A very interesting article about being 'ripped off' as an artist, tattoos, and a great review of my book on art copyright, preview:
Article by Jo Whitfield
It was lovely summer's evening and I
was happily walking home through the
warm sunlit streets of Glasgow after
a busy day in the studio. My route
home took me through the creative
corner of the city where galleries, cafes
and tattoo parlours reside in all their
splendour. I adore the work of many
of the local tattoo artists and I often
stopped outside each window to look
at the freshly drawn flesh.
While admiring the sharp line work and the garish
subjects that people chose to have adorn their
bodies for life, my attention was drawn to not yet
another cheeky red devil with a pitchfork but by a
very familiar piece of artwork.
I was stunned. It was a direct copy of the
artwork I had created the previous month for the
burlesque club which I run with my partner and it
was now part of a tattoo artist's portfolio and for
a mere £85 I could have it emblazoned upon my
now furious body. I stormed into the parlour and
demanded to talk to the manager.
...
Eventually the manager agreed to remove the
design from their window and promised to avoid
repeating the same mistake in future. The whole
incident made me realise that if could happen to
me it could happen to anyone.
By putting their work out into the world, artists,
photographers, designers, illustrators and other
creative groups are at risk of having their work
copied, misused or abused. So what can be done
about it?
The best thing to protect yourself and your work
is to become better informed about Copyright
law and how it affects you. As they say knowledge
is power and a little time spent researching the
law will pay dividends should you find yourself in a
similar situation to the one I found myself in with
the tattoo parlour.
Where to begin?
Well luckily help is at hand. Author and artist,
Gillian Davies, has produced an excellent title –
“Copyright Law for Artists, Photographers and
Designers”. The book covers the basics of the
current laws governing copyright in a clear and
easy-to-digest style.
Offering examples of copyright infringement
throughout, the book highlights the key
aspects of the law that are of interest to artists,
photographers and designers in particular. One
of the most interesting features of the book is a
chapter discussing an individual's rights over a design
as well as an enlightening overview of the often
sticky area of intellectual property rights.
Publishing the work of others is an area where
publications such as newspapers and blogs often
fall foul of copyright law and a quick search of
google news will reveal the extent of legal action
being taken by photographers and designers
against copyright infringements.
Gillian covers this in a very concise and easy-to-understand way
giving the reader the knowledge they need to stay
within the law when publishing on and offline.
As a basic introduction to the complexities of
copyright law, this title is a 'must have' reference
for all professional and amateur creatives alike.
***
Copyright Law for Artists,
Photographers and Designers
Gillian Davies
Published by A & C Black
ISBN 978-1-4081-2474-1
You can find out more about Gillian Davies at -
http://carouselmonkey.blogspot.com
www.carouselmonkey.co.uk
www.aoiportfolios.com/artist/gilliandavies/
Article by Jo Whitfield; 200x200 art magazine forthcoming (September 2012)
Essential Guide:Copyright Law for Artists, Photographers and Designers [http://t.co/tAQxtzn]
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