Securing Copyright for Your AI Artwork

Confusion in Image Ownership

Many AI-generated pieces tend to share a similar aesthetic. For instance, a frequently depicted face in Midjourney has earned the nickname “Miss Journey.” When artworks begin to look alike, questions regarding authorship can surface. A viable method to differentiate your creations is through watermarking. While visible watermarks can be easily removed or cropped, invisible watermarks withstand light edits and cropping, establishing your ownership. If you discover your watermarked image used without consent, you can rightfully request its removal or demand credit, licensing fees, or a combination of both.

Watermarking serves as an economical solution to validate your authorship and rights over your art. The method I'll present here is not a robust encryption system and is not immune to tampering. For highly secure data encryption software, you would need to explore more expensive alternatives.

Concealed Data

Several text-to-art AIs embed data within their generated images. Based on my informal experiments, about half of these AIs incorporate hidden data.

I accessed the above image from Novel.ai using a simple text editor. Below is a screenshot of my findings.

The hidden data comprises the prompt used to generate the artwork, the AI utilized, the steps followed, settings applied, seed number, and weights. As demonstrated, a substantial amount of concealed data is encoded within the file.

Future of AI Image Generation Platforms

Upcoming AI art generation platforms may integrate encrypted data within the rendered images to assign unique user ID numbers, linking back to the artwork's owner. Nevertheless, until such systems are in place, we must take this initiative ourselves.

A variety of software options exist that can help apply watermarks to your artwork.

Watermark Pro 2

I have no financial stake or benefit from endorsing Watermark Pro 2.

Standard Text Watermark

To begin, open the program. Navigate to File -> Set Folders, and designate an output folder for your watermarked images.

You can also select an input folder if you wish to batch process multiple images. I opted to drag and drop my chosen images into the “Image Well” at the bottom.

The software includes demo settings for various watermark options, displayed in the left panel. Choose “Demo 05 — Text Watermark” from the control panel. The file will be locked; click on the blue padlock to unlock it. Now, erase the existing text in the textbox and input your desired watermark text. For instance, I used a watermark of copyright C followed by my name, J. Iovine. Rename the file as desired, such as “John — Text For Lines,” and save it. This saved file will appear in the left panel.

Adjust the text size, color, and positioning within the artwork using the controls provided. Once satisfied, remember to save the file again; otherwise, your changes will not be applied.

To apply the watermark, click on “Process Selection” or “Process Batch” if you wish to watermark all images in the “Image Well.” A pop-up window will appear.

Select the image in the “Image Well” you want to process; it will appear in the pop-up window. Processing takes a few seconds.

Once done, close the pop-up window. Your watermarked image will be saved in a subdirectory of the output folder you designated. It’s that straightforward. Before proceeding to the next section, remember to click the padlock to lock the text watermark.

IPTC Data

The same procedure applies for writing IPTC data.

First, access the IPTC settings in Watermark Pro by navigating to Settings -> IPTC:

This will display the IPTC data screen.

You can fill in as much information as you wish. I included "Midjourney" as the rendering AI, the creation date, and my name as the author. After entering your data, close the window.

Next, open “Demo 11 — Tag Metadata,” erase the existing data, and input your desired information. Change the file name and save it.

Utilize the same procedure for writing IPTC data to the image file as you did for watermarking.

To view the IPTC data you entered, go to the top menu bar, select Windows -> Photo Information, and scroll down to see the data you wrote.

I adhere to the principle of “Trust but verify.” For independent verification, I use a free online tool to examine EXIF, IPTC, XMP, and additional data. You can find it here:

https://www.imgonline.com.ua/eng/exif-info.php

Below is a screenshot from this online program displaying the IPTC data I wrote to the file.

Stegomark Tags

The stegomark is embedded in the image file and is resistant to cropping and resizing. Thus, even if the image undergoes alterations, you may still identify it as your creation.

It is advisable to keep your Stegomark text to 25 characters or fewer. Note that the stegomark is only compatible with JPG images.

Before proceeding, ensure all open watermarks are locked. Open “Demo 4 — Stegomark Watermark” and unlock the padlock to update the data.

I modified the text to “Copyright j.iovine 2022” and opted against a password. Including a password means that access to the stegomark requires it; without it, anyone with the appropriate software can view the mark. I renamed the file to “Stegomark Watermark” and saved it.

I then selected my image and processed the watermark as previously described.

Viewing The Stegomark

To view the Stegomark, go to the Windows tab and select “Stegomark Viewer.” This will open a pop-up window. Click the "Select" button to load the image created with the Stegomark Watermark.

After the image loads, click the “Apply” button to view the data.

Conclusion

Watermarking presents a cost-effective way to identify your images and affirm your authorship.

Watermark Pro has a detailed online manual available for those interested in this software:

https://plumamazing.com/iwatermark-pro-2-win-manual/#Stegomark-Watermark

A Final Note

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