Thanks to all of my fellow artists and friends for your concern about this all-too-common issue that could affect any one of us.
EmptyEasel.com has a couple articles about copyright infringement. Click here to read them.
I have found out the iOffer is a site similar to eBay. Sellers can set up a "store" to sell things. When I contacted them about this issue, to their credit, they removed the listing.
However, the individual store owner, identified only as hnzp197738, still has my painting for sale. I've sent him/her a message the he/she is infringing on copyrighted material and to remove it immediately.
I think it is incredible that the painting is listed as a "hand painted original." Totally bogus!!! I think they make a print of a painting, and then paint over it with clear gel so it looks like brushstrokes to the untrained, half blind eye. Or, they have factory artists, typically in China, add some paint on top of the print. Even I could not paint such an exact match again without a print underneath.
7 comments:
Wow, Carol, this is bizarre!!! I seriously can't believe that...there are so many things that's wrong with this scheme that I don't know where to begin! Why would anybody who cares the slightest about art even attempt a knock-off? Sincerest form of flattery, it is NOT!
Congratulations to you for exposing the impostors, and thanks for calling our attention to this insanity.
Scares me!
Thank you Carol for letting us know about this site...as artist I guess we all have to be more aware.
It is so upsetting that the thieves are so bold. I am still amazed that they left your signature on it. They removed mine and posted a big watermark right across the front with thier company name on it. Is there nothing they will not do to make a buck off the back of someone else.
Amazing that someone had the nerve to put a signature on the piece and still leaving your own in plain sight. Truly monumentally ignorant! I think I'd be putting some feedback on that store owner's site blasting him for the lying and stealing.
The internet has opened the way to a whole new level of fraud and thievery. Artist like yourself who's work sells well are being targeted. Finding out the actual identity of the thief is the biggest problem, aliases and quick shut downs of one selling option and ready access to several new ones make it very difficult to stop. Low resolution, prominent copyright watermarks may be the best course of protecting our art on the internet as one artist already mentioned in previous post.
Glad you got SOME response. I will be curious to see if there are others out there that find this happened...I still think if we all banded together we would be heard loud and clear! Good work!
Carol, the listing still seems to be up as of Monday 17th. If I view the sellers store, your painting knockoff is still up.
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