Can You Get in Trouble With the Law for Stealing Art

Suzanne is an artist and author who enjoys designing, crafting, and upcycling. She helps artists empathize their rights.

What should you do when someone steals your fine art online?

@europeana via Unsplash

Has Someone Stolen Your Art or Design?

Are you lot sick of your artwork, pattern or photography existence stolen by commercial enterprises or pocket-size businesses and used to generate profits you will never run into? Often these companies utilise graphic designers or "artists" who aren't receiving enough pay or time to deliver original designs, hence they hop on the web for inspiration and "borrow" (in other words, steal) ideas for artwork.

Ofttimes, the original artists will exist angry at the graphic designers of these companies, simply sometimes it is not entirely their fault. They are rushed, stressed, inspired past your designs and trying their best to delight all parties in five minutes. Though they shouldn't do information technology, the blame lies with the companies themselves, who use people in manufactory-like atmospheric condition and practise not vet concepts, designs and artwork throughout the design process. Then, at that place are always some well-paid rogue designers who cannot stop stealing and will not provide original concepts and a design trail. How do yous stop the madness and redeem your earnings? Here, I provide a step-by-step guide to recovering your correct to your own work:

1. Detect Out Your Land'south Copyright Laws
2. Ready, Monitor and Protect all Artwork Online
3. Locate Stolen Artwork Online
4. Consider Potential Gains
5. Get together Show
6. Send a Cease and Desist Letter
7. Course Action Lawsuit

Theft vs. Flattery

In that location's an one-time adage that suggests copying is a form of flattery, just where does all this thievery assistance you, the creative person? While the internet is a great tool for sharing, information technology is not meant to be used to generate profits for multinationals off the backs of working-class creators. This commodity provides some potential solutions that can help creators get dorsum some of the payment they are due.

Many artists worldwide use the process beneath to generate coin from their artwork (I will protect their anonymity by not mentioning names here). Some of them make millions of dollars. Instead of chasing buyers, they hunt the companies who copy the designs. It is quite a legitimate form of bounty and doesn't toll much as well much to reach.

Original art by Great britain Illustrator, Ashley Percival.

Stride 1: Detect Out Your State's Copyright Laws

Showtime things beginning: Take steps to understand to what extent of the law you and your artwork are protected.

• You need to find out the definition of a copied artwork, which may exist given as a legal description or as a percentage of the total concept or surface cover (e.g., more than 20% copied constitutes copyright infringement, whereas less than twenty% does not).
• Y'all volition need to bank check your state's copyright laws to decide if copyright infringement has indeed, taken place in each instance of theft.
• 100% duplicated copies usually do constitute copyright infringement (except for the "off-white use" clause, which includes personal use, education, satire, critique and other not-profitable activities).
• Remember, you automatically own all copyrights to your work from the moment of creation.
• Too note that copyright law does not protect ideas, only the finish results of ideas. For example, you cannot copyright a style or a subject, just an bodily artwork.

Registering Artwork With a Copyright Office

If you live in the U.s.a., yous have the choice of registering your artwork with the U.s.a. Copyright Office within 3 months of creation. This does not "protect" your artwork any more than a copyright symbol does, but information technology tin can brand a huge deviation in getting attorneys' fees and statutory amercement covered by the infringer.

Statutory damages are a set up amount of money by police force that you would receive, instead of having to prove in court how much profit you lost and being paid a potentially lesser corporeality instead.

Registering artwork can get expensive speedily if in that location's a lot of artwork to register, only information technology is worth information technology if y'all are becoming a prominent artist and people seem to keep stealing your artwork.

Alternatively, if you are not in the U.S., contact your country's copyright office to run across what benefits they might offer. The Globe Intellectual Property Organisation has a list of copyright offices per state.

Whorl to Continue

Read More From Feltmagnet

Step 2: Prepare, Monitor & Protect All Artwork Online

These technical elements can prevent your artwork from being stolen. Disabling viewers from downloading and seeing the details of your work keeps potential thieves from copying the unique aspects of your work.

Depression-Resolution Images

Information technology'due south important to use just low-resolution images on the cyberspace. When you "relieve for web" in Photoshop, it automatically converts your image to 72dpi (dots per inch). Use images that are 72dpi and 600 pixels in superlative and width (or less). If y'all mail service a bigger image or a 150dpi – 300dpi image, people can employ information technology for quality commercial printing and upsizing, and yous don't want that! Adjust the sizing when yous save your epitome to your hard bulldoze for upload, whether information technology's Photoshop or another image editing platform.

Watermarks

Watermarking images is not always the best answer, as information technology can detract from your artwork and people can easily take the watermarks off in Photoshop. Graphic designers tin can still re-create concepts, fifty-fifty when they are watermarked. Watermarks just deter the general public who might not have access or knowledge to remove watermarks. A subtle copyright watermark is useful for stating your rights simply doesn't end theft.

No Right Click

Using a script to prevent users from right-clicking on artwork is a slap-up manner to stop the general public from stealing images. However, with unproblematic keyboard techniques (that I won't reveal hither), No Right Click can be worked around fairly hands by those in the know.

Here are some resources for how to implement the "no right click' role:

• Neuron Themes WordPress Resources
• Disable Right Click on Squarespace
• Right Click Protect App with Wix

Best Practice

The best way to protect your artwork online, apart from never putting it up in the first identify (and that's no proficient to you), is to prepare artwork accordingly, monitor artwork on the internet and answer to all copyright infringement as it occurs while extracting money from offenders.

Spot the stolen owl - Ashley Percival's designs also featured without permission on tops from Chinese clothes retailer Yesstyle.com.

Locate all piece of work that may have been compromised online.

Photo by Alice Donovan Rouse on Unsplash

Step 3: Locate Stolen Artwork Online

There are a few different ways to discover if your artwork has been stolen online.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts permit you to tag a phrase (or your name!) associated with your artwork and receive notifications about its use. Google tin can accept a bit of a user learning curve, so cheque out this article on how to fix up alerts. Bated from Google Alerts, there are a few other means to find out if your artwork has been illegally reproduced.

I designed this final logo concept for a client. He didn't even wait for me to put colour in before he said it was finished. He then refused to pay, took the depression quality jpg to some other (costless?) designer and got them to replicate it.

I threatened him with a top-of-Google blog postal service (featuring his company name) and he somewhen paid upwardly, but needless to say, I have blacklisted him as my client.

Google Reverse Prototype Search

Install the Google Chrome browser and open it. Then become to Google and type in something in the web search box, then click on "Images" at the peak of search results. Get a jpg of your artwork from your computer and drag it onto the search bar where yous'd unremarkably blazon in something. You lot volition see a new window open and put your image where it says "Driblet Image Here". Google Image Search will upload your photo and provide URLs and similar results, which you lot tin can then inspect at leisure. Yous can also go here and do this!

TinEye Contrary Image Search

TinEye is the showtime image search engine on the web to use image identification technology rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks. Upload an image (or a URL) and TinEye converts the image into a digital "fingerprint" and compares it to all other images in its index (tens of millions are added every week), so gives you the results. It finds exact matches, not similar images (unlike Google Image Search) and tin can find matches that have been cropped, edited and resized. There are even unlike TinEye extensions you can add together to your web browser.

Transmission Google Search

You can try searching in Google Images for your artwork past topic, so add boosted details similar "cushions", "clothes", "mobile phone covers" etc. For instance, I found Ashley Percival's artwork was copied considering I typed "painted owl cushions" into Google and viewed the images to notice them, though TinEye didn't find them and neither did a Google Epitome Search.

An creative person'southward worst nightmare: Colorado Artist Carol Cavalaris' painting of "Cat In Easter Lilac Chapeau" was stolen by AliExpress and is now being sold as a kit so that anyone tin can reproduce it.

Artwork Reproduction & Manufacture

If someone'due south commercially reproducing your designs, y'all are entitled to become compensation and justice.

It might help if you think of the offenders as customers who haven't paid notwithstanding, who need to be "educated" (i.e., threatened) or negotiated with in some way to make them pay for using your product. Apologies are not skilful plenty. Removing the product is not skilful plenty. They used it, and they demand to pay for information technology. After all, you don't borrow and utilise THEIR products for an indeterminate timeframe and then apologise and return it, do you lot?

Consider all aspects of the theft and what you lot can proceeds from information technology.

Photo by Tingey Injury Police Business firm on Unsplash

Step four: Consider the Potential Gains

Call back well-nigh the ramifications of the use of the artwork by the infringer and how best to deal with it.

Small-scale Company

For example, if someone has stolen your artwork and put information technology on a T-shirt in an online customs shop similar Threadless or CafePress, the best mode to bargain with it might be to contact the site owners and get that person'due south business relationship banned and the T-shirt removed. The reason this method should be used is that the site owners might non know it was stolen artwork and would no doubt accept third-political party liabilities excluded from their legal responsibilities, and so a lawsuit (or even a threatened lawsuit) would be useless.

Large Company

Still, a much bigger site like Alibaba or eBay, that houses hundreds of companies that reproduce stolen artwork on a massive calibration deserves the full force of the constabulary, as practice stolen artworks entered into design contests with a high greenbacks prize, or clothing companies who sell many dress with your blueprint on them.

Consider How Much Turn a profit the Offender Has Gained From It

There's no point in existence satisfied with an apology if they sold hundreds or thousands of items (you should be getting financially compensated) but information technology is silly to bear a lawsuit over five sales. A reasonably sized invoice (with extra fees for unlawful utilise), along with a cease and desist Letter of the alphabet from a lawyer is plenty to scare most of them.

Adelaide Photographer Harmony Nicholas finds businesses proceed stealing her designs and putting them on T-Shirts, like this one from Uk T-Shirt shop Unique 93. Unfortunately, she has no way of telling how many have already sold.

Step 5: Assemble Evidence

Grab some screenshots of the stolen artwork and note the date and time of your discovery. Notation the URL of the website and (if you can notice information technology), the appointment that the webpage was published. You will need the bear witness subsequently on, so get information technology while it'south still there! You might want to cheque if there are whatever other instances of the artwork with Google Image Search and TinEye too.

Did You lot Know?

If you are an artist, any expenses incurred in dealing with stolen artwork may be potential tax deductions. Check with your accountant for full details.

Stride half-dozen: Send a Cease & Desist Letter

Here'south the fun part – where you can accept action virtually copyright infringement. Yous will need to choose if you lot will be using a law firm for a end and desist letter or if you volition be dealing with it yourself.

What Is a Cease & Desist Letter?

The purpose of a cease and desist letter is to legally country that you would similar the infringer to completely stop using your artwork without your permission, and to remove it from the public centre in all mediums, otherwise further legal action will be taken against them. Include an invoice or notes about how they can compensate y'all for the unauthorised use of your artwork to date.

Should I Utilize a Lawyer?

The benefit of using a police firm is that your letters volition be taken much more than seriously (and therefore compensation might be more forthcoming), plus a lawyer can correctly input the legal text with the right threatening tone that you might have trouble with yourself.

If a letter does lead to court action, the paper trail that the lawyer collects is bound to be more official than your own. Only not everyone tin afford a lawyer, so it'southward best to decide what costs are involved earlier making decisions.

Find yourself a reputable or well-known police firm. Information technology's hard to print anyone with a threatening letter if the law firm appears to be a backstreet outfit.

Phone the law firm upwards and ask for a short consultation (hopefully for gratis) to discuss getting a quote on some work. In the first consultation, explain you are an artist and that you need a C&D letter, sent along with an invoice, that you can use over and over once more (with details slightly changed) in order to threaten companies who have infringed your copyright.

Explain that y'all don't have much coin and would not be pursuing legal activeness unless it will be very lucrative to do so. Have a await at the costs. I know from experience that a letter like this (not art related) in Australia cost me $100 simply information technology worked and I got my money back and and then some! If you only accept six letters to send, and so paying the lawyer for a course letter might be an option.

If you have hundreds, then you might want to do information technology yourself or pay for the first C&D letter from a lawyer, then create your ain subsequently that, using the correct legal text on your ain letterhead. Alternatively, if you accept a friend who is a lawyer and they would exist open to profitable with a recyclable grade letter, this is the fourth dimension to phone call them.

Don't Recycle the Lawyer's Letterhead

Information technology would exist illegal to get a lawyer's form letter and reproduce the letterhead without their permission. Do not do this or you lot will have a big legal problem because the recipients of the letter will contact the police firm and they'll find out. However, you tin can use the text in your beginning paid C&D Letter to formulate your own at a later date (on your own letterhead).

Include an Invoice

Always ship C&D messages to CEOs or heads of companies, not other people. They are the ones who brand the decisions and understand the ramifications of adverse publicity. Yous may demand to research or phone them anonymously to notice out who they are and their contact details.

Choose whether to include an invoice with information technology, or give-and-take the letter to be open up to negotiation on compensation. Price the unauthorised use of your artwork accordingly.

As a guideline, some people like to charge four times the total-priced rate of the work equally a sort of "fee" for the infringement.

Writing DIY Letters

Examples of sample C&D messages tin can exist plant online with a Google search.

If you are doing the C&D messages yourself, y'all will need to decide if yous will enclose an invoice for a specified corporeality, or if you lot will be open up to negotiation near compensation. If you ship an invoice, brand certain that, to the best of your noesis, they tin beget to pay your invoice. If they are a small corner store, exercise not ask for $10 million unless they've made $10 million from your artwork.

Making sure that information technology is a reasonable amount they tin pay ways they will exist more probable to pay. The same advice goes for making it as well cheap. If y'all're writing to a multimillion-dollar corporation, be realistic. If you lot are open up to negotiation well-nigh the amount (i.e., you lot don't know how widespread the damage is) then threaten them in the letter and put the "open to negotiation on a settlement for the unauthorised utilise of my artwork" comment at the lesser of the alphabetic character, so they can see it as an easy way out.

Make Your Case

A good style to show the caput of a company your proof of infringement is to create an image and print it onto a photograph. Put your artwork on the left side of the prototype, with "Original" typed on it, and put the infringing art on the right side with "From [url of offending website] [date screenshot was taken]" typed, then the CEO can immediately compare the artwork.

As well, create a divide photo showing a screenshot of the web folio with the offending detail, so that the URL and their company logo can be clearly seen. They may need to be A4 photos.

The idea is to scare the CEO with good-looking difficult evidence, so using photos instead of a grainy home colour printout is absolutely necessary. Brand sure all materials in the envelope await serious and professional, otherwise information technology volition be a waste of time. Recreate whatsoever sloppy-looking invoices, use business envelopes if possible and brand that C&D letters expect like you are serious!

Ship the letter of the alphabet by registered post. There are two reasons for this – firstly, yous need to know it has been received at the other stop (after all the time you've put into information technology), and secondly, it's another scare tactic for the CEO. He/she gets this professional looking alphabetic character, which is tracked and with slick evidence inside, a seriously threatening C&D letter and a businesslike invoice. They would have to be pretty callous to ignore it.

Relax . . . Or Not!

Later on all that hard work and the unleashing of your anger on poor, unsuspecting CEOs (nigh of whom won't know well-nigh the infringing artwork before your letter arrives), it'due south time to relax. You're probably going to go a certain charge per unit of return on your own letters, while lawyer C&D messages get a much higher rate of return (the CEOs get scared you will pursue legal action, afterward all, you've already contacted the lawyer).

If you lot don't hear from anyone in a reasonable time frame, and so you can have other actions to make yourself feel ameliorate about the whole distasteful episode:

• If information technology was a widespread infringement and a large amount of compensation could be obtained, information technology may exist wise to pay to have further legal action.
• Contact a diversity of media organisations and offering your story to them for a fee. You'd exist surprised how many hungry journalists are looking for stories on this.
• Write an article almost your feel and share information technology all over the place, as well as using SEO techniques, so it comes upward in search results when people look for the company online (this can scare them into paying too, I've done it and it's worked!) But you have to accept downwards your articles after being fairly compensated, though no other blog or news outlet needs to.
• Write on public forums about your experience so that it pops up in search results for the company too. Remember, it isn't defamation if it is the truth, and you take the show to prove it.
• Create new artwork about the experience and sell it. For instance, Eddie Colla hit back at Walmart with his new, limited edition print and a bulletin for Walmart included on it.

Run across two examples of how artists Lawrence Richmond and Nancy Framer handled plagiarism below.

Example 1: DIY Bootlegger Mode

Hither is some other type of DIY, based on the "don't go mad, become even" school of thought. Y'all take to applaud Paul Richmond's style in dealing with an eBay seller Cai Jiang Xun, who was mass manufacturing his paintings. Richmond catfished his copier into giving him all the show of fraud he needed and more.

Californian Artist Eddie Colla had his artwork stolen past Walmart and sold every bit a "Banksy" print. In order to repossess his artwork, he created a limited edition print chosen "It'south Only Stealing If Yous Go Defenseless" to fund legal fees in the case.

The original artwork which was stolen by Walmart.

Instance ii: Nancy Farmer vs. Wendy Marani

Wendy Marani is a Florida-based "creative person" made now famous (shamefully) for her remanufacturing of the works of several artists. Nancy Farmer has not received the justice she has sought nevertheless.

Organize a class action lawsuit.

Photo by Europeana via Unsplash

Stride seven: Grade Action Lawsuits

If you observe that there are lots of other artists having their work stolen by the same visitor, y'all might like to consider a class-action lawsuit.

Basically, it involves contacting the other creators, getting together to take a lawyer consult on the matter, and getting a quote on costs. Then, you keep as the group agrees.

The benefits of grade action lawsuits are that lots of publicity can be generated effectually them, so the company is more probable to pay up, plus costs are less per person and returns are greater per person. All creators should log details of infringements and assemble evidence in grooming for these kinds of lawsuits before they become also public.

Conclusion: Take Dorsum Command of Your Work

All of this may sound like a lot of work, but as previously mentioned, it tin be very lucrative and is definitely worth a try. There'south nothing quite like finding out your original creation has been taken without permission and used to generate decent profits for others while all you are left with is anger and resentment. Don't destroy your inventiveness with negative feelings – take activeness, feel better, move on and keep creating with your soul feeling the way it should!

Resources

• Arts Concern Institute | Your Work Has Been Knocked-off. At present What?
  Steps to have in the event that your designs accept been stolen and manufactured in some other state.At that place are protections in place including Customs Block.
• Have You Been Knocked Off, Ripped Off and P*ssed Off? | Artsy Shark
  Knocking off artists work is unfortunately pretty common. Some examples of bootleggers and what the artists did to overcome this type of theft.

This article is accurate and truthful to the best of the author's knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

© 2014 Suzanne Day

Suzanne Day (author) from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on September 15, 2020:

Hullo, unfortunately I don't know of anyone who could aid, other than international copyright lawyers. Hopefully someone who sees this might have more than information for y'all.

supporttheartist on September x, 2020:

Hello, I'm trying to practice research right now on how to help some of my favorite Korean webtoon artists from having their comics being illegally posted on pirated sites as well as on social media, like Instagram. Past whatsoever gamble do yous know of whatsoever organizations that assists international creative person on filing lawsuits against individuals who steal their art from overseas? My brother has told me most certain organizations that do that, but he is not fully sure about it. If past any run a risk, you know about it or have some other solution that can help me help these Korean artists, information technology would exist greatly appreciated! Please and thank you in advance!

AR on July 02, 2020:

Greetings Miss Mean solar day,

I wanted to cheers for this article. As I am helping my girl start and develop her own clothing line. We are finding that a lot of the places who have stolen the other artists works in this commodity are stealing our artwork and unique styles as well and the line has not been made public yet. At that place is alot of charade and thievery with the graphic designers at these organizations they are stopping artists before they get started. Enlightening post.

Warmly,

AR

Peter Evans on June 15, 2020:

Not merely practise I have every modify to artworks over the 17 years, dated. I likewise have from the retired person whom I created the artwork for, a letter stating my artwork written well-nigh a yr agone to clear this thing up!

Information technology is as written above Willful Plagiarism.

My starting time two solicitors rubbish, indeed second one told me to await half dozen weeks with my Rolls Court stuff. That six weeks timed me out!

Suzanne, This is U.k., whilst I now have a very practiced lady representing me, an IP Pro Bono, then complimentary. In theory we can't loose, just a matter on monies at present. Merely this is UK. When I protected a young lady from being sexually attacked. Mr Went attacked my party four times. Police force attended twice.

I lost in the end 80% of my business? Plus was warned weeks before that I was about to loose my business!

I could get on and on almost the corruption in my home boondocks.

Suzanne Day (writer) from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on June xiii, 2020:

Hi Peter, if you have whatsoever original files or date stamped artwork etc., it would stand upward in a court of police force to prove you as original owner beyond all uncertainty. Just because you lose a contract, doesn't hateful anyone can rip off your original artwork...

Peter Evans on June 11, 2020:

I nearly lost an eye considering of artwork theft! I drew a chartlet, metre square, full of nautical information. For 17 years it carried my copyright sign. Then they say I had lost the contract, that of printing 20,000 copies each year. That's life, but the following year, my artworks, with all its error appears recoloured. Line for line, exactly the same!

I take court action Great britain, Rolls Court, merely unknowingly time out! Was advised past local solicitor to expect another 6 weeks before chasing upward Rolls Court.This caused the time out!!!

Their side threatens £14,000 costs unless I settle for £3000 ( I wanted £40,000) The stress causes shingles, almost causing loss off right centre equally information technology attacked the nerves. I agree to settle at the everyman betoken e'er. They don't pay as I won't sign a gagging order!

Their solicitors makes a pocket-sized fault, 9.5 missing in contract. My adventure to get back in the fight.

The original person, at present retired that I worked with in this massive company, wrote a nice letter saying copyright mine too. I did not accuse for the artwork, just made my monies on press, quark updates of text etc.

Now I have free legal assist, shingles gone, feel extremely positive. Awaiting court case.

They printed 3 times 20,000 copies, allowed, as well costless downloads of my artworks. Still have their designers logo on as I write 11.6.xx

Their design agency used my artwork for a competition, the final insult! Their logo on information technology!

Give thanks you for all the information provided here, very helpful.

I look forward to telling all in my area the court ruling. I trust the blueprint agency that put their logo on my artwork, sees the funny side of it! Case should come upwardly this year, 2020.

Kek on May 09, 2020:

Information technology is quite elementary grow a pair of balls that´s all. Art theft is no problem at all cus those who could get financial losses are mostly save except if they go total on mental and postal service their paid commissions online b4 sending them to the receiver xD it is that simple. Nobody cares about the crying masses of filthy wanna be artists. They are the annoying equivalent to the feminazi who is first pleased when everybody is sad/ripped of all their "privileges" xD I tin can only express mirth almost those crying victims. If people volition use my fine art let them do it. It is more encouraging to run across others work with your art I realy don´t get all those crybabies.

Mike on Dec ten, 2018:

So glad I found this.

So, some instagram model from australia took my fanart and sold shirts and sweaters for a limited time of 7 days. I was in contact with her before and told her that she would have to pay me if she uses it commercially. Since shes in a dissimilar country I found I neded a lawyer in her country to take legal actions. I would appreciate if someone got back to meabout this.

Thank you You

Grace Swedberg on November 13, 2017:

Thank you for this article! Knowing exactly what to do, helps immensely the feeling of outrage and violation you feel when yous detect out that a unique logotype that y'all created for the express use of a paying client is swiped by someone in the verbal same business concern using the exact aforementioned proper noun! Don't they want their own identity? I hateful, don't they understand that they would bound to be caught? How dumb can you get?

Darren "EbonyAndIvory" Pham on September xv, 2017:

So glad I establish this. Was hoping for a "what if I'chiliad an ameteur creative person and some dude is taking my art and challenge it as his ain (though not making profits)?" I mean, despite heather fact he'south not making money on it, I'd nonetheless be pretty pissed off.

Becca on July 16, 2017:

This is exactly WHY you will never find me selling my work online.

Chris Rebel from Dublin, Ireland on April 13, 2016:

I have recently been researching this topic for my own interests and accept constitute this to be the best comprehensive research on this topic. I love that its broke down into easily manageable chunks to digest. Information technology can be very overwhelming trying to rails of your work and go on it rubber from copyright infringement. Thank you for sharing!

Marlene Bertrand from USA on July 21, 2015:

On the net, imitation is not a form of flattery. It is a form of theft. Your hub is awesome! Every piece of information is valuable.

Thelma Alberts from Germany on May 02, 2015:

Thank you very much Suzanne for this data. My hubby is an artist and I don´t know if his arts are copied online as he is in some art groups and posting the photos of his work. Voted this up and useful.

Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on Apr 30, 2015:

Hi Suzanne,

This is very useful data to know. It drives me crazy trying to go on track of all those who steal my articles and photos. Information technology must exist fifty-fifty more frustrating for artists to have their work stolen and and so replicated. Will tweet, pin and share this information with others. Thank you for putting this together.

Suzanne Day (author) from Melbourne, Victoria, Commonwealth of australia on February 23, 2015:

Thanks Glenn!

Glenn Stok from Long Isle, NY on Feb 23, 2015:

Thanks over again for that extra info Suzanne. I just noticed I spelled "stop" wrong. If they don't end, I'll seize their income. LOL. Past the way, I tweeted your hub considering I feel information technology's very useful.

Suzanne Day (writer) from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on Feb 23, 2015:

Hi Glenn, I call back finding something that is big scale copying or profiting would be worth using a lawyer. If someone's fabricated one copy and less than $10 profit, Cease & Desist is the fashion to go, merely you can't expect to get major money back out of them. Whereas ebooks selling a lot with your work in them definitely crave a lawyer - I don't know any attorneys for this personally, but I'grand sure having a good one up your sleeve is the mode to go for your bigger cases!

Glenn Stok from Long Isle, NY on Feb 23, 2015:

I plant this to be a very of import word, especially for those who include their ain graphics images in their hubs. Yous gave a lot of useful data with ideas for how to handle information technology when our artwork is plagiarized.

I guess the aforementioned can be done for written content as far as having a lawyer send a seize and desist order with an invoice for approximate earnings they may accept had from the content. Merely I do empathize, and you explained it very well, that it's easier to get payment for usage of stolen images. I saw your caption in one of the comments also.

1 more thing that I thought of while reading your hub: I wonder if whatever attorneys would handle this on a contingency basis? And if there are whatsoever Hubbers who are attorneys who may want to offering this service?

Vespa Woolf from Peru, South America on Dec 29, 2014:

I didn´t realize in that location are so many avenues to fight the use of stolen artwork. In my example, the issue is but that my articles and photos are copies my unscrupulous people and used in their blogs. I keep rail of this and study information technology to Google. It´s interesting to know that at that place are other options out there. Thanks!

Catherine Giordano from Orlando Florida on October 08, 2014:

I am stunned to encounter major corporations like Wal-Mart stealing fine art work. Y'all besides explained why sometimes I right click on a google image and it doesn't work. If I utilise a picture on my blog, I practice try to credit the creative person. And if my blogs actually earned more pennies a day, I'd pay for art. Since joining HP and being made of the consequence, I try to use only art designated as free to use.

Audrey Howitt from California on Oct 07, 2014:

This is such a huge event--I know the watermarks help--it was skillful to know there are other tools also

Dianna Mendez on July 21, 2014:

Information technology is indeed frustrating to find out your work is stolen. I don't know if I can monitor the internet faithfully, but your data is helpful in knowing the ins and outs of this procedure.

Writer Victoria Sheffield from Georgia on July 17, 2014:

This is very useful information.

Suzette Walker from Taos, NM on July 16, 2014:

Wow! Very interesting and informative. I guess if others would steal whole hubs and hub pages then they wouldn't glimmer at stealing artwork. Information technology is amazing what others will do. Thanks for the info and caption on what to do in the situation of stolen art work.

Harry from Sydney, Commonwealth of australia on July 16, 2014:

Very helpful ..Sometimes I experience like throttling the guys who blatantly copy our hubs hither and steal credit ... good info..voted up!

Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on July xvi, 2014:

Very useful information which everyone, who is contributing their art work through Internet must know. Must say a very well researched commodity. Most of the things I had no idea about.

Stolen content is a reality of Internet. We must minimize its possibilities past being vigilant and enlightened.

Voted up and shared on HP!

John Hansen from Gondwana Land on July xiv, 2014:

Very thorough and data packed hub Suzanne. Interesting to read well-nigh stolen artwork as opposed to written manufactures/hubs. Voted up.

Suzanne Day (author) from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on July 13, 2014:

Thanks everyone, for your kind comments. Heidi, artists are getting closer to the process for dealing with foreign thieves every day. Apparently, China has copyright lawyers at present who can take on companies in China in a similar way to lawyers doing it in the U.s.. There was a contempo commodity most Chinese manufacturers suing each other over copyright infringement, information technology's just that Westerners notice it hard to locate and use these people.

For anyone having artwork stolen and mass manufactured in another state, it might be an idea to effort to contact lawyers in that country to see what can be done according to the laws there. At that place's no 1-size-fits all procedure, but a large enough trouble warrants some attention as in that location might exist a huge fiscal proceeds to be had...and it might be as affordable equally a Cease & Desist Letter (with invoice) sent to a company from lawyers in its own country.

FlourishAnyway from USA on July 13, 2014:

Great hub with terrific examples showing what tin happen. Information technology's frustrating but creatives demand to pursue their rights. Voted upwardly and more, sharing, pinning.

Bill The netherlands from Olympia, WA on July 13, 2014:

I think this is a problem that will only grow in telescopic. Policing the net....wow....anyway, overnice information and good research.

Heidi Thorne from Chicago Area on July 13, 2014:

Good discussion of the topic! As Rachael noted earlier, getting DMCA type protection against foreign thieves is tough or impossible. Promise i twenty-four hour period there volition be an like shooting fish in a barrel manner to thwart this. Thank you for sharing your insight! Voted up, interesting, useful and sharing!

swilliams on July 12, 2014:

Wow Susan! Nifty article Ms. 24-hour interval You are skilful at what you do! You provided a wealth of information! Tweeted out voted upwardly!

Suzanne Day (author) from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on July 12, 2014:

Hi Rachael, don't berate yourself - it IS the same effect for writers and artists - copyright infringement (theft) - but there are different methods to deal with it and compensation can be a lot less for writers...sadly ;(

Rachael O'Halloran from United states of america on July 12, 2014:

You're right. I wasn't thinking virtually transfers to T-shirts and other mediums when I wrote my comment. I was thinking more near copied art like copied Van Gogh paintings and such. I clearly don't know what I am talking about when information technology comes to fine art. When information technology comes to written words, that seems to be where it starts and stops for me and your article shed light on the fact that other artists (not only authors every bit artists) are dealing with the same problems of theft. Give thanks y'all again.

Suzanne Twenty-four hour period (author) from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on July 12, 2014:

Thank you for your comment Rachael! I find that copied content is a different thing to copied artwork, because the processes used are different (eg, for a stolen hub, you lot might file a DMCA and get no compensation unless it was stolen by a national newspaper, whereas copied artwork on T-Shirts and paintings offers more than grounds for compensation when pursued through legal channels, considering the offender makes more money out of it).

It is very irritating that it happens and for artists getting ripped off, having processes in identify to get compensated are a must.

Rachael O'Halloran from The states on July 12, 2014:

As yous might know, this is a pet peeve of mine. I have written quite a few manufactures on copyright infringement likewise every bit other topics that writers can identify with.

Information technology is a real pain to keep vigilant for stolen work, merely if one wants to guard and safeguard your piece of work, it is the simply manner. In the last three weeks, I accept had 7 hubs copied in foreign countries and have had no success in getting them to take them downwardly. I don't know if stolen artwork is probably easier to track, but I imagine it is easier for a talented artist to re-create, whereas with words in an commodity, they wouldn't exist able to say they wrote it, if yours is timestamped earlier and well circulated.

This is a very troublesome topic for anyone going through this, especially on Hubpages where theft is mentioned in the forums every week. Thank you for shedding lite on this topic.

cazareshourpre.blogspot.com

Source: https://feltmagnet.com/crafts/solutions-to-stolen-artwork-on-the-internet-and-art-thieves

Share this post