Inside the blogger: Who is the copyright owner and how can i find them? Try my copyright radar

Thanks to Daniela Bruderer for your Question about how to Find copyright owners in my last post

When you want to re-post or use something that has gone Viral, you can’t see the author for the authors that didn’t credit the author! #haveabrew

So, how do you find the copyright owner? This is what i call “Copyright Radar”. It will get you started with some free tools to find authors of Image-based content, such as photographs and illustrations.

I have used this method before to tidy up unlicensed use of my images. The same method can help you find where the content originated using a mixture of Metadata Google Images and whois searches, this is the only way I am aware of for backtracking images unless you employ a web scraping service like Picscout to write you a specific API.

1. Get a Copy of the image

First, let’s start where you found the image, I will start with one I have published on my website and a cropped version of it on Instagram

If you want to follow this process as you read I have linked the images to where you can replicate what I have done (please leave me a comment if it is different for you).

So, in this case, the obvious thing to do is check the Instagram account to see if there is a link to the author’s main website (lets just forget that mine does for now!)

2. Checking the Metadata

Once you have that saved you will probably end up with a ton of images and JavaScript files where ever you saved it, like it shows below. hopefully one of the images in this folder is the one you want! Right click on it and go to “properties”

Alternatively, drag and drop to this sites metadata tool

3.Search using the image as your search criteria

So that didn’t work which will be common for re-posted content.

Next, we are going get google to have a stab at it!

For this, you will need Google Images open in your browser(make sure it is google images not just google search!)

As soon as the image has uploaded you should get something like…

look under the heading “pages that include matching Images”

4. look for contact details on a website you found

now you might have the original Authors Site If you don’t have contact details then do a whois search on the domain name

4.1 Keep going using whois

Now you might have the original Authors Site, but, if you don’t have contact details then do a whois search on the domain name

4.2 Don’t stop now! go social

You won’t find mine on a whois! so go back to google and search for the domain name

5. Make “first contact” (add in SCI-FI music for dramatic effect)

6.#haveabrew you deserve it!

Summary of tools:

1. It could be right in front of you, take a closer look
2. Metadata of images (use your computers file management or try here
3. Google Images reverse search tool
4. whois
5. Domain name searches on GOOGLE.COM for social media accounts
6. A Kettle!

If you are struggling with an idea or have a further question relating to something I have written or not quite written, you can either comment below, Find me on social media (see my profile page) or find me using the method above! “no really could that work?” let me know!