After the post last week about “inspiration” and copyright infringement, a YouTube video called “Copying is not Theft” was brought to my attention.
The video contends that “copying just means there is more to go around, one for you and one for me”. I respectfully DISAGREE!
[youtube IeTybKL1pM4]
The comments are equally as upsetting – here are a few:
Copying physical products I think is the only time there is something wrong with it, because it’s stealing profit from the inventor. It’s deliberate misleading of customers who actually pay for physical objects. However copying something in the software world is positive for companies. Why? because if you made a copy of it, I say 99% of you were never going buy it anyways. Never Ever. So the only thing that was gained, was popularity of the company, attracting people who will pay for it.
I disagree. People stealing software doesn’t attract new customers. There is a definite break in logic to help justify this person’s actions.
This person agrees with me and replied to the above comment:
Are you saying that anyone who writes code is essentially a slave to the world, and deserves no compensation for what they make? What you’re talking about is just a way to confuse appropriation and inspiration with excuses for piracy.
This person just confuses the heck out of me and I question the education system in whatever country they live in…
you cant steal code, only copy it – that’s what the video is trying to say
Part of the reason there is so much innovation in the United States is because we DO have intellectual property law.
Why would you want to spend your time and energy creating software, systems or ART if it was considered perfectly fine for people to copy it? Just because it doesn’t fit in a box doesn’t mean it has no value. I make a living with my art and the pixels created with it (all of our art is digital before it lands on a product that fits in a box) – and I’D APPRECIATE IT if my hard work and effort wasn’t demeaned and devalued.
One lesson I’ve re-learned from this is that many people think that just because they see something on YouTube that it’s true. Anyone can post anything on YouTube. Or on a blog. Or anywhere.
The link to this video was actually tweeted by an artist. An artist interested in art licensing. This really leaves me scratching my head because it goes against the whole concept of licensing. Our contracts often include that we register our work with the Library of Congress and that we will enforce the protection or at least assist if the manufacturer wants to go after an infringer. If you really believe that copying is ok, I’m thinking this isn’t the business for you.
SO… I leave it to you to weigh in. What do you think?
– Tara Reed
I was thinking the video is a parody! Jeepers…
There has been so much talk about this issue and topics surrounding copyright and theft – especially when it comes to artists and design work. There was a big blow up about the jewelry design at Urban Outfitters…and I blogged about my feelings and confusion…because I found other sellers on Etsy creating similar work. Who did it first? Who owns the copyright to the design – if there is one? Or is it out of copyright?
Copying is THEFT – come on!?! People who rip artists’ images and go print low quality stuff to make a fast buck – it’s horrible! I think those cases are clear – copy and paste or even just tracing over – that is copying!
My confusion are the grey areas where there might be a trend going on and many designers seem to do similar looking stuff. Certain designers claim ownership of some “original” idea… and start bashing others. Sometimes it can be hard to tell what is inspiration or what is copying. Especially when you get into certain…more simplistic designs.
Then again, if someone has recreated your entire product line of work…then it’s pretty obvious they just looked at your work and copied it…
Linda – I agree with all of your comments. There is definitely a gray area and there are certainly times where similar concepts hit the market without any copying being done. But there are some seriously blatant (dare I say “ballsy?”) copyright infringements out there so I blog about it from time to time. Good to educate people who might take that video at face value. 🙂
Copying & Theft of design is another reason that artists need to create a recognizable brand for themselves. I’ve spoken to many artists whose clients see their work being ripped off by someone else, and then warn the artist. If you build a name for yourself, it someone mitigates the risk.
That said, theft is rampant, and I don’t see it going away any time soon. Call it out when you see it, sue when you can. I would love to see if there are enough artists that could get together for a class action suit against eBay, or even Urban Outfitters.
agreed!
Surely this video is made in jest? Hard to believe it is intentionally trying to push an agenda of theft.
It apparently wasn’t a joke… however I’m not laughing! 😉
What a misinformed group. So thankful that we have the support of the US Copyright office! Anyone who can copy someone’s work, be it art, music, code, or a physical “thing”, and feel good about it should see all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that went into the original – and then tell me how it’s ok to steal it. This is our livelihood, it’s our source of income. You are not only taking from the artist, but also their children and spouse/partner.
It is especially irksome to see large companies such as Urban Outfitters breaking the laws of copyright and getting away with it. I understand that there is a great deal of confusion over the ownership of the copyrights in the case of UOs jewelry infringement, and I think that they have taken advantage of the confusion. Not to mention most independent artists have a hard time finding someone to represent them in an IP case due to lack of funds.
Blatant copy that anyone wants to sell for profit is absolutely not acceptable. Being inspired by somebody else’s art and creating something similar – that one can be tough, but I would argue that you should try your damn hardest to create something that’s truly original to you and your style even if the work or technique is similar to technique used by an artist you admire.
I guess for me the most important thing to remember is that the work of a true artist, who isn’t just copying someone else, is what’s going to make me interested in their work and make me want to spend my money on their work, those that clearly have no original thought behind their work will never keep me interested for longer than a fraction of a second 🙂
Copying isn’t theft. Some copying potentially deprives the owner of the IP from making money. Other times, copying leads to sales, positive word-of-mouth, etc.
*Commercial* copyright infringement: people selling duplicated copies of Creative Suite, or the latest hit movie, printing t-shirts with your art, etc. has a much more measurable effect. But standard copying/sharing has been around forever (it’s just easier now) and will continue to be a part of our culture, and a necessary part of preserving our culture (corporations surely aren’t interested in that.)
And yes, I will damned well stand up and say that I _have_ copied things in the past (16-year-old me could not afford Photoshop …) and that has lead not only to my career, but on a lot of spending on recent versions of Creative Suite. I’m not ashamed of that nor do I feel the need to hide it (“I pirated Quark and all of a sudden PageMaker made sense…” has been a great icebreaker at design conferences), and I would put good money that the majority of people making money in design/art careers have pirated software related to their career in the past.
The top-grossing movies of the year list looks very similar to the most-pirated movies of the year list. Why? Because people want to consume good content. Make good content, and sell it at reasonable prices in the formats people want to use it in, and people will buy it — even if they can get it for free. My best friend pirates tons of televisions and movies because she’s in Australia and she wants to watch them at the same time as her North American friends get to. She also has the largest DVD collection out of anyone that I know. This isn’t a coincidence.
My publishing company distributes all of our electronic books for free, under a Creative Commons license, and people still buy the _exact_ files they can download for free, and the hardcover versions. Why? Because people are a lot more awesome than many give them credit for, and they appreciate that we aren’t treating them all as potential thieves. (And we still manage to license our work out to foreign-language publishers! 😉 )
Commercial redistribution is still problematic, as I said above; but worry about noncommercial redistribution is just a waste of time that could be spent making new stuff.
Illegal copying is wrong, but it is not theft under the literal legal meaning of the word. One can argue that it amounts to theft, but that argument is just fueling a useless semantic debate that ignores the point. Instead of trying to equate illegal copying to theft, you should focus on educating individuals about the impact of illegal copying. By continually pushing the ‘copyright is theft’ mantra, copyright holders are obfuscating the point, and many people continue to ignore the adverse effects of illegal downloading as a result because they disagree with you and feel that what they’re doing is not theft.
I can certainly respect an artist’s choice to freely share their works and allow others to profit from distribution. It’s not my choice, but I respect it.
Sharing art should always be the choice of the art creator. There is nothing noble about appropriating art or software code for your own personal gain, no matter how you try to justify it.
The message in the video is misleading at best. And it’s a silly analogy.
If you can copy my bike and we both get to drive one, that’s great for you. Except that I paid for my bike and you didn’t. Plus, the bike company paid employees and invested in a factory to manufacture it. Multiply this process by millions. Now, do some math. How can the bike company afford to design, engineer, manufacture, and market new and innovative cars when they will only get $40,000 for the effort? What happens to those employees?
Copyright law exists to protect the creator. An artist complaining about the constraints of copyright law is naive.
Any time someone makes claims on another person’s work in the name of sharing, it speaks more to their ineptitude and sense of entitlement than that person’s ability to share. Sharing is a choice.
Copying is not theft. Seriously?
Whoa! I watched that video 3 times & still can’t believe it. It reminds me of something Sesame Street would produce to show kids on tv – Heaven Forbid children would see this and “learn” that copying the work of their peers is ok. Yet – adults look at this video and don’t have the maturity or the common sense to realize how WRONG it is.
It never ceases to amaze me that people (especially people who call themselves ARTISTS) think that copying is perfectly ok – and that they are ENTITLED to copy others’ work if they so choose. I’ve read this so many times on the internet: “If someone publishes their art on a blog or website, they should expect it to be copied.”
Give me a break!
If I work to create something – and spend hours, days, or even weeks – to perfect it so that it meets the standards of a client … whether I draw, paint, and/or finalize it in Photoshop … it belongs to ME. Not to someone who copies it and then sells it as his/her own.
(I also might add that I find nothing at all commendable, admirable, or creative about someone who not only rips off photoshop, but brags about doing so. Stealing is not part of the creative process.)
As for the gray areas that Linda pointed out – they certainly do exist. Ideas cannot be copyrighted – but an artist’s (or company’s) exact specific interpretation can.
For example: An artist who uses birds nests on a card design, for example – should not expect that no other artist can also use birds nests in a design. That same artist, however – would have her own drawing of the nest, the eggs, the birds – her own colors and composition. And once she has registered that specific artwork with the US Copyright office, that original birds nest is HERS. At least, that’s how I see it.
Thank you for this post, Tara. If you hadn’t blogged it, I would’ve never known about the video. I will be blogging about this myself, and linking to this post – but NOT copying your words and passing them off as my own 🙂
I read a lot about what has been said on several sites about the copy issues around the artist and UO. I still can’t help but feel this is a hard line to draw in the sand. The idea does not appear to be an original one. As previously stated, the site contains items that are mixed with others products and ideas or similar ones. I think craft people have the hardest time proving an original idea verses a painter. I have seen at art shows when a jewelry designer says another jeweler stole her design. For me it was a joke. When you looked at it the beads may have been from the same manufacturer, the design similar 2 of this 3 of them. Is that stealing? I don’t find that all that original either, just because someone uses the same products. I would equate that to a painter using the same manufacturer of framing materials as I use. Did they copy me, probably not. They may just have great taste.
I have had my licensed art copied before so i have dealt directly with this problem first hand.
A kitchen towel appeared at the Dollar Store with my art on it. They cut my name off the art completely. I couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.( just joking)
Later an entire line of my product showed up at Wal-Mart. I had not agreed to the contract. Because the manufacturer was in the rears to me. To their good, they directed me to the manufacturer that was now handling the kitchen line for them. It was neither the fault of the new manufacturer or Wal-Mart’s. They made good on the royalties due me.
Interesting threads, thank you. There is world outside America.
Since 2000 (0ver 70 internet years) I have been spending money, £stg not $ as I am based in London, UK, on making video clips about art and photgrapher opening shows and private views. They can combine art with music, but the sound scapes these day are mostly found sound. Try getting clearances for music done properly.
There is not a collecting society in the world so far which has a financial and timing model to suit my purposes. Within 4 hours of the launch of an Art Show there is art news clip on the web. Instead of paying the artists for increasing knowledge about their work I make a donation to foundations and charities which encourage new art and music.
It is taken me 4 years not to get permission to tag and promote a clip about Kandinsky. If a tree falls in the forest and no-one is there, does it make a sound?
(c)2.0 is needed for (w)2.0 and soon (w)3.0
http://about.me/maxusart
Hey Deb — I want to make something clear: I’m not “bragging” about having pirated Photoshop. Pirating most software is extremely easy; there’s nothing commendable about it. People who brag about it are silly. 🙂
Piracy is part of reality, and realistically, I think the majority of artists have, at some time or another, have resorted to it (or done other dodgy things, like bought an Academic license via a friend who was in school, or took a single class to qualify for an Academic license, that sort of “working the system” stuff). Not many will admit to it, which is why I DO — because I find then, others admit to it, and we have a good chuckle about our younger selves. Then we wonder if we can afford the CS5.5 upgrade because we just spent over $1000 to attend a design conference … and we pull the trigger on the upgrade anyway.
I buy all my software now. I understand that it’s a necessary component for keeping software companies and my friends that work there in business — but I also understand that piracy isn’t some evil magic bullet that for every pirated piece of software, the company’s sales figures are lessened by one.
So, no bragging. Just being honest, which is how I live my life and run my business. As a publisher, I write about my perspective on piracy and sanctioned sharing regularly here: http://adamjury.com/tag/piracy/
My brother -in-law is a programmer at Adobe and he says that when people steal his software, to him, it feels the same way as someone stealing your art.
This sounds a lot like the beginnings of communism… sharing the wealth equally, whether you had anything to do with creating it or not.
I think people equate copying from a large corporation (as in copying software) differently than copying a piece of art. When I was doing small arts and crafts shows, I came across a copy of my art that had appeared in the SF Chronicle – on another vendor’s t-shirt. I was shocked. Like many artists, I couldn’t afford to follow through legally where larger companies could. I think unless you are the artist or creator, you cannot understand how infuriating it is. With that said, this video is creepy: reminds me of brainwashing promotions used to indoctrinate the naive (or scared) populous to get in line, ala Orwell’s “1984.”
Well on this hot topic of stealing copywright and that is exactly what it is. I see no problem with using other artists work as inspiration to come up with your own idea. GEEZ if a person cannot come up with their own artistic ideas then get out of the business. I am a wood sculptor and if I for example see a duck that is carved and sitting on rocks on the beach well I will come with my own idea of a hawk setting in a nest in a tree now that is my own correct.If anyone wants to use my copywright idea let them be man or women enough and come to me and ask for my permission and pay me royalties of course,only fair I would say.
Kenneth C Young
If you go to Youtube & you see her website, the outrageousness of her position escalates.
It (the site and/or its sponsor) is a non-profit corporation with her as the “artist-in-residence,” There is a donate button.
The store page brags that the store pays the artist for use of the image. All of the images are labeled as hers. The website has a high page rank.
She has inspired controversy and enriched herself…to the detriment of all artists who actually have something to contribute.
The question that occurs to me is “How can I bring lots of attention to myself & my art NOT at the expense of others?”
I even hesitated posting the video to the blog because it gives it attention – negative but attention none-the-less. I decided the benefits outweighed the irritation.
From the earliest age, we’re taught not to take things that don’t belong to us – at least, most of us are taught that.
Artists, photographers, writers, and all other creatives make a living from their work. Copying that work and selling it yourself is stealing. Why would I, as an artist, approve of anyone taking money out of my pocket???? Why would I let someone else make money from what I created to earn money myself?
It’s a simple concept. People who claim they don’t understand it don’t want to understand it. They just want an excuse to continue copying without feeling guilty.
I’m an artist and I have a website. Anyone can visit my site and right click/copy/paste any images I have on that site. As long as I don’t find one of my images being sold in $.50 frames at Walmart I’m fine with someone enjoying my image, which would be very inferior to the original, or using it as a tool to learn something from my art. BUT, we are all talking about stealing a copyright for profit and I can say from up front and personal experience that there is no conversation about this going on in China to name just one country that openly copies whatever they want.
I was asked to show my work in a gallery in Bejing and also told that the gallery owner wanted three similar paintings of “Bubble” with the main color changed. He assumed that I would think it was okay for one of the ‘art factories’ to reproduce three originals so that I could sign them when I arrived. Hell no, were the words that jumped out of my mouth. He was openly surprised. I worked fast and produced three such paintings prior to going. It wasn’t easy, but I wasn’t going to sign any work that I didn’t do myself.
This is what we are up against. When I got there I couldn’t go anywhere that clothes and shoes and art were being sold with the designer names on them, pirated, with the understanding that it was all okay. I was offered software, movies, just about anything I wanted for pennies. It was unbelievable to me. I can say that I didn’t purchase anything in China that was copyright infringed. And I was clearly in the minority. There were people from every country buying, knowing it was all stolen copyright goods and loving the sport of doing it.
This issue isn’t going to go away. We may be one of a few people in the world who are even debating this issue. There are laws to protect us, but the demand and greed of most will always find a way to get what they want for less or free. Most of us, as artists, don’t have the resources to fight it. We can only hope that our collectors have the same ethics as we do.