Hi bemfarmer - Watermarking is just pretty much a stamp of ownership. Obviously there could be problems with people taking someone else's creation and claiming it as their own and, if the original engineer/artist did not use a watermark then he would have a pretty hard time proving ownership, especially if the thief (for want of a better word) does then apply a watermark. Once a watermark has been applied the copyright protection laws come into effect where the materials concerned would be either belonging to a company or an individual and would remain so for something like 70 years, so if anyone profited from that work without consent then they are going to be in a heap of trouble as large as the originator wants to make it

Martin Spencer-Ford