• Try “portfolio”, “ink”, “branding” or a code like “PRS 101”.

CBE 225Creative Business and Entrepreneurship

Protecting Artwork Online

Reduce the risk of misuse when you share work online, and respond calmly when it happens: watermarks, metadata, image monitoring, notices and copyright-aware platform reports.

Planned

About this course

Sharing work online is how artists get found, and it also exposes work to copying, reposting without credit and unauthorised merchandise. This course covers realistic prevention (posting resolution, watermarks, credit lines, embedded metadata, platform settings and terms), how to find misuse with reverse image search, how to document it, and the range of responses: asking for credit, platform reporting tools, formal notices, and Canada's notice-and-notice system for internet providers compared with U.S. notice-and-takedown. It also covers knowing when to step back and when to seek legal help. Builds on Copyright for Visual Artists.

Who it’s for: Artists, illustrators and photographers who share work online. Copyright for Visual Artists is required.

You will be able to

  • Choose posting settings, resolutions and credit methods that fit your risk tolerance
  • Embed creator and rights metadata and explain its limits
  • Use reverse image search to find and document possible misuse
  • Choose a proportionate response, from a credit request to a platform report
  • Explain in general terms how Canada's notice-and-notice regime differs from U.S. notice-and-takedown

Prerequisites

Studio project

A personal protection plan: sharing policy, export presets, embedded metadata, platform terms summary, monitoring log and response templates.

To complete this course

  • Complete every required lesson.
  • Have the assignment “Personal protection plan” accepted by an instructor.
  • Records of completion are issued only for courses whose content has passed instructor review.

Syllabus

Working titles: they may change as the course is written.

  1. Module 1: Prevention without hiding

    Make misuse less likely and credit more likely.

    1. 1.1Risk vs visibilityReading · 20 min
    2. 1.2Resolution, crops and watermarksExercise · 30 min
    3. 1.3Metadata and credit linesExercise · 25 min
    4. 1.4Reading platform termsReading · 25 min

  2. Module 2: Finding misuse

    Look periodically, document carefully.

    1. 2.1Reverse image searchExercise · 30 min
    2. 2.2Documenting misuseExercise · 25 min

  3. Module 3: Responding proportionately

    Most problems are solved with a polite message.

    1. 3.1The response ladderReading · 25 min
    2. 3.2Platform reporting toolsReading · 25 min
    3. 3.3Notice-and-notice and notice-and-takedownReading · 25 min
    4. 3.4When to get legal helpReading · 15 min

Educational information about Canadian and international practice, not legal advice. Rules differ by country and situation. For decisions about your work, contracts or a dispute, consult a qualified lawyer or other professional.

Sources

Author: Ricketts University curriculum team (draft for founder review) · Not yet reviewed

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