BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Spreadshirt, the self-expression global e-commerce company, implements the use of watermarks for marketplace designers in response to concerns about protecting their artwork in the digital world. The watermark bears the company name and is placed over the image of each design in the marketplace with more than 350 pixels and appears as a transparent image that is only visible in the design view. Given the new feature, shoppers will not be distracted as they browse product images.
Online art is a new and exciting medium for artists, but it does pose an entirely new set of issues surrounding copyright infringement that can result in legal complications. Artists have been in and out of the courtrooms over the last several years to try and solve the continual debate over how to define what is public versus private on the internet.
“Our marketplace is booming and becoming the world leader for cool designs on clothing and accessories. Many independent artists are making a good income selling their designs and giving us the best of their creative output. Some of the growing community of artists have experienced IP theft on other platforms; so we are taking these extra measures to protect their work from those who would steal it and exhibit it as their own," says Philip Rooke, CEO of Spreadshirt.
The introduction of watermarks will improve the protection of marketplace designs from potential theft, as all design images displayed at a size of 350 pixels or more will automatically bear a watermark. The extra level of protection is automatic, so designers can focus on creating new artwork instead of tracking their work and filing paperwork once they realize that a design has been stolen. Lower resolution design views, images in SpreadShop and in Spreadshirt’s Create Tool, and product images, are not affected by this implementation.
Spreadshirt will continue to monitor other options to further improve the safety of designs. With a mantra of self-expression, Spreadshirt empowers designers to share their messages, and the marketplace serves as one platform to do just that. Protecting intellectual property in the digital world isn’t easy - but watermarks are a sign that Spreadshirt has the backs of their creators and continually innovates to keep the creating, sharing and selling experience fun and lucrative.
About Spreadshirt
Spreadshirt is the self-expression global e-commerce company. It empowers people to express themselves through creating, discovering, and selling clothing and accessories with messages they want the world to hear. Companies like Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube enable self-expression in the digital world but people don’t have the same opportunities in the real world where the need still exists.
Spreadshirt’s three approaches – create-your-own, marketplace, and shops – provide limitless opportunity for on-person self-expression.
Founded in 2002, Spreadshirt is available in 12 languages, operates five global production sites and ships to over 150 countries. In 2016, the company hit global revenue of $102 million, printed more than 4.1 million items, and had over 70,000 selling partners.