Spot The Difference?
2nd April 2010 | First Issue, Interviews
Image courtesy of Tatty Devine
In issue one of Pica Pica we investigate the murky world of intellectual property theft and copy cat designers. It’s taken a while, but thanks to cases such as Hidden Eloise vs. Paperchase, the mainstream media have begun to pay attention to the problem. Ahead of the pack, open blog You thought we wouldn’t notice… has been calling out the copycats for a few years now so we spoke to them to find out a bit more about the site and the inspiration behind it.
What inspired you to first set up the blog?
I come from a street-art background and I was seeing so much of my own work & that of my peers used without our permission. Most of the time it is just not worth a legal battle but I thought it would be nice if we could at least let people know that this was happening.
Was it always an open blog? And why did you choose to do it this way?
Yeah from the start I wanted anyone to contribute. I knew I couldn’t supply enough content from what I see, and it also meant that it would include much more subjects than I was knowledgeable in, such as music or web.
From your own experience, do you have an example of the worst instance of someone copying someone else’s work?
Im not sure if I can think of an all time worst, but just the other day I found out that some was having a photography exhibition where 13 out 16 photos were just photos of my art and the price was 3 times what I would charge. Im always flattered people like my work but not so when they are cashing in on it.
Do you have any tips on the best ways for artists to protect their work and fight back if this happens to them? Or do you feel it’s just too difficult?
You can never guarantee protection of your designs but what you could do is never get anything published, never show anyone your folio, never post your work on the web, never exhibit in a gallery or show it to your friends. But that would really make all your hard work feel pointless. That is just the risk you have to take in putting your designs out there, once you have been ripped you have to consider if it’s effects you in anyway, along as it doesn’t hurt your image it sometimes can be a good thing.
It may benefit you if it exposes your art to a wider audience and no one is cashing in without you getting a cut then whats the harm. How ever if it is damaging to you finically or may effect your profile then work on minimising the damage by doing things like sending a cease & desist asap. (You don’t need a lawyer for that either just look one up on the net.)
Do you feel the internet is a useful tool in fighting this kind of thing? And do you know of any examples where something posted on your site has resulted in a company withdrawing a product they copied?
The net has helped a lot, now that most companies are found through an internet search they rely heavily on having good PR on the net. So when there is a story posted on YTWWN about brand X, it comes up when searched. Because there is so much traffic on the site that when someone searches Brand X the YTWWN story will pop-up as high as second or third in google like “Brand X ripped of Mr Y” This always gets their attention, it is a PR disaster for many companies. I’ve had many take down notices & other legal threats but I will only take stuff down if it is incorrect, uncertain or if the victim requests. So yes there has been several companies withdrawing products due to the site.
You offer guidelines on your site as to what walks the line between inspiration and blatant rip off, could you perhaps elaborate on where you deem the line to be?
If you can put 2 items side by side and the look the same it usually a rip. but if they just have the same style then it’s more than just inspired, sometimes things get a little bit too inspired. Like if you design a bike with the same colour way as a painting you like that sounds fine but if paint a painting with the same colours same content then it may be a bit too inspired.
Many thanks to YTWWN for taking the time to answer our questions!
