The document discusses concerns around copyright and intellectual property issues for visual artists in the age of web technology. It notes that iconic images like the Mona Lisa and Monkey Mouse did not financially benefit their creators due to a lack of modern copyright protections. The author argues that while exposure benefits exist online, artists should take a precautious approach due to risks of having work ripped off and downloaded without acknowledgement or compensation. Examples are given of an artist's work being quickly downloaded without permission as well as a lawsuit between YouTube and Viacom over copyright infringement that proved ineffective and a waste of time for emerging artists. The conclusion is that current technology cannot absolutely protect images online, similar to how banking details can still be stolen by screen captures.