Copyright violations: Artists using photographers' images without permission
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 12:52 pm
HI Everyone,
A few months back I discovered that an artist was using some of our bird photographs in her artwork and had not sought permission to do so. I also recognised many images made by other photographers in her work, most them probably sourced from Birds Online. I contacted those photographers I was able to recognise and track down to let them know how their work was being used and corresponded with some of them privately on this forum.
This was not the first time this had occurred and, sadly, I heard the same story from other photographers. I have just discovered another fairly substantial breach from a different artist, again using virtual tracings of our images, making work and selling and exhibiting it without contact, permission or remuneration for the photographic images used in said works. This time I am in somewhat of a dilemma as to what to do.
I believe very strongly that as photographers, makers and artists, we have a collective responsibility to uphold the integrity of the creative community and to ensure that we all have a chance to benefit from the hard work we put into our images. To respect the intellectual property rights of fellow creatives and to ensure that we make a stand when these are knowingly and repeatedly breached.
This artist's entire body of work is bird based and it would be fairly safe to assume that the photographic reference used, which is detailed and in most cases can be proved to traced with very minor proportional adjustments, is not her own and if our own case is anything to go by, used without permission - making them illegal, derivative works.
Like any photographer, I can instantly recognise our work when I see it and it always feels physically upsetting coming across it being used in this way. I don't really have any means of identifying other photographers' images in this instance, as there are many, many images and a lot of them look very familiar to me but I don't necessarily know whose they are. The artist's website states that they have work in the Te Papa gift shop amongst other places.
I would be interested to hear from forum members if they think it is fair to post the artist's name and link to their work by way of a heads up to other photographers whose work may have been taken and used without their permission?
Melody Anderson
A few months back I discovered that an artist was using some of our bird photographs in her artwork and had not sought permission to do so. I also recognised many images made by other photographers in her work, most them probably sourced from Birds Online. I contacted those photographers I was able to recognise and track down to let them know how their work was being used and corresponded with some of them privately on this forum.
This was not the first time this had occurred and, sadly, I heard the same story from other photographers. I have just discovered another fairly substantial breach from a different artist, again using virtual tracings of our images, making work and selling and exhibiting it without contact, permission or remuneration for the photographic images used in said works. This time I am in somewhat of a dilemma as to what to do.
I believe very strongly that as photographers, makers and artists, we have a collective responsibility to uphold the integrity of the creative community and to ensure that we all have a chance to benefit from the hard work we put into our images. To respect the intellectual property rights of fellow creatives and to ensure that we make a stand when these are knowingly and repeatedly breached.
This artist's entire body of work is bird based and it would be fairly safe to assume that the photographic reference used, which is detailed and in most cases can be proved to traced with very minor proportional adjustments, is not her own and if our own case is anything to go by, used without permission - making them illegal, derivative works.
Like any photographer, I can instantly recognise our work when I see it and it always feels physically upsetting coming across it being used in this way. I don't really have any means of identifying other photographers' images in this instance, as there are many, many images and a lot of them look very familiar to me but I don't necessarily know whose they are. The artist's website states that they have work in the Te Papa gift shop amongst other places.
I would be interested to hear from forum members if they think it is fair to post the artist's name and link to their work by way of a heads up to other photographers whose work may have been taken and used without their permission?
Melody Anderson