courtesy textileartscenter.com
"They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well they are wrong.
I have stopped feeling motivated or safe sharing my ideas and images of my work, especially online. This greatly saddens me. I want to keep creating, I want to share, I want to inspire others but I need to make a living and not give away my time, energy, ideas and work. How is this possible?"...........Christine of Christine Marie Davis designs.
courtesy sunaz.com
I've put this comment up to perhaps initiate some conversation. I follow this jewelry artist's blog. Her original work is being copied and nearly an exact copy made it to the cover of a national craft magazine. I have read numerous accounts of large retailers and vendors literally having employee's who troll Etsy and Ebay to look for the latest and greatest bit of originality which they then copy and sell on a huge scale. It is all so wrong. There is a wanton disregard for creativity or at least anything easily copy-able. I feel so bad for this creative woman. I do follow her because of her very creative ideas and wish her the best. I can see how upsetting this could be.
ReplyDeleteBunny I follow a couple of bloggers just like that. they are astonishing in their creativity and generous in sharing their process. I think blogging is part of their thought process as well as interaction with others. I know they are always prompt to respond to my comments and questions. Wonderful people. I'd say to this woman at least take some protective measures. Any photo she posts should be watermarked. I dont know now many people actually copyright or patent their work, but a serious artist should at least add the @ mark and check out the process and costs. Also I know of a few blogs that are fighting the same issue. I'd recommend she open a dialog with someone like them
ReplyDeleteIt just seems to be one of those dark sides of the internet. Those are great suggestions. She says she copyrights everything,
DeleteWatermarking of all images is a great idea. Copyright automatically exists at the moment of creation and all images should be marked with the copyright symbol as this artist has done. Sadly, many people no longer respect the rights of creators. I would encourage the artist to at least send a 'cease and desist' letter to anyone who copies her work. In the instance where one's work has been copied and then appeared in a magazine, as noted above, I would also notify the editor and publisher of the magazine. They should investigate and, if they confirm that a piece has been copied, they should issue a notice in the magazine and reprimand the author.
ReplyDeleteEven though one can take steps to protect their work, defending it takes a considerable amount of time and money.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as more and more turn to the internet to sell/showcase their creative efforts, I am sure the legal landscape will change as well. Now all we have to do is convince the public that handmade products deserve a fair price!
I have found lots of my own tutorials on Russian sites with no regard as to where they found them....At least I don't make any money from my directions and they are up for anyone who needs them. It must be so heartbreaking to see your original designs reproduced!!!
ReplyDeleteA very interesting thought to post. I feel for the artist and agree with the comments above. A couple of years ago a major store in the UK was found to be selling sweaters that were clear copies of a design developed by a blogger I follow. Many of her readers wrote letters to the store on her behalf. I actually can't remember the exact outcome but I am sure that she at least received a response from them. I believe they also agreed to make a donation to a favourite charity.
ReplyDeleteMy own view is that much of the problem lies with consumers. I believe that consumers need to change and specifically learn to pay a fair price for creative work, direct from the artist who produced it, instead of always looking for baubles at the lowest possible price. It's better to buy fewer things at a fair price than to fill one's drawers with cheap imitations. There will always be an issue in determining the line between "inspired" and "copied," but it's possible with a little bit of due diligence to figure out if one is buying from a genuine "maker."
I really like your point of artists, dressmakers, all creatives, being paid a fair price for their work. I troll through Etsy and the prices I see are just amazing. I've seen the same in various FB groups with sewists who make clothing and sell it to others. They ask what a fair price is based on the hours and materials and then come up with something a third of what they should minimally be receiving. Is the problem that we all want bargains or is it that the creatives aren't charging enough for their hard work? I think it is a perfect storm of the two. Why is art, which comes from the depths of your psyche and based on years of study and practice not valued the same as the skill sof a plumber or electrician? It really needs to change. All of your input so far is really appreciated.
DeleteGood point, Bunny. It's probably also true that some artists charge too little for their work. I'm in full agreement over the ridiculousness of paying $50 an hour, say, for a plumber, and not for the work of a skilled artist or craftsperson. I'm not an expert on the art or craft markets, but having purchased a couple of original pieces in Italy recently, I can say that the experiences were quite different. They were almost certainly asking prices that were too high and I was expected to bargain them down. (My boyfriend or his sister take care of that for me, as I am too timid in that regard.) I suspect that this isn't always the situation in Italy, as there is plenty of dark evidence of globalization there, too, but it makes me think a bit... Great food for thought here. Stephanie
DeleteOh my! I feel for this artist whose work was copied and shamelessly published on a magazine cover - wow!!! Good point Bunny - people have little problems paying a car mechanic, plumber or electrician their pay but balk at paying fair prices for creative work. It's awful. I agree with others here that watermarking photos is a good idea. This post has made me consider doing this...what watermarking App or software do you use?
ReplyDeleteI use Photoscape, free, to edit my pics. There is an option to place text over a photo. You can adjust, color, opacity, etc. I find it easy to use and being free, a lot cheaper than Photoshop.
DeleteFWIW - I had a situation where a pic of the dress form I made was being used by a company in Canada in their advertising. Nice, huh? They cut the form out, thereby eliminating my watermark, and placed it on their front page. I know many who use opaque watermarks across the entire width of the center of the pic. Not sure I am ready for that but keep in mind there are other ways to steal property and eliminate watermarks. I believe it can be easily done in Photoshop. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
The good thing about the internet, one of many, is that a follower thousands of miles away found this for me and sent me an email. People care, are everywhere and it was greatly appreciated. We need to be on the lookout for each other.
Thanks for the info. Oh I am so sorry you had that experience. What an unscrupulous company. I am glad you were alerted.
Delete