Influx of New Technology to Protect Artists’ Rights

Copyright infringement of photographs and other printable materials is an ongoing battle for artists and publishers. With the ability to simply screenshot anything on a computer or phone screen, people are readily saving, sharing, and printing an excess of copyrighted material with a click of a button.

A notorious example is of course Richard Prince, who has been on a copyright infringement rampage, printing other artist’s works from the internet, and using the prints in his own exhibitions.

IBM is fighting this problem with their new patent application titled Copyright Infringement Prevention. The technology would identify potential copyrighted materials and notify the computer. After running the image/text/material through a search system, the technology will determine if the file is printable.

This is among the latest technological innovations aimed at protecting art. Recently, eBay launched technology to detect copyright infringing materials in their auctions. Additionally, Police were able to use technology to track down art thieves after the thieves sent a photograph of the stolen work to the Art Loss Register in an inquiry. Police connected the image to the camera, and the camera to the owner.