Taking a Stand Against Copyright Infringement
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I received a threatening e-mail yesterday. It comes from a Marykay Bond and what I've posted below is unedited. Now, those that know me or have even just been following this blog, know that I'm a professional and I work very hard to present myself that way. I wouldn't normally put something like this out there, but I want this out in the open for everyone to see.
"Ann Ranlett,
Why are you attacking my art?
Have you ever held a piece of my art in your hand? Has any one in that group truly saw a piece of my work?
It saddens me when I see an artist such as your self running with "pack mentally".
There in not one ounce of proof that anyone can show that my art is not real.
This is all hearsay and was started by one jealous artist and it has snowballed out of control.
These people seem to think this is all some sort of fun game; but what they do not realize is that there are internet stalking laws; there are slander laws; and many other laws that are also being broken.
If anyone slanders my name I am going after them with the full force of the Law!
These people like to hide behind made-up pretend names and say things about me using my real name and my business name's; this is SLANDER!
I will get a court order to pull all of ebay and YouTube records which will show the exact address of each ones servers through their isp address; which can be traced directly to their front door step of their homes, no matter what pretend name they are hiding behind.
I have never attacked your art or your name. I do not even know you so I know you do not know me; but if you choose to slander my name you are going down with them!
Regards,
Marykay Bond"
The e-mail speaks for itself. I will not dignify her comments/accusations/threats with a reply. But I won't call her out here, either. And I won't post her eBay id or web site. You can do your own research if you so choose.
I am trying to figure out what prompted the e-mail and the only thing I can think of that would make Ms. Bond feel I'm "attacking her art" is a comment I left on a Flickr photo (scroll down to the comment by AnnRan5). Yes, I'm assuming what the other commenters are saying is true, but I'm also aware of copyright infringement on eBay, so I really don't doubt them. I know artists whose photos or artwork have been used without permission. The photographer who took the cat photos and posted them on her Flickr page did not authorize use of that photo in that manner - it's obvious from her own comment. It's extremely frustrating as an artist and a photographer to see others' work used without permission, it has not happened to me (that I know of) but I'm as vigilant and protective of my work as is reasonably possible.
I also try to educate when I can. What many people don't realize is that just because an image (be it a photo or art) is on the internet, doesn't mean it can be used by anyone in any manner they wish. Others do realize this and don't care, figuring the odds of the appropriation being discovered are slim. This is copyright infringement. The copyright belongs to the creator of that image, period. Simply put, copyright means all rights to do anything with that image. Even the buyer of an original piece of art or a photograph does not have permission to make reproductions of that work, unless such permission is granted by the artist/photographer. Some time ago, I ran across a great summary of copyright info. Click here to read it (you have to scroll down the page a little bit).
It's a tough situation - as artists, we want to share our art with others and the internet is an amazing way to do that since we can reach people on the other side of the world. On the down side, by doing that, we open our work up to theft. The best we can do is to keep an eye out for unauthorized use of our work (and our fellow artists' works) and to put a copyright watermark on our images that we put on the web. Fortunately, at least in my experience, the positives of having my work on the internet far outweigh the negatives.
