A PRIMER ON HOW TO REACT TO ART THEFT

zimmay:

saramlyons:

hey friends!  here is a helpful primer on how to react when your artist friends have their art plagiarized for profit.

DO NOT:
– suggest that watermarks would solve the problem.  large watermarks greatly decrease a work’s rebloggability, and the internet is a double edged sword – even though reblogs are what inevitably gets our work stolen, we still need our work to be rebloggable in order to get recognition and build a fanbase.  subtler watermarks and artist signatures are often edited out, and sometimes even straight up left in the image (the BEST BUDS shirt on Dolls Kill recently is a good example – my signature is literally printed on the shirt).  people who are already stealing art don’t give a shit about a watermark.

– say that if we copyrighted things it wouldn’t be an issue.  even assuming that all original works aren’t BY LAW immediately and automatically protected by copyright (which they are, at least in the US), having a registered copyright will do literally fuck all to keep companies from stealing artwork if they feel like it.  "whatever forever" has a registered copyright and is also the illustration stolen from me most often.

– say “imitation is the greatest form of flattery.”  getting paid for your artwork is the greatest form of flattery.  having your artwork stolen is hugely disrespectful and really sucks.

– trot out that tired Picasso quote about how good artists borrow and great artists steal.  this is NOT what that refers to, and if you think Picasso would have been OK with people directly copying his paintings and profiting off them without his permission, you don’t know enough about Picasso to be quoting him anyway.  (also it’s highly probably that Picasso didn’t even say that, but that’s a rant for another day.)

– unless you are a lawyer or personally know a lawyer willing to work on contingency or at drastically reduced rates, please do not suggest we sue, no matter how helpful you may think you are being.  speaking as someone who currently has a lawyer on a variety of these cases – it’s not easy or cheap.  just sending C&Ds can cost hundreds of dollars.  if a case goes to litigation it can can cost thousands.  the vast majority of lawyers are not willing to work on contingency for the small payout these types of cases typically get.  most artists just can’t afford to litigate over theft by larger companies, regardless of how cut-and-dried the case might look.

– basically just don’t imply that it is the artist’s fault their work has been stolen.  

now, here are the things you can DO:
– retweet, reblog, and repost your friend’s social media posts about their art being stolen.  because of the reasons outlined above, this is often the only real recourse we have, and it is often successful at least in having the products pulled.  every single post helps.

– refuse to patronize businesses and brands that steal art, no matter how cool or inexpensive their other products might be.  spread the word to your friends about the businesses and brands that steal art.

– if you see shit, call it out.  if you see your friend’s art being used anywhere and you are not 100% sure they authorized it, let them know.  some people don’t even realize they’re supporting stolen art.  let people know.

– don’t “forgive” brands that have done your friend wrong after time has passed.  you might think we won’t notice your new shirt from that store that stole our artwork two years ago, but we do!  

– buy from small businesses and independent artists whenever you can!  SUPPORT YOUR ARTIST FRIENDS & ALL INDEPENDENT ARTISTS!

This is the best advice I have ever seen for how we as a community can help small artists deal with art theft!! Everything above is true, and I’ve heard all of this advice before, (especially recently). There is so little that actually helps. Our legal systems are too broken and expensive, and there will always be wicked people out there willing to steal art to make a quick buck. However, I was blown away by the response to my fan illustration getting stolen, with 20,000 notes/reblogs in less than a week. Reblogging the heck out of an art theft post and making others aware is truly the best thing that can help an artist who is dealing with art theft.