Danny invents a Lego spaceship
Image ownership has become more and more blurred with Instagram and other social media “re-purposing” original images. I recently read a great article with an update on this fascinating and important subject, especially for artists. I wrote extensively about originality and what constitutes an original work of art in my book, Point of Art in 2007. The definition hasn’t changed.
Even since the advent of social media, one thing is still clear, FB, Instagram, Twitter and the rest do not claim the rights to the images posted on their sites. They are still owned by the creator. If you take an image off Instagram and re-purpose it into a work of art, it must be significantly altered for it to be considered original. If not, permission must be explicitly granted by the artist and a credit or a mutually agreed upon financial arrangement is in order. “Sharing” is good. Stealing isn’t.
I’ve experienced more than once the singular compliment of having my images stolen to make mousepads, coffee mugs or tee shirts. Putting work out there doesn’t imply the right to use it for personal or financial gain. I see people photograph images at art openings and know they may use it to make a giclee for that tricky spot on their wall they’ve been trying to fill.
In the very well written article (linked above), Madison Malone Kircher explores mega famous artist, Richard Prince, who thinks nothing of stealing images from Instagram to make his very expensive art. Are those from whom he steals entitled to a cut of the profit? He says no.
The question is, do normal working class people (most artists I know fall into this category) have the resources to go to court over plagiarism against a rich artist like Richard Prince or an internet mousepad merchandiser?
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I don’t like the solution of selling out. The Artist owns the rights to the image, no one else… If they are using your images, or the images of your models online it maybe a cyber crime and as such something that you can report to the FBI.
“Where Can I Get Help?
You may wish to seek professional legal advice from a copyright attorney and to discuss your legal options. The Copyright Office is unable to provide referrals or a list of attorneys. Your local or state bar association may be able to recommend a copyright attorney, or an attorney who specializes in intellectual property, arts, or entertainment law matters. Alternatively, you may wish to investigate whether a public interest organization that offers services to authors and copyright owners, such as Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, has a regional office in your area that may assist you with locating free or reduced fee legal services or assistance. In addition, local law schools may provide representation through clinical programs in Intellectual Property or Arts and Entertainment Law.
If you believe that a criminal infringement of copyright has occurred, you may contact the Intellectual Property (IP) Program of the Financial Institution Fraud Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Two main FBI divisions investigate intellectual property crimes:
Cyber Division
-investigates intellectual property crimes involving all digital and electronic works (including Internet, CDs, DVDs, etc) http://www.fbi.gov/ipr
Financial Institution Fraud Unit
-all other intellectual property crimes
There are three ways a complaint made be filed:
Complainants may contact their local FBI field office, and the complaint will be properly referred.
A complaint may be filed online at the Internet Crime Complaint Center http://www.ic3.gov and, again, it will be properly routed.
Suspected criminal activity of any nature may be reported online at https://tips.fbi.gov and will be routed accordingly.
The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice is the federal entity that prosecutes intellectual property crimes. Parts III and VI of the Department of Justice primer provide further information on the prima facie elements of criminal copyright violations, both misdemeanor and felony, and the factors considered in determining when to charge. However, all criminal complaints should be directed only to the FBI.
Further, there are industry-specific organizations that monitor and prosecute copyright violations. Lists of copyright industry organizations and authors organizations are readily available on numerous sites on the Internet.
Finally, online service providers must comply with certain conditions if they wish to take advantage of certain limitations of liability when a user publishes infringing content on their systems. One of these obligations is the designation of an agent for notification of claimed infringement. To qualify for certain limitations on liability, online service providers must, among other things, provide contact information to the Copyright Office and through the service provider’s publicly accessible website on “designated agents” who will receive notices of alleged infringement. The Copyright Office website includes a directory of agents for notification that lists “designated agents” for online service providers recorded with the Copyright Office. For general information on this provision of the law, see section 512. Also, see a summary of this provision of the law.”
for more information see US Copyright Office page on Infringement: http://copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-infringement.html Stand up for your rights