Images on this site were compressed using e-Vue MPEG4 technology in 2001, which was groundbreaking at the time for its DRM component and higher compression than JPG, however e-Vue is no more — we are transitioning these images to JPEG for 2004.
e-Vue is a pioneer in the use of MPEG-4 technology, which is superior to the now ancient JPEG format for image compression. A fairly simple solution for the average photographer or artist, the e-Vue suite allows batch conversion of images to the ".vtc" format, which provides embedding of copyright data, and prohibits image copying (mouse-click-save) from a Web page. Site visitors must download a browser plug-in prior to viewing content. It offers no protection against bandwidth theft, or screen capture, but makes copying difficult and provides for smaller image sizes through better compression. A typical image compressed to 20k with smoothing, might be only 9-12k as an MP4 file. Image content-rich sites like DigitalAuthor.com use e-Vue to both show and moderately protect content from casual mouse-click-saving of images.
Alchemedia's Clever Content system disables screen-capture (bottom image) as well as providing copyright information, bandwidth protection, and prohibiting mouse-click saving. Unfortunately it's no longer available to end-users and is marketing only to large companies.
"Rapid browsing of image databases that are for sale is critical to enable people to quickly and easily find the image they want," says e-Vue's Avni Rambhia, VP Engineering. "We offer image compression tools that allow progressive download and up to twice the compression of JPEG. This, indirectly, improves the quality of an online, image-intensive site."
Neotrope Software offers an inexpensive (free as of Sept. 2001) solution called Mprotect that combines bandwidth theft protection via a Perl cgi-script and simple right-click deactivation for JavaScript-enabled Web browsers (disclosure: this company is owned by the article's author). Non-java browsers cannot view content at all. It doesn't protect against screen capture, or cache copying. Mprotect is used by numerous cost-conscious online art galleries.
SafeMedia has an innovative solution called SafeImage combining conversion of images to a proprietary encrypted file format and a Java applet that downloads and self-installs itself on any Java-enabled Web browser, requiring no plug-in. It doesn't protect against screen capture. SafeImage is a good solution to consider for those who are the least savvy regarding Web servers and cgi-scripts because it requires no server-side application.
The Right Click
"The bottom line is that you cannot prevent piracy," concludes e-Vue's Rambhia. "You can only make it easier and more worthwhile to acquire digital content honestly than to steal it. Not all digital content has to be protected as though it were a pentagon secret. The cost and complexity of protection should be in proportion to the value of the content it protects."
Choosing the right solution for your needs in this particular case will likely be determined by your technical capacity. Most of the solutions mentioned require knowledge of saving images into different file types with software that may only work on one operating system (Windows), and may require knowing how to install a cgi-script onto a Web server and then getting your HTML documents to access the script properly. And it is important to know that few if any of these solutions, except Clever Content and CopySafe, will prevent the simple "capture screen" capability built into most Web browsers.
Further compounding the difficulty in procuring proper DRM is the fact that, oddly enough, most artists and photographers have eschewed the offerings of many DRM companies, forcing them to retrench or even go out of business. A year ago Vyou.com was a powerful solution competing with Alchemedia's Clever Content. Today they are restructuring and their future product offerings, if any, are uncertain. Other companies, like Bay.TSP, which does a lot of DRM for the porn industry, are frequently the target of denial of service (DDOS) attacks by irate porn collectors who dislike being kicked off of binary newsgroups, and whose Web site is frequently unreachable (Editor's Note: their site has not been reachable during two articles written on this subject, both this year and last).
Why don't more artists and photographers pursue a DRM solution? Says ArtistScope's Kent, "This is a question you have to ask of the artist or the photographer who doesn't want his work used elsewhere. Or the company that wants to display records internally but not have them reproduced for distribution. But when it comes to actually using such a program, there are very few companies and individuals who seem motivated to protect their content."
"Artistscope will continue its developments. Our system is as far advanced as it can be in today's technological environment, but refinements are being made and our services are being extended. We now provide the first generation of secure hosting for images, and have just released a server-side solution that runs from a Web page and protects the user's image beginning from an upload from their hard drive — thus removing the need to purchase or even learn how to use the software."
"The online digital imaging market is in its infancy," adds Digimarc's Trevarthen, "and thus will enjoy a variety of enhancements and evolutions moving forward. Asset management applications for managing digital images will (hopefully) become more prevalent, the Web will create new opportunities and greater access and new tools to communicate and manage images online."
Name your images something trackable like "Simmons_K001.jpg" and not simply "image4-01.jpg" — this allows you to go to Google.com and/or Lycos and do searches based on the file name to see if others are using your image as-is, and/or loading your site content on theirs. For added protection you can use a tracking service like DigiMarc's MarcSpider or similar.
If you suspect other sites are loading your content onto theirs, which is called "bandwidth theft," you may wish to add a system that either encrypts your data or uses a simple cgi-script and alias system. This type of solution only allows your site to load the image, and the actual URL of the file is hidden since only an alias is used in your HTML. The way to determine this is to view your server domain log files, or site stats; if you note a large disparity in an image being loaded more often than the page on which it resides, it's possible somebody is stealing your bandwidth, and your content.
For mid-grade protection you can choose a system which prohibits right-click saving, and/or a system which uses either an Applet or Plug-in which can also prohibit printing, PDF capture, and other copying methods.
At the high-end you would use a system which combines many of the other procedures with a system that, using a browser plug-in, adds protection from screen capture.
Any system that uses a Plug-in or Java Applet may cause compatibilty problems with certain browsers, so it's important to know your intended audience; as too much protection may make your content unviewable by your actual audience.
At the very least you should consider the first three steps of the checklist above. The first two in order to assert your rights, and the third only if you find verifiable theft of your bandwidth. An added benefit of the mid- and high-end solutions is that they include bandwidth theft protection in addition to capture protection.
Digital Rights Management
Companies Mentioned in this Feature
Christopher Simmons has been following and writing about online content protection strategies since 1998. He has been developing content, design, and architecture for Web sites since March of 1995. He is currently the president of Neotrope, which offers design, brand marketing, Web hosting and e-commerce services.
E-mail him at cs@digitalauthor.com.
A shorter version of this article appeared in the June/July 2001 edition of Digital Imaging magazine.
