Well it finally happened……
It’s a catch 22 when posting your images online. We want people to see our art, but we also run the risk of someone misappropriating or stealing the image for their own purposes.
Last week I saw an image that was clearly mine being passed off as another artists.
I don’t know exactly what this artist did but am guessing in some way she traced my image, signed it, and put it on Facebook and Instagram to sell. (You could overlay her image and mine in photoshop and they were identical.)
Some may think, well she just doesn’t know any better. But also, with her post comes this amazing story.
“To tell the story in 2D begins with some fast moving horsepower, the incredible strength and bulging muscles made this encounter give me a reason to hide. This amazing horse had zeroed in on running directly towards me. Clearly, she didn’t want me near her favorite caretaker. Even though this happened a couple of years ago, the photos I took bring back the intensity of the day.”
Whoa. I thought that was BRAZEN to say the least.
So, what did I do?
After the shock of it all, I immediately called her out on it and posted in my various networks what happened…..and people responded, both to her and to me. Here posts on Facebook and Instagram were flooded with angry artists telling her in various ways that stealing someone else’s work is not OK.
She quickly came up with a reference photo, which looked nothing like my image or the one that she traced and tried to defend herself. It was really pathetic.
There were a couple of people who said it this cyberbullying that I asked my network for help and that other artists responded so aggressively. I’m not buying that. I monitored the posts, and no one was out of line. No one made threats, called her names, or intimidated her (other than asking for an apology). Personally, as long as it’s civil, I don’t have any issues with calling someone out who claims credit for my work…..or another other artist for that matter.
Yes, the post was reported to Facebook and Instagram and I’m not sure whether these organizations had a hand in taking the posts down or the thief did it on her own. That I will never know.
But there is an important issue here. Using someone else’s work in your own. It’s intellectually property and has clear governing laws. This was an egregious exact copy of my image. But what about those who use someone else’s photography in their photo encaustic work? Or a musician’s song to illustrate their video to post online? Or another photographer’s image to market an event? Is this not the same?
I frequently see students who are beginning, and sometimes in artist who should know better, that they are using images that do not belong to them. I see it all the time in videos online that are using ‘pop’ songs as a sound track to their video. None of this is OK. It’s someone else’s intellectual property and not ours to appropriate in any way, shape, or fashion.
Unfortunately, lots of photographers have images stolen by individuals or companies in other countries. They sell merchandise using the stolen images and just laugh at any take down notices. There isn’t much we can do about this as they are untouchable by our laws and court system.
But here in the US, there are some things you can do to protect yourself.
- If found on an online platform, report the abuse to the platform. Facebook makes it easy to report abuse of intellectual property.
- Register your images with the US Copyright Office, you can register up to 750 photographs in each claim for a nominal fee. Although upon creation of the work it’s naturally copywritten, this adds more protection to any claims you may have against an individual or organization.
- Understand the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and how to issue a takedown notice to the isp.
- Patrol the internet for abuses. You can go to https://images.google.com/ and search for your image. Google reverse image search for more details and articles.
- Send a ‘cease and desist’ order when someone infringes on your copyright.
- Watermark your images. In my case, this wouldn’t have mattered as she created new work from tracing my original, but it’s still an option. If you don’t like watermarks on your images, you can investigate paying for a service like Digimarc to embed invisible watermarks into your images.
This happens far too often. Let’s all be diligent about stopping it when we see it.
The perpetrator has agreed to send me the original image and not post it online anymore. But please if you see it anywhere and I will get much more aggressive with her.
What experiences have you had with this issue? Would love to know how you resolved it.
Be well….be creative,
Im glad that her images (of your photos) were removed. I think that you should have named her here, because this may not have been her first time doing this and may not be her last. No one should ever have to worry about their artwork or images being stolen.
She took the images down, so I’m good with that. No need to berate her further. I’ll be monitoring her though.
Wow, that is brazen! Especially the story…not even claiming that it is fair use, just flat out appropriating. This is what gives me pause about putting my art online. But then if you don’t how do you get customers and recognition? It’s a conundrum. Thank you for your suggestions and post.
Erica, I think that is the thing that bothers me most….the story like she was there.
Hi Clare,
I’m sorry you had to deal with this but you’re right, I think sooner or later we all do. My preference for addressing copyright infringement is to privately message the person first and give them the chance to do the right thing. I think the public disclosure can get messy fast and I think overall, just leads to more drama than what is needed. This way has always worked for me.
Ironically and unfortunately, I had a person claim that I stole one of her images. She did this publicly and didn’t stop until I found the original image file that clearly showed that while we may have photographed the same building they were no way the same image. She apologized but not until she had done some major harm. Because a lot of people assume that an accusation is always correct…. if not entirely, at least partially. And that’s simply not true.
I think your bullet points are all good ones and I think we do have to watch out for our friends and colleagues too. It’s definitely a catch 22 when we dive into the virtual world. Hopefully the benefits far out weigh the risks though.
Thanks as always for your insights and for sharing your wisdom and talent!
Peace,
Jamie
Thanks for your comments Jamie. It’s a messy situation all around. I’m glad you had the original photo to prove it was your image. Shows we need to be diligent on using our own images and keeping documentation.
While I am not a lawyer, my understanding is that registering with the copyright office is important if you need to take legal action. Apparently, there is not enough money in it for a lawyer if you depend on your unregistered natural copyright.
Yes, always a good idea to register!
I’m glad you got this sorted out Clare. I was angry on your behalf when I saw your post and then read her rather pathetic attempt to say it was one of her photos (which it very obviously wasn’t!)
A question: I’ve only ever posted a couple of videos on my Instagram feed of some of my work and the radio was playing in the background. I hadn’t really noticed the song until I played back the video once it was online and I quite liked the music so I left it. Would this be an infringement on Coldplay’s copyright even if it was playing on the radio at the time and I hadn’t downloaded it specifically for a video edited by myself?
It’s quite a minefield out there!
Here’s to a more peaceful week,
Cinny
Thanks Cinny. Yes, unfortunately, it is an infringement on Coldplay. I get it though….it’s probably really nice for your video. You can go out and get Royalty Free music that will not cross any lines. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Thank you for making me think about it!!! Really appreciate it as it would have been totally unintentional. Next time I do any videoing I’ll make sure there’s no music playing in the background.
Great info, thanks Clare.
Thanks Sandy:)