Stop Thief!

Over the last week and a half I have read about three artists who have had their work stolen via the internet, plagiarized and used without permission. These works were not just "used" they were offered for sale on etsy as if the seller had created the pieces on their own.

When something like this happens, I sometimes give the "thief" the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the person didn't realize that they were infringing on a copyright. Perhaps the person didn't realize that you don't post or use what someone else has created without their knowledge. I suppose this does happen from time to time. Maybe that's naive. The reality is that if you don't know by the time you reach adulthood that taking what someone else has created is wrong, that it is theft then you have lived in a cave. Taking anything that doesn't belong to you, that you didn't create is stealing, as much as taking something from a store, handing in something in writing that you've copied from someone else or breaking in to steal. Just because it is "there" on the internet, doesn't mean it's up for grabs.

While all the artists have expressed their anger and outrage, one artist decided that she wanted to do something positive about this. Marsha Jorgensen created the above badge and a flickr group to go with it. Marsha's idea is to generate awareness, to bring people together to say NO to theft and to make it a little more uncomfortable for others to help themselves. It may not be a perfect solution and it may not be a total deterrent but what I love is that Marsha has asked other artists for their input and suggestions, formed a group and is making this something concrete rather than just saying "to steal is wrong". Kudos to Marsha for this. When it happened to her, Marsha decided to see what she could do in order to prevent this from happening again.

If you wish to use the graphic for your own blog, you must link back to the flickr group. http://www.flickr.com/groups/stopartpiracycampaign