Copyright Questions
Today a sad topic came up in one of my roles at Etsy. Â I make lots of treasuries over there that feature 12 pieces from different artists there. Â There is one woman whose work I love – it is so beautiful. Today I got a note from another person saying that one of the items in my treasury was violating the copyright of old master artist. Â That person gave me link to a poster of the original work from a long dead artist.
Toys VI, Digital © Diane Clancy
Once I saw the original (which if I had been more knowledgeable about art history I would have recognized right away), I could see the original old master was the underpinnings of the painting. The living artist altered the painting in a way that I LOVE!! It is gorgeous … I love her shop!
I have to go back and study the law again to see if I have an opinion … and if so, what it is. Â But it is not pleasant to run into!! Â Thank you for coming by!!
~ Diane Clancy
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Isn’t it always better to be up front about our sources – if we know. After all an homage is an homage, don’t you think?
Copyright is one thing, and complicated, but courtesy never hurts. If we use something, we should be polite and mention it. Maybe courtesy could overcome some of these legal problems? Permission can always be asked for, if there is a copyright issue and it is pleasant to acknowlege our inspiration – as so many artists of the past did, in music as in painting. Otherwise it smacks of trying to take all the credit ourselves, which feels a bit sneaky.
How do you feel about it?