Re: Selling Stock Photography Deleting Information From Exif

You can edit any such standard information inside a picture, full stop, remove it or replace it.

There is a method though that can be used, that is almost impossible to alter, it is really and encryption methodology called steganography.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography
http://www.jjtc.com/Steganography/
http://www.tucows.com/preview/504645

In other words, you hide data, information, inside the picture, making small subtle changes to the digital information that can not be spotted by the eye. The technology is so "safe" that even CIA is tearing out its hair over it, leaving copyright theft aside.

There are many free programs available on the web to do it.

http://www.tucows.com/preview/504645
http://download.cnet.com/Xiao-Steganography/3000-2092_4-10541494.html
http://www.prospector.cz/Freeware/Utilities/Security/Steganography/
http://quickcrypto.com/free-steganography-software.html
http://www.jjtc.com/Steganography/tools.html

The last site lists 107 programs.

To take it one step further, you could embed a random "serial number" using either a PGP/GPG key or a password generator inside the picture.

Try this

http://www.password-generator.com/free.html
http://download.cnet.com/Free-Password-Generator/3000-2064_4-10559877.html



On 01-Mar-2012 5:34 AM, jimpickerell wrote:

 

One of the problems with putting metadata in the IPTC header is that it can easily be edited out. On the other hand, I have been told that the camera identifier cannot be edited out of the Exif file. Can anyone confirm if that is true?

If that is true, it should be possible to include the camera serial number as non-editable in Exif as well. I assume that when GPS data is stored with an image it cannot be edited, otherwise it would be worthless. Is that the case?

If the camera serial number and date taken could not be removed or edited from a file then a photographer could register a particular camera with the copyright office. Anything taken with that camera after the registration date would be his creation. If the photographer sells the camera then the new owner could register the same serial number with a new beginning date.

Obviously, this could greatly simplify the whole copyright registration process and still provide a firm identification of the copyright holder from a legal point of view. It would require legislation, but might be something worth pursuing if it is technically possible.

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