Since this post is a little different than the norm, and isn’t based on a theme or medium, the gallery in this week’s post exclusively features members of the Mom’s Basement Etsy Team. Enjoy!
Melvin disapproves of art theft… Melvin Sprite by YumesPixelCrafts
It came to my attention this week that someone on deviantART was using a of photo of mine, featuring my jewelry, without my permission. They posted it in their gallery and claimed to have made it themselves. I responded that this was my work and I would report them to admin, which in turn caused them to again insist that they made the jewelry in question and barrage me with a series of badly-spelled, juvenile insults. The photo was subsequently removed, however, all of the other photos in their gallery were also infringing on other artists’ ownership.
This seems harmless on the surface – just some tween’s boredom, or a troll trying to get a rise out of people. However, this person also claimed they could make custom orders or do trades for customers based on the pictures in their gallery. I would hate to think my or any other artist’s work was misleading people into thinking that’s what they were going to get, only to receive something sub-par, or worse, nothing at all.
Fall Impressions Pendant – Geek Atom by FaerieGardenFancies
This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with people using my designs for their own gain, but it caused me to think harder about what can be done about it. I know artists that have had similar experiences to mine, and many of us geeks that frequent the MB site are crafters and artists as well, so I hope the following information is useful.
First of all, sites like deviantART and Etsy have people working there that deal with this sort of thing and you can report images for several reasons. I also discovered that deviantART has several teams devoted to removing art thieves, including DABloodhounds and The-Art-Police.
Kawaii Soy Sauce and Food Rings by FunWithNeedles
Another easy way to protect yourself is adding a watermark to your image. Most any photo shopping program can achieve this, but it can be tedious to do them one by one. I discovered a watermarking program called TSR Watermark,
recommended by Pcworld.com, that is free to download. It allows you to apply a watermark to a large batch of photos at once. You have a choice of font, color, transparency and even adding a photo logo as the watermark.
Kingdom Hearts Inspired Locket Necklace by TrenoNights
Watermarking an image will obviously not help if someone copies your designs and creates their own version. If you’re serious about retaining your exclusive right to a work, you can register a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. It costs $45 per submission and lasts 70 years after the creator passes away. Copyright laws are similar in most other industrialized nations as well.
Even if you don’t officially register your copyright, you retain your right to that work the moment it is created. For more information on copyrights, trademarks, and other legal info that may or may not put you to sleep, visit Nolo.com.
Now that you are all hopefully armed with a little more knowledge, please enjoy your regularly scheduled dose of art awesomeness, all made by MB team members, including the items above!
Grid Tron Bracelet by ShinyThingsbyOrin
Sierpinski Triangle Fractal Necklace by DragonNerd
Power Wristies by Nerdifacts
The Original Upcycled Comic Book Bracelet Featuring Ash by Customcomix
Legend of Zelda Heart Container Fabric Bow by Stitch3d
Dragon Hat Green/Orange by ningenheadwear
Japanese Folk Art Button/Magnet Set of 5 by SliceofOrange
Pineapple Plushie by AiKawaiiShop
 Star Trek onesie – … $16.00
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 Final Fantasy XI – … $15.00
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 video game button p… $1.50
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 Fullmetal Alchemist… $17.50
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 Zombie Love large m… $14.00
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 Cthulhu OR’lyeh… $7.00
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 Anatomical Heart Ri… $10.00
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 Katamari Family 4×6… $4.99
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Thanks for the heads up! I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile but I have a mac and have been really lazy at looking into a watermark software for me. Guess I should start now!
Thanks for the info! It’s something all artists have to deal with at one point of time or another, unfortunately.
Rad picks too, btw:)
Thank you so much for featuring my Grid Tron Bracelet! And thanks too for the information. I hope readers find it helpful.
I see people doing this on dA & Etsy all the time and it makes me so mad. I haven’t found any of my work, but I have found photos and artwork of friends and artists I follow being used by others who have no right to do so. I usually inform the original artist/photographer and let them handle it from there. I try to stay out of the drama of it all…
As for watermarking my own stuff I waver back & forth. Some artists put their stuff out there and say, yes, please, download & share! And I think that’s awesome, but I also think they might be really well off & not care if some college kid prints off stuff to tape to their dorm room walls. Just means more exposure for them!
But I’ve heard of other artists who’ve gotten reports of shops in other countries selling tee shirts with their artwork on them without buying the rights or paying them even when the information is clearly spelled out with every image they post. But they can’t do anything about it because they have no money for the legal fees to pursue it. So they resort to posting tiny, low quality images with giant, ugly watermarks.
I do like some watermarks I’ve seen, tastefully done in the corner, kind of like the old Olan Mills Photos… LOL!
Thanks for posting my Geek tile by the way! And OMG I LOVE that Fractal Necklace by DragonNerd! ^o^
I say we find this tween copy cat jerk and just kick ass.
lol I and several other DA artists have badgered her badly enough that she removed almost all of the pictures from her gallery. Unfortunately, admin hasn’t taken any action on her yet and she still has a few stolen pictures up.