I’m no fan of Google. Like the other big internet companies (and many small ones) they have played dumb about the harm they have caused to creators all over the world. One of their big falsehoods has been that they have acted like it was virtually impossible for them to help prevent infringements by making copyright notices and other ownership data more evident.
So, this morning, I was thrilled to see that they are finally doing something about that. According to that article, Google will now be displaying authorship more clearly and, importantly, some of the metadata in the photos in a Google Image search. Huzzah!
This does mean that you, as photographers and other creators, need to be better about managing your metadata. Take the time to add not only your name and contact info into the metadata in your work, but also a proper copyright notice.
I think this may make a significant difference in future infringement claims and may even result in fewer infringements, but the trick is to make sure your work is clearly attributed to you. Ask your clients to maintain the metadata and clean up your own files, too.
Now if we can only get companies like Facebook/Instagram, Twitter, etc., to do the same.