watermark images and video with the Australian-Media.com.au logo.

For this reason we have decided to clearly define why we use the watermark to set the record straight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you place a watermark on images and video?

Images and video content (usually capped from a television broadcast) are often posted to Australian-Media.com.au (AM) by the AM Team. Without this content, people from outside of that particular broadcast area would not be able to see and/or comment on it - which holds back discussion.

We place the AM watermark on the images and video we post so that someone else can't take "credit" for recording / obtaining, editing, exporting and uploading the material. Before we implemented the watermark, AM was used as a feeding ground where people would come here just to take the images and videos and post them elsewhere - with no credit given.

The AM watermark is there to show people viewing the image or watching the video that we put the time and effort in to putting it online. That is the only reason it is there.

Are you claiming ownership and copyright of the watermarked content?

Absolutely not. We respect the copyright that the media organisations have on their content, and we also respect the fact that one or more people put in the effort and hard work in to producing the content in the first place. Our placing a watermark on that content is not in any way claiming that we "own" it nor are we taking credit for creating the actual content.

The copyright owner has the right to contact us at any time requesting that we stop using their content, and we would immediately comply with such a request (upon verification that they are indeed the copyright holder).

Why is the watermark so large and placed almost in the middle of the content?

We do not believe the current size is "large". Unfortunately the reason for the placement is that quite often people can easily place another watermark over an existing one, or crop the content to remove the watermark completely. Often this can happen without anyone noticing. Both things have happened with content we have posted in the past.

Our watermark is placed and sized in such a way that would ruin the content if someone were to try and "hide" it and claim credit for something they put no time in to editing and uploading.

Can you make the watermark smaller and/or more transparent?

We believe that the current size and transparency of our watermark is non-intrusive while still providing a level of visibility. Feedback we have received from some members is that the watermark is easy to ignore while viewing the images and videos and that it doesn't intrude on the content in any major way.

Can I get a copy of an image or video without the watermark?

Indeed you can - by recording and capturing the content yourself. We will not do the hard work for you.

Do you have to watermark the entire video? Can't you just watermark some of it?

The whole video has the watermark so that still captures can't be extracted and posted elsewhere without credit given. This has happened in the past as well.

Conclusion

We pride ourselves on providing quality content for our members to discuss on our site. Anyone who has ever spent time recording / obtaining, editing, compressing and uploading images and video understands how frustrating it is when you see your captured image and encoded video posted on another website without the slightest sign of some credit.

We invest a lot of time in to providing the content we do, and we believe we should be credited for content that we have posted. We put the time and effort in to putting it online, and it's not much to ask to be credited for that.

Some will say that we take the whole issue of credit too far, but those people have not experienced having something they invested time in to making, posted elsewhere with no appreciation or thanks for the work. Having a watermark on uploaded content prevents this from happening - and it works. Since we implemented the watermark, our hard work has not been taken and uploaded elsewhere by someone else claiming that they made it.

We understand that watermarks annoy people - it annoys us as well. We would actually prefer not to have to watermark the content as it would save us a lot of time by not having to edit the images and videos just to put the watermark on them. Unfortunately some people out there don't appreciate the effort others put in to uploading such content, and for that reason the watermark is used.

We hope by explaining this that you now understand why we have the watermark on images and video we upload. Thank you for your time and understanding.

If you have any questions you would like answered, please don't hesitate to contact us.