Copyright Issue : Update

One of my paintings that was used on products minus my permission

 

Following on from my blog post yesterday I promised to keep everyone updated on the situation of my art being used without my permission. I had received an email letting me know my art was being sold on a design site. Until yesterday morning this was complete news to me and a disturbing shock. It is distressing to discover someone has taken your images and is making a profit from them without your permission. Because like it or not, it is theft , pure and simple. Someone had stolen my art.

 

   Two of my paintings were on products on the site, being used and sold minus my knowledge or permission. To make matters worse, the above original painting had been created in aid of charity.  It had been sold at the David Shepherd Wildlife Annual Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition years ago and is instantly recognisable as my art. Which was why I was told about it being online, for sale on the web site. It was instantly recognised.

 

You can see my art on the web site following this link.

 

http://thehome.com.au/gifts-from-down-the-rabbit-hole

 

Yesterday I contacted the company who were selling the products with my art on them. To inform them that I was the original artist and had not given permission for my work to be used.  This morning I received their reply. It appears a third party supplied the art to them. The company have explained they have removed my art from their web site and will no longer be using the supplier.

 

Which is a positive outcome and start.

 

My response? I have understandably requested the name of their supplier.

 

1) Unless the company are willing to divulge this information  I only have their word for it that the third party exists.

 

2) If the company do not divulge the suppliers name they are supporting art theft, and the supplier who is breaking copyright law.

 

They do seem like a reputable company so I am hoping they will meet my request. At that point the communication must be between myself as the original artist and the supplier for using my art. I need reassurance my art is not being sold elsewhere by them, on other products and with other companies.

 

But having said that there has been no mention of sales or profit from this company that has been selling my art on products on their web site.

 

I would like to know

 

1) How many of the products have already been sold?

2) Who has been paid for using my design?

3) How will this be refunded to me?

 

Maybe the company could work with me on a figure to politely close this situation on a friendly note.

But back to the supplier of my art.

 

Who is the supplier? And why are they using art without original artists' permission?

Apart from the use of other artists work in this way being unacceptable, it is hard to believe that anyone in this century is unaware of copyright laws.

 

Another point. If large companies on discovering copyright laws have been broken surely it is their role to handle the situation professionally by naming the supplier. Putting original artists in a position where they can safely confirm their art is not being used elsewhere.

 

I am grateful to the company for removing the images and for saying they will no longer use the supplier who used my art. But unless they name that supplier I am not at peace. I need confirmation the supplier will not continue selling my art or the art of other artists. And that is the most important point. I need assurance this will not happen again with them.

 

I would like to find an amicable end to this situation and affirmation that this will not be a problem with the same supplier in the future.

 

Is that too much to ask?

 

I will keep you updated.

 

 

Jean

 

Thank you for all your emails and messages. At first I handled this very professionally but to be honest the more I think about it, the more upsetting it is. 

 

Copyright Violation : Artists Please Read

I'm sure many of my followers will recognise one of my favourite hares, the above painting,  which was painted in aid of the David Shepherd Wildlife Fund. I was thrilled when this painting was not only accepted as a finalist for the annual David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibition at the mall Galleries in London. But because it sold, raising funds for what I believe to be a fantastic charity.

So imagine my surprise today when I read an email from a kind supporter this morning, who forwarded a link showing that my painting is being sold as a design on tea towels, without my permission. No one has contacted me to ask if the painting can be used.  To be honest I was initially in complete shock.

But now I have contacted the company and I am waiting with interest their explanation as to why they are selling my art violating copyright laws.

I will follow up this blog post with their reply.

There is a lot of art on the site so possibly other artists may find their work has been copied too.

Please check this link 

 http://thehome.com.au/gifts-from-down-the-rabbit-hole

My painting

 http://thehome.com.au/gifts-from-down-the-rabbit-hole/water-mark-cotton-tea-towel--50x70cm

I would be interested in any comments please.

Jean

Being Unique : That " Copying " question.

Portrait gradually coming to life on my easel. 

I will be adding the hat and facial features next.

Having taken workshops last week I found myself facing a familar question that many artists get asked from time to time. 

"How do you cope when someone copies you?"

This is a question that requires careful considertaion when offering an answer. Firstly I teach,write books and  film DVDs in order to inspire other artists. If my workshops were not successful in aiding other artists to paint in a loose style there would be no point in teaching. Neither would there be any point in writing books  or filming DVDS if I didn't want readers or viewers to follow the included step by steps, that I work so hard to make interesting and achievable. So to all the new teaching artists who have asked me this question I need to ask you to consider why you are teaching. This is a part of my art  life that I adore and I am thrilled when artists who have come to me win competitions, get into galleries for the first time or start teaching themselves. But I do aim to teach new artists to be unique from the word go.

We must remember that copying is an invaluable way of understanding technique and building confidence. Many amateurs worldwide learn by following professional artists who are further along in their own art journeys.  It is a valid point that inspiration not only comes in following an artists painting style but from their career path as well.  And we mustn't forget that it really is a huge compliment when someone loves your work so much that they wish to paint like you.

But there is a fine line between being inspired and directly copying for financial gain. Copying to learn is a simple form of studying a style and perservering until you can work alone finding your own subjects and compositions.  To anyone who is copying to learn, well done. But to those who are copying and passing off the ideas as your own please think twice. Copying an image from a book, from facebook, a blog or web site and then trying to sell it as your own is not ethical and it is breaking copyright laws. Even sharing a copy of someone elses art online and pretending it is your own work, without the aim of a sale, is wrong.

One question regarding copying posed to me this week was from an emerging artist, whose work is wonderful. They had been directly copied for the first time. I can understand their frustration. I am afraid when sharing online this is going to happen from time to time. However the internet world is a very small place. No sooner has anyone copied a painting and shared online, than it often becomes a focus of conversation that doesn't always throw the copying artist in a good light. Nor is it easily forgotten.

In my case, I have good humouredly watched an established artist copy not only my ideas at times, but they also add to their blog in line with my posts. In fact they started a blog because of this one. Part of me finds it amusing, the other part of me finds it really sad because unless they start being themselves they will always be a shadow of someone else.  More recently there was the email I received when I first started painting Kingfishers.  Another "artist" started painting Kingfishers. A background had been added to one of their paintings trying to make the composition look different to mine but it was obvious where the inspiration had come from.  It could have, of course, been a sheer coincidence but the timing and similairty made their post look questionable. Did I mind? To tell the truth I didn't. If someone is picking up their brush and painting because of me I am thrilled because that is the aim of my books and DVDs. To inspire. But I do feel sad when people cannot openly admit when they have been affected by others art. There is no shame in honesty or admiring art that you think is beautiful.

I haven't contacted either of the artists mentioned. I am so happy in my own life and art career that I don't feel the need to do so. But I do understand how frustrating it is for the new artist when this happens to them for the first time. I have been there and in all honesty I think I handled the situation years ago very badly. A " friend" had directly copied a demonstration of mine and passed it off as their own idea online, putting their painting for sale as cards on a well known site. I was genuinely hurt by their dishonesty at the time more than anything else. And I was very naive.

Maybe that is the key word. Dishonesty. For anyone to pretend they have come up with an idea for a painting then passed off someone elses' creativity as their own is in effect stealing. The real problem is that once anyone has this label  of using anothers' work it is very hard for them to shake off. Trust in a copying artists integrity is non existent.

So please, learn from other artists but don't pretend their work is your own.

And if you teach, be compassionate because not everyone who copies is aware of what they are doing. The excitement of a painting turning out for the very first time can be such a wonderful feeling. I know some very innocent amateurs who in their wildest dreams would never wish to offend anyone by enjoying their art style so much that they wanted to simply be able to achieve a good result. If you have helped, as an art mentor, someone reach their goal be happy because that is such a rewarding feeling.

Lets' all help and guide each other and if someone makes a mistake there are kind ways to help them learn from it. Unfortunately there will always be those who care little about ethics or honesty, but I like to think they are in the minority.

So the question raised deserves many answers. What would you do?

"How do you cope when someone copies you?"

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