Photoshop CS Adds Banknote Image Detection, Blocking?

Phosphor writes "A visitor to the Adobe Photoshop-for-Windows Forum (registration required to post, can log in as guest) has described a curious 'feature' with Photoshop 8 (also known as 'CS'). Seems this latest version of Adobe's flagship product has the built-in ability to detect that an image is of American currency. Something has been built into Photoshop's core coding that can detect something in images of currency and will prevent the user from opening the file. Apparently it will also do this with Euro notes; info on other currency is pending." According to other online reports, the latest version of Paint Shop Pro has similar restrictions, also known about since late last year.

Comments

Re:WTF?

[clymere]

Generally, any US documents such as currency, stamps, drivers licenses, etc. can only be legally reproduced at greater then 150% or less than 75%. I work in a print shop and just read through the copyright rules. Apparently, you can't so much as reproduce your own senior pictures without permission from the photographer who took them.

Re:The promlem? Censorship!

[AngusSF]

You wrote: Well, if you'd check the links in the news item you'd notice this is an enforcement of the law.. The law allows color reproductions of currency under certain conditions. From the page you cited:

U.S. Currency
The Counterfeit Detection Act of 1992, Public Law 102-550, in Section 411 of Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations, permits color illustrations of U.S. currency provided:

1. the illustration is of a size less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half, in linear dimension, of each part of the item illustrated;

2. the illustration is one-sided; and

3. all negatives, plates, positives, digitized storage medium, graphic files, magnetic medium, optical storage devices, and any other thing used in the making of the illustration that contain an image of the illustration or any part thereof are destroyed and/or deleted or erased after their final use.

How does PS know what I'm doing with the currency if it blocks ALL use of it?