Google Picasa Soon to be Sent to the Freeware Graveyard

It's not often the death of software used by countless people is announced this far in advance, but Google is giving Picasa users plenty of warning that they are finally putting the dated, outmoded software into the freeware graveyard.
On the official Google Picasa Blog, Google announced yesterday,

“As of March 15, 2016, we will no longer be supporting the Picasa desktop application. For those who have already downloaded this—or choose to do so before this date—it will continue to work as it does today, but we will not be developing it further, and there will be no future updates.”

FBI Anti-Piracy Warning Seal now available to photographers to protect image copyrights

There is a new tool available in the Photographer's arsenal to fight copyright infringement of images, the Anti-Piracy Warning Seal (APWS), shown on the left.
The APWS is the official insignia of the FBI and the US Department of Justice. It was designed to help detect and deter criminal violations of US intellectual property laws through public education of the laws and the FBI's authority to enforce them.

You might have noticed this seal before on DVD movies, and some software, for example. In the past, the use of this seal was only available to the entertainment and software industries. Now, in the US, all copyright owners may use the seal, as long as they follow the appropriate regulations for the seal's use, which can be found in 41 CFR Section 128-1.5009.

I'm not a "Pro." Why should I worry about copyrighting my photos?

I'm asked this question often when I run workshops, or anytime I'm with enthusiasts and we're talking photography.
“You're a pro. I understand why you copyright your photos, but why should I worry about it? I'm not selling my photographs or using them in my work.”

It's important to understand that every time a photographer, or even a weekend vacationer presses the shutter release on their camera to make a photograph, the image is copyrighted the moment it's made. That's right, every photo made is copyrighted, the instant it's stored on film or in a memory card.

But that's just the start.

Protect your photographs: Read your gallery and online storage companies' terms of service!

Do you use Twitter, the real-time information network which can permit you to connect to others to offer them timely information, news and data they might find useful?

Do you share photos or videos via your Twitter feed? Where do you store your photos and videos in order to share them via Twitter? Do you use TwitPic in order to share those photos and videos?

If you've answered yes, my advice to you is simply, dump TwitPic, and immediately delete your photos and videos from the storage service!

Protecting your photographs?

In years past, when travelers returned home, they took their slide or negative film to the camera shop, the drug store, or the quick processing shop to have the film developed and made into slides or prints. A few hours or days later they picked up their photos to share with friends and family.

Today, with digital photography having replaced film photography, and the use of the Internet becoming ubiquitous, for most people, fewer and fewer prints or slides are being made, even at home. Photos are now viewed and shared in online galleries, and often by email, messaging, and cell phone transmission.

While some make their galleries private, most users never utilize their gallery's privacy and security tools, so their photos are available for anyone in the world to see, and if desired, copied for themselves.

These days, photos are often viewed by unintended gallery visitors and many are appropriated without the photographer's permission, sometimes for stolen profits.

Should you protect your photographs? Absolutely!