This article is the first in a series I am writing concerning copyright laws and what we, as artists, can do to protect ourselves and our work from art thieves. Granted, in this day and age, it has become harder to protect our work. We are not always aware of it being stolen and illegally posted. Consider it luck, if a friend or another Deviant stumbles upon it and informs us so that we may do something about it.

Art theft is not only a major concern among the artists here on DA, it is also a major problem. We have taken steps from adding the copyright symbol along with our name in the artist's comment box, to adding it to the images themselves, to putting watermarks the size of the image on the images; and still the thieves continue to steal art without a second thought to consequences.

What's worse, is the websites that permit this art to be posted even after they are made aware that the art is in fact stolen. Some sites do co-operate and remove both the work and the user who posted the work, to those sites I say "Thank you."

We need to get the message across to the sites who require a lengthy process to have the stolen works removed, that we will not put up with them hosting stolen art. In any form. A prime example, a dear friend and wonderful artist, had a piece stolen and posted on a site. She posted a journal entry about it and quite a few of her friends and watchers did as most of us do: went to the site and left comments regarding the stolen work. Of course the person responsible for stealing it responded with language similar to that of one not accustomed to dealing with civilized people and managed to do nothing but show her true colors as a very rude individual, who obviously sees nothing wrong with stealing art.

Artists, no matter what medium they use, put a lot of work into their art and a bit of themselves go into each and every creation. So, in my opinion, having a piece of work stolen would be similar to having a piece of my soul cut away, and for someone to show disdain and say that it is perfectly alright for this to happen just irritates me to no end.

Enough of that. The purpose of this series of articles is to provide every artist with a basic knowledge of the copyright laws, not just U.S Copyright laws, but those covering as many countries as I can find laws governing; as well as to provide a basic understanding of the law period.

I've read to many journal entries where people have come across art stolen from DA and this series of articles is meant to help anyone who may have questions. Though these articles are in no way a substitute for legal advice, I simply want to point artists in the correct direction. If I don't have the answers, I will provide them with information on where they may be able to get the answers they are seeking.

I will leave you with this one solid bit of information for today: As soon as work is completed in tangible form, it is Copyrighted whether or not the artist has filed for a copyright making it a matter of public record.

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“A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.” ~ Unknown

Or, they had no idea why it was here in the first place.

First of all, I've run into some good people and some rude ones, as I'm sure all of us have. I've come across those who fave pieces for whatever reason and then they disappear. Then there are those who are using DA as a popularity contest, or trying to anyway. The majority of us are here for the same reason: To share our work and view that of others; to offer advice, answer questions, etc. We don't care about the number of page views or the number of faves.

Then there are those who only seem to care about those very things. Not everyone is going to like every piece you turn out so suck it up and act like an adult. Don't keep submitting a piece that is supposed to be updated knowing full well you haven't updated anything in it. If you want to rework an older piece, then do it. But to keep submitting a piece just to try and get it faved by more people.

Face it, not everyone can be a Picasso, Van Gough, DaVinci, etc. You've got to work at becoming good and if it is in your future to be discovered as a great artist, it will be. DA is not here to play high school popularity contest to those with big egos -- to those who probably fave less than they are faved. You need patience and the faves and the page views will come. You don't sign up and within a week have over 10,000 hits. They come gradually and over time. You have to be active in the DA community -- giving comments, faving the work of others and so on. Answer those notes and emails where someone asks you a question, don't be rude and ignore it. Don't be ashamed of a bad critique and hide it, use it to improve your work, that is what they are posted for, you don't have to like every piece of work on DA and you don't have to comment on every piece of work that shows up under deviations.

Do you think its going to bother me or make me mad if more people hate this article than love it? Not in the least. Because I'm not here, nor are the friends I've made, for the popularity vote.

Have a nice day!

A cousin to yellow (and orange and brown) is gold. While green may be the color of money (U.S. money, that is) gold is the color of riches and extravagance.


Nature of Gold:
The color gold shares many of the attributes of yellow. It is a warm color that can be both bright and cheerful as well as somber and traditional.

Culture of Gold:
Because gold is a precious metal, the color gold is associated with wealth and prosperity. While all that glitters is not gold the color gold still suggests grandeur, and perhaps on the downside, the excesses of the rich.


It is no surprise that gold symbolizes wealth used wisely, but it is also the symbol of good health. People who favor the color gold are optimistic.

Gold Energy

The Tibetan Buddhist believes in 5 sacred stones: the crystal for light, turquoise for infinity of sea and sky, coral for life and form, gold for the golden ray of the sun, silver for the light of the moon.

Gold is intimately linked with Divinity and those gods associated with the Sun. It symbolizes wealth and success.


Wearing Gold

Wearing gold in everyday life increases personal power, and promotes courage, confidence and willpower. Gold chains worn around the neck preserve health.

Using Gold:
Add a small amount of metallic gold to an art project for a special, rich touch. Bright gold catches the eye while darker subdued shades of gold lend richness and warmth.

Using Gold with Other Colors:
Add a golden glow to an earthy palette of orange, green, and brown. Double the riches of a burgundy red or purple palette with glittery gold.


Gold


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Gold mixed with other colors



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Making A Metal Texture



You can easily color your created metal texture to
Gold or any other color you prefer!

What got me shooting pictures and setting alight my love for photography?


It was Flowers.


So here is a thank-you, with this collection of lovely pieces, to the jewels that made me discover this passion.


    

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Thank you.

As soon as your work is completed in tangible form you want to place the copyright notice on it. I someone or several may be think that digital art is not a tangible form, right? Wrong! According to the Copyright Law, Section 102(a)...be right back, I am going to double check this *jeopardy theme plays in the background*...okay, it is time to continue, I had it right.

Section 102(a)this is verbatim: "Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device." Then it lists the works of authorship categories.

I did run across it in one of the many books I have, that digital works are considered tangible form when they are stored on a disk and or printed on paper. I may have the wording wrong as it was rather late when I was reading up and making certain that I things correct for this article. The main idea here is to put that copyright on your work ASAP!

Admittedly, I do not put the copyright notice on all of my work and I do have a reason for this which may sound strange to some or all of you. The works that I do not put the notice on are the ones that I do not intend to put up as prints for sale. These are usually the works where I have used my idea and stock from wonderful stock artists to make the idea a reality. Why, you might ask? Because, the stock is not mine, I did not make it. If the stock artists had not had it in their galleries then the idea would have remained an idea until I found time to sketch it out on paper. Okay, so I have a very strange way of looking at things; on the other hand, it could not be more true. Besides that, I'm still learning and playing with the digital realms of art creation and once I feel I'm as good as some of the artists I watch, perhaps my way of looking at things will change.

Alright, enough goofing off, it is time to get down to business. I would like to introduce you to a form of copyright that you may or may not be aware of, it is a very simple and inexpensive form of copyright. Now, you're curious and probably wondering, "If it is so simple and inexpensive, I'll use it." Right?

Say hello to the "Poor Man's Copyright". With this copyright, all you have to do is get a legal document size manilla envelope, address it to yourself, put the contents pertaining to your original work inside, seal it and send it. When it arrives, put it in a safe place unopened. Simple, right? Sure it is. But it is advised that you DO NOT use this form of copyright. One reason: It is very hard to prove the validity of it in court; and a second reason: this type of copyright is easily forged. Oops! When I'd heard about the Poor Man's Copyright for the first time I did get excited, and started thinking "Great, I can protect my pieces!" Then I researched it, reading several different articles. Each article saying pretty much the same thing, that using this copyright is not advisable.

The Library of Congress website may be of some help to you as far as gaining basic information. If you choose to visit it, you want to look for Circular 1: Copyright Basics, Circular 2: Publications on Copyright, and Circular 96: Regulations Relevant to Visual Arts. If you are interested in doing so, you can also obtain a print copy of the full copyright law: Circular 92 for $28.50. It is also available free in PDF format. I believe all or most of the Circulars on the site are available in PDF format. They also used to offer a Copyright Information Kit, I am not sure if they still do this or not.

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The Library of Congress: [link]

Visual Artist Information Hotline: 1-800-232-2789
Mon-Fri 2PM-5PM EST. Referral Service providing details of programs and services available to artists.

Books:
Legal Guide for the Visual Artist by Tad Crawford
The Business of Being an Artist by Daniel Grant
Electronic Highway Robbery by Mary E. Carter
Making It Legal: Revised and Expanded by Martha Blue

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Until next time, I hope you found the information in here helpful. As always I am open for suggestions.

Alright, first let me start by wishing you all Happy Holidays and many blessings for the coming year.

Now on to the topic of this article: Art Theft and Making Certain It Is Theft. Yes, there is a difference and though some may not agree with me, it is one of the things that I have come across in my endless research concerning copyright violations.

First off, if the piece is just downloaded and then uploaded to another site without giving you - the artist - credit, yes it is theft. And those sites that allow this should be more strict regarding the uploading of content and the like. However, all some sites require is that person tick a little box saying that he or she has the right to the work that is being uploaded. Not that it would be easy for sites like Photobucket or any other to confirm that the person does in fact have the right to that piece or pieces.

Second, there's the non-thief. The one who just downloads art for his or her own personal pleasure. Believe it or not that person is guilty of copyright infringement. This was discussed on some program or other that I was watching. Or maybe it was sent to me in a link via a friend on DA, I don't exactly remember.

Next, we have copying, which is not a copyright infringement, as it is how art teachers teach their students and it is how many of us learned our trade in the first place. Come on, you remember copying Garfield or the Peanuts, or some other item that had been done by someone else right?

Finally, there is taking a piece of another artist and changing it. As long as the change is readily visible, it is not copyright infringement. Such artists as Andy Warhol did it with a lot of his artwork. He took pieces created by others and changed them. Therefore he was not guilty of infringing on anyone's copyright. This does not mean that if someone takes a piece of your work and removes your watermark that it has been changed, this person is infringing on your copyright.

The digital realms make it difficult to protect our art from being stolen and claimed by others. Now you could print out copies of your digital pieces but they wouldn't stand up in court. You can save them in any number of file formats -- all still iffy as far as standing up in court in a copyright case.

Protecting digital art and coming to some sort of reasonable punishment for those who steal digital work is still a long way off. Some of us may never see it happen in our lifetime. For now, all we can do is what we have been doing: adding watermarks, not making stuff available for download -- but even this doesn't work, as all a person needs to do is right-click on the image and they can save it to their computer, making smaller files, and so on.

This will probably end up being a battle like the one that still rages over the issue of the death penalty - it will continue to go on and on and on, because no matter what conclusion is reached everyone will not happy. Truth be known, you can not please everyone so why try?

To those who ask before using a piece or downloading a piece, we thank you. To those who steal art -- your day will come -- we will find the stolen works and do what we have to do to get it removed from your account and your account removed from whatever site you have posted the stolen work on.