I recently learned that by putting an image into Google Image Search, you can look for appearances on the web of that image. Within minutes I'd found this Chinese company using one of my paintings as a mobile phone cover, entirely without permission, of course.
Here's the original:
Posts
4 comments:
Wow. Are you thinking about doing anything? Is there anything you can do?
This is why I usually put a ghost "watermark" on any of my work I put on the internet. Still doesn't stop people... I came across someone this morning using a cartoon of mine still with the "copyright Jim Barker" emblazoned across it.
The Wiki says: "Domestically, protection of intellectual property law has also been established by government legislation, administrative regulations, and decrees in the areas of trademark, copyright and patent. This has led to the creation of a comprehensive legal framework to protect both local and foreign intellectual property. Despite this, copyright violations are common in the PRC,and intellectual property violations are committed by prominent members of the automotive and electronics industries."
If it were Europe, I'd think about doing something about it, but who would I contact in China? Even the website selling the phone cover is in Chinese and there's no contact address.
I don't much care for watermarks on my images, but I may have to think about that again. Who knows how many more of my images have been stolen? It's a big task to go through all of them.
That's disturbing when it hits your own work yet so common from what I hear. I too wonder what action you might take, what I would do. Most artists can't afford a lawyer taking this up, especially if there are numerous infractions. Keep us posted, please.
Post a Comment