Series: Copyright Violations
- PT.1: Art & Artifice: Examining Copyright: Pirated Works
- PT. 2: Art and Artifice: Examining Copyright: Roundtable Discussion
- PT 3: Art and Artifice: Examining Copyright: Copyright and Fair Use
Artifice (noun): A deceptive maneuver usually intended to deceive or defraud
Last month, the Internet illustration community was abuzz with an enormous breach in copyright. A coffee table art book called Colorful Illustrations 93°C was supplied by a person named Zhao Jun to a company called Sendpoint who then turned it over to a publisher known as Index Books. So what’s the trouble? Seems that everything in the book, from images to interviews, was taken verbatim without permission from The Little Chimp Society and Darren Di Lieto.
The pirates stole the work of countless artists. Readers of Toycyte will recognize the work of some of our favorite toy designers like Camille Rose Garcia, eBoy, Jeremyville, Jon Burgerman, Luke Feldman, MCA/Evil and Tado.
There are many reasons to be outraged by this:
- The 350-page book sells for $100—not a dime of which goes to the artists or author.
- The pirates are stupid and lazy. After right-clicking to steal images from the site, they didn’t bother to rename them. They also couldn’t be troubled to proofread, making the breach all the more obvious.
- Copyright infringement affects all creative people.
And yet, some good has also come of this:
- A Google search for Colorful Illustrations 93°C does not pull up a single link to sales of the illicit book. Instead, you get the results of a community coming together with viral anti-piracy blogging. Illustrator Luc Latulippe made a graphic that visually renders the point. Nerd Powers Unite!
- As a result of the outcry, Index, Sendpoint and a slew of resellers in Japan and Spain stopped carrying the book. Darren also cleverly invoiced Sendpoint for all the stolen work which, even if it accomplishes nothing, feels feisty and makes you want to pump your fist in the air. Watch Darren’s blog for updated activity.
- People are having important discussions about art and copyright.
Read on for a round table discussion and fair use primer.
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Nice article Jeremy, we were burned by these pirates too. I’m glad retailers are removing the books from stock
June 24th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I’m merely a passerby, but am upset that your work has been stolen nonetheless. Had this happened to a major artist (not that you aren’t), the likes of which have RIAA/MPAA support, congress would have moved hell and earth to rectify the damages. Sadly, only large corporations have any real claim to copyright. Even they they strive to bypass legally enacted copyright law and define their own laws.
I wish you the best of luck in seeing justice done.