Online Art Theft & Plagiarism

         Have you ever copied and pasted a photo of someone's artwork and uploaded it somewhere? Have you ever reposted something on Tumblr or Pinterest and not given the artist credit?

          Plagiarism and Online Art Theft is a problem in today's time. Internet is so useful and definitely has plus sides to it, I'm not being someone who says that isn't true. However, the internet can also have a downside for up and coming artists. When people post photos of their artwork online, whether that's Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr or anything else, it's is so easy for someone to take it and label it as theirs.  Yes, it gets exposure for the artist, but when there is no label, is it really exposure for them?

          Ideas are a huge part of what's important to today's artists and society. There seems to be a difference between now and back then. Back then, it was as if the technical process of creating the artwork was a bigger deal than just the idea of it. When someone stole the look AND copied exactly how they portrayed it within the brush strokes, etc. that's when it became a problem. Now, if an artist, new or old, comes up with an idea and somehow creates it but someone comes along and recreates something so similar it's barely changed to become new and unique, problems start rising. There are so many pages that could go on and on about huge companies such as Zara, or Urban Outfitters that consistently copy artist's work. So as said earlier, it doesn't matter whether it was off Etsy, or a pinterest post, when the idea of someone's has been taken nowadays and been mass produced without giving any credit, the world goes crazy.

          What's sad is huge companies, such as Zara or Urban Outfitters, have so much money that when a single artist wants to sue them for the stealing they are taking part in, they may as well give up. Big companies get great lawyers, meaning anyone who wants to fight back needs to have a good one as well. Good lawyers cost money, though, and when people aren't getting credited or paid for the artwork people or companies are stealing, they then don't have the money to pay for that lawyer meaning they get no where in the legal battle.

          Personally, I feel that if using someone's artwork is going toward something valuable like an education/marks, work and being paid, then credit should definitely be given. Or if you see that the piece of artwork is going around social media very quickly, find out who the artist is and continue to send on the name. It's fair that way, and if you were the artist, I'm sure you would want the public to do the same for you. If you choose to just put a picture that inspires you on your bedroom wall at home, then it's fine in my eyes.  That's personal and you aren't taking credit. It's just once it becomes public that the world needs to know who the true artist behind it was.


Thanks for reading!