At the height of artificial intelligence's disruption of the creative industry, another tool is drawing attention for possibly violating creators' rights. The WatermarkRemover.io app, developed by PixelBinIO, is causing controversy because it can erase watermarks from images, making it more challenging for photographers and artists to protect their work.
There is an Android app for Watermark Remover in the Google Play Store, and it is free to use. The tool can handle multiple-color marks and quickly remove security watermarks with a single click. The authors of Watermark Remover claim that it "is the most accurate AI solution [of its kind] on the market."
Although the tool has been around since March 2022, the most recent wave of AI generators trained on millions of real artworks—mostly without permission—likely brought it back into the spotlight for uneasy creatives.
The app, according to Stockholm-based designer Tobias van Schneider, performs similar tasks to Photoshop's Content-Aware tool but skips a few extra steps. He emphasizes how recent advancements in AI have made it easier to create such apps.
According to Van Schneider, "AI can now create art entirely from scratch, so it can rather smoothly draw in between the lines."
On the Product Hunt page for Watermark Remover, a user comments: "I assumed watermarks were designed to be where they are for a reason, but probably I'm wrong."
A promotional video demonstrates the program's effectiveness.
The software is hidden in a gray area of copyright, which is an issue. A watermark cannot be removed without the owner's permission, following Chapter 12 of the US Copyright Act. Tools that make it possible to remove watermarks aren't always illegal, though.
The rise of AI automation has led to calls for artificial intelligence to be moderated. To do this, the European Union is developing new legislation that will ensure model training is transparent.
On its website, the service does emphasize that before deleting watermarks, users must "ensure that [they] have all the relevant rights (such as copyright)."
The developer explains on Product Hunt, "Given the option to remove watermarks as they please, we urge users not to remove watermarks from photographs for commercial usage or remove watermarks from copyrighted images." However, it is completely acceptable to use photographs without a watermark for personal purposes.
Additionally, Watermark Remover states that if a user is found to have removed a signature without the consent of a copyright holder, then responsibility lies with them. In relation to the use of the generated photographs with the watermarks removed, it states that "users of this software are completely responsible for any claims, damages, costs, suits, etc. filed by any third party." Before using watermark-free photos for any kind of commercial usage, you must obtain the owner's permission or authorization.
On the other end of the spectrum, the instrument is said to offer advantages. Since some customers are particular about watermarks, a product designer has used this software to produce mockups using high-resolution, watermark-free images before the customer purchases the materials.
All things considered, it is essential to respect authors' rights and use these technologies with caution. You should steer clear of any intellectual property disputes, and you most definitely do not want to invite a copyright troll over for a visit.
