Copyright Infringement!

We have been getting reports of people stealing other artists work on a more regular basis lately. First hand, Dawn just had an image of hers published on Facebook by another person claiming the work to be one of their own. Unfortunately, with the internet, this is becoming more and more common and it is virtually impossible to catch all of it. For every image that is found, there are a dozen more that I’m sure we don’t know about.

There’s no way to fully protect your image. If someone really wants it, they will find a way to get it. Here’s a recent article I came across that highlights some of the methods to prevent copyright infringement.

http://webdesign.about.com/od/graphics/a/aa102406.htm

The same author, Jennifer Kyrnin, wrote this article which I came across when googling for information and it inspired me to comment about copyrights here.

http://webdesign.about.com/od/copyright/a/aa081700a.htm

Fortunately for Dawn, her artwork is very recognizable, along with many of the other artists in our network. Most of the time, when looking at images on various sites, I know who the artist is without even looking at the credits - just by the style of the art. As do most of the other artists in our industry. So when an individual claims work that is not their own and posts it online, emails start flying and the culprit is called out.

I have plenty more to say on this topic, but I’m trying to keep it from becoming a research paper. So look for future posts on more specific aspects of copyright laws and how to protect yourself as an artist.