Comment by Jane W.:
Hi Chanta,
I'm going to give this more thought to this and get back to you, but meanwhile, for your less experienced designers:
The topic is intellectual properties. Know current Copyright Law as it applies to you and your work. (Perhaps KD could furnish in a future email.)
If you turn in work that you swiped off the internet, you are a liability to the company.
Jane W. - Sent this later after some thought:
Hi Chanta,
For questions like this, I usually refer to the Graphic Artists' Guild and their book, "Pricing and Ethical Guidelines." Here's their link and what their answer person wrote on the topic, "When Does the Law Consider a Work Copied?"
If I find more, I'll send it on, and, if useful, I could address some of the questions from the newbie designer that Kim included in her email.
This link is from AIGA, another professional design organization:
Comment by Emma:
Design is subjective and up for interpreting, nit only from the person creating it but also from the person viewing it. All original art created by any designer should be their own interpretation of what they view as inspiration.
With that said, design books are sold at a very inexpensive price, making it attainable to most anyone. They are copyright free art, most of the time so the art in those books and on those cd's can be used by anyone, including anyone in the same field! So a designer for Target children's apparel could be sitting next to the designer for JCPenney children's apparel at a show and both buy the Spring 2012 children's graphics book and possibly use the same art for similar end uses. The art must be interprets or manipulated in some way to make it unique.
As far as ikats and batiks are concerned, being age old dying techniques and not " original art" a designer should use the "technique" as inspiration. So a heart pattern with striated bleeding lines, has the feeling of an ikat, for example.
Most importantly, any design created by a designer is considered original and falls under the copyright protection law IF, and only if it actually is original. Every designer uses what the see as inspiration but it must be inspiration only. Taking someone else's shapes and changing scale or the background will not be acceptable. Just use what you see as inspiration and create your own similar look.
One very important thing to keep in mind, is that many years ago there used to be a "rule" that if you change the art by 20% your safe. THAT NO LONGER EXISTS! now if there is a piece of art in question of violating copyright laws, and doesn't settle out of court, it is brought to court in front of a jury of everyday people. Both pieces of art are held up and the the jury decides if the two pieces of art, from a distance look too similar. If yes, then you or the studio you represent are in violation. Very important to keep in mind!! Think about the Burberry plaid. Very well known. You can't just add a couple extra black stripes and a red stripe. It Still looks like Burberry to the average person. Burberry has won several lawsuits because of this. Coach has done the same.
Just some things to keep in mind. All design design for a reason. Trust your gut and make it your own.
Comment by Iris:
Hello all,
A few random thoughts--forgive the rambling.
M. has written an insightful email! As designers/creatives, we absorb everything around us. It's hard to know where we stop and someone else begins. I once heard a story about Paul McCartney. Shortly after writing what would become one of the Beatles biggest hits, he asked several friends if they had ever heard the song before.
I teach in a graphic design program. My students almost universally have the idea that if they change an image by a certain percentage, that it's considered fair use. However, our department policy says absolutely not! Either buy the rights to the work or don't use it.
Which brings up the next point--terms of use are often so confusing, that it's hard to tell whether a font or an image can be used commercially, and sometimes with images it gets into the number of times it's used such as "up to 250,000 pieces", etc.
I"ve also wondered about M.'s point #2 below--about classic themes such as the Moorish designs.
Very difficult questions. We all want to be fair, and to be treated fairly in return. But where are the lines?
Comment by BG:
This is what I think:
#1. It is a common practice for artists to use photographs as references and create unique pieces of art such as the Obama poster created by an illustrator using an AP photograph. Read the article: http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/01/ap-and-shepard-fairey-now-theyre-business-partners/
This poster was so popular and the design itself was not changed enough which made it easier for the photographer to sue.
Shooting your own reference material doesn't guarantee you won't be sued. Every situation is a case by case. I created an illustration (Bulldog) for a client and the image was copyrighted. A large company sued my client for copyright infringement. Their art was of a Saint Bernard Dog.
My client's lawyer said that this company had lots of money and would drag this thing out and my client had no money so did not challenge the large company. The large company did not want anyone else selling t-shirts with a large dog face on it and that was their motivation.
It had nothing to do with copying their art.
#2. Universal themes like ikats, damask, southwest, circles, triangles, etc. are public domain. You can get into trouble when you arrange the elements, color them and present them in the same exact order as another artist for the same exact product.
#3. Knock offs are a common practice. A knock off is just that. If you attempt to do a knock off and it looks very close to the original work than your chances of getting into trouble can be high. A knock doesn't mean you are copying. It means you are creating something similar.
#4 Artists have access to the same reference materials and create their own unique interpretation. An artist may feel your interpretation is too similar but it doesn't mean you copied.
Comment by EmmaS:
VERY interesting questions this designer has!
See my comments below... Again VERY INTERESTING and I am glad I am not the only one with those questions too!!!
Hi Chanta
This is in response to the questions posed by "M" about when does a design cross the line from "inspiration" to "copying". As a surface design student at FIDM we were always told that whenever creating a design from an existing design you need to alter the original image at least 30% and that means all parts of the image not just colorways or motif size. This has been the guide for some time but now with so much computer access to existing designs it is very easy for anyone to lift an existing design and assume that by changing the colorway,and motif sizing you have created a new design...not so.
Might I suggest studying designs created pre-computer and drawing motifs by hand? I know it is old fashioned & somewhat time consuming, but if you are concerned about "borrowing" images get off of the computer and draw some on your own. Every artist/designer has their own wonderfully unique "hand" or "style". Spend some creative time and discover yours.
Hope this is of help.
I see there are lots of designing books with images (like sports...there a LOTS of it):
Some are free to use, and some are free to use as "inspiration" or reference, which I think means that you can use part of the images or the style to create your own design.
Some are free to use, and some are free to use as "inspiration" or reference, which I think means that you can use part of the images or the style to create your own design.
I see lots of designs in the etsy shop, fabrics, designers in the internet, design sponge etc etc etc wich I find VERY similar with these images I already saw in these books.
So there is a thin line between what it's Ok to use and what's not.
WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL (AS DESIGNERS WORKING IN THIS WORLD OF SD) TO READ THE FINE LINES BEHIND CLIP ART OR BOOKS THAT OFFER CD'S WITH IMAGES - I HAVE NOT COME ACROSS ONE OF THESE WHERE THE IMAGES ARE COMPLETLY FREE FOR COMMERCIAL USE!!
PERSONALLY I ALSO DO NOT LIKE TO USE IMAGES THAT ALREAY EXIST - MY ATTOURNEY TOLD ME ONCE IT IS VERY HARD TO PROTECT (REALLY PROTECT) MY WORK BECAUSE IT ONLY TAKE ABOUT 30% DIFFERENCE (MEANING CHANGE THE EXISTING IMAGE 30%) TO MAKE IT YOUR OWN... HM..... STILL I WOULD NOT LIKE SOMEONE ELSE TO USE MY DESIGNS AND CHANGE THEM THIS 30% AND CALL IT HIS/HER OWN - I GUESS IF ONE USES AN EXISTING IMAGE, CHANGE IT SO THAT IT IS UNRECOGNIZABLE - REALLY MAKE IT YOUR OWN TO THE POINT WHERE THE ORIGINAL IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN
#2. My other doubt is that there are themes like: ikats, portuguese style, damask, moorish, liberty, etc etc which are a specific styles, and the original ones belong not to a designer but to an artist who made it 50 years ago, they were the "mother" of this style, and this style has very specific line codes, which means it's universal.
So no matter how different you try to make these kind of designs, it is going to look very alike the original ones because they were made according to that specific "lines" wich are the spirit of this style.
DON'T KNOW HOW THINGS WORK IN THE US, BUT IN EL SALVADOR, WHEN ONE LEGALLY OBTAINS COPYRIGHT OVER HIS/HER WORK: A) IT IS PROTECTED ALL AROUND THE WORLD - B) IT IS PROTECTED AS LONG AS THE AUTHOR OR WONER LIVES - C) ONCE THE AUTHOR (OR OWNER) DIES, IT IS SOMETHING THE CAN BE INHERITED AND THE NEW OWNERS (ASSIGNED IN A WILL) CAN USE IT OR EVEN PASS IT ALONG TO THEIR GRANDCHILDREN'S CHILDREN UP TO 75 YEARS AFTER THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OR OWNER HAS PASSED AWAY - AFTER 75 YEARS,, THESE DESIGNS PASS ON TO BE 'PROPERTY' OF THE WORLD (((THIS SOUNDS BETTER IN MY SPANISH PEAKING HEAD))))
#3. And my last doubt: if you find a shape/style you like a lot and rework it with different backgrounds, or make it work in different positions, or sizes or adding new designing elements, are we in danger too?
AS LONG AS THE ORIGINAL IMAGE IS NOT RECOGNIZABLE.... ??? ONLY CHANGING SIZE, POSITION OR COLOR IS NOT ENOUGH IN MY OPINION
I think designers (me included) don't know exactly where is that line that we should not cross.
I love to design using my own creativity, but I'm sure I have images and ideas stored in my brain, images I saw somewhere else and that some day will "pop" in my brain as "new ideas" and maybe they were not.
And also, and last, I know this is a very long email but this subject has lots of points, which are so interesting.
It happens, when you breath, eat, feel, designing as part of your life, you go with the flow of worldwide designing: your style or ideas are sincronized with the world's ideas too, no matter if you live in south america or Finland. And that's the great thing about design.
So it is very difficult not to look alike others designs.
It happened to me a lot: I was thinking on designing something and all of a sudden I see it in internet, or in KD!!!!
THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME BUT THE DESIGN (MY DESIGN) THAT ORIGINATED BY THOSE IMAGES I SAW, THAT WHERE STORED IN THE BACK OF MY BRAIN, IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT THE INSPIRATION WAS - IT JUST HAPPENED TO A COLLEAGUE OF MINE (LITERALLY A WEEK AGO) WHERE HER STYLE IS VERY SIMILAR TO A KNOWN SD COMPANY THAT JUST LAUNCHED THEIR LATEST DESIGNS - BUT AGAIN, MY COLLEAGUE'S WORK IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM THIS KNOWN COMPANIES NEWEST DESIGNS. HAS TO HAPPEN SINCE WE ARE CONSTANTLY INVESTIGATING ON TRENDS, ETC - AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT HAVE THE REFERENCES ON HAND AND ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT IT WHILE YOU ARE DESIGNING, THE END PROJECT WILL BE DIFFERENT - THAT IS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY :)
I WILL PASS THESE QUESTIONS TO MY COPYRIGHT ATTORNEY (AND KNOWS ALL ABOUT THE ISSUE WORLD WIDE) - MAYBE WE CAN ALSO ANSWER - HE WILL BE THE BEST ONE TO ASK (HIM AND ATTORNEYS IN THIS FIELD)
Comment by Penny:
Hi Chanta,
As an artist in art school many years ago we were taught never use or copy anyone else's artwork. Times may have changed but I still hold to this practice. Years later as a graphic designer I wouldn't even use clip art. I would make my own icons not because it was illegal to use it, I just didn't want something I used seen on something else.
To address # 3. It is never ok to use someone else's art and just change the background or rotate or add a texture. The actual art must be significantly changed (and there is a percentage of change I'm told but I never remember what that is).
Even royalty free images are for a limited usage. Many are one time for personal use. The best advice I can give is read the small print and find out exactly how you may use the image. Many images are not to be used on items you are going to turn around and sell.
I'm curious about the style question (ikat, suzanie) I hope someone can answer that one.
Look forward the the comments.Comment by Daisy:
Have a good one.
Comment by Annette:
My 2 cents..!
I have always heard of the "25% rule"...that you can use an existing print IF you change it 25% (design & motifs, not just color)....but honestly, I don't know if that is valid in any way...
Comment by Daisy:
Dear Kim,
Here are 2 PDF's that have answers to common Copyright questions for print designers,
I had this little booklet filed away and thought it might be useful to your discussion.
Kim note: Posted PDFs here: www.mykimdesigns.com/COPYRIGHT_Client.pdf
and...
http://www.mykimdesigns.com/COPYRIGHT_Textile_Design.pdf
Kim note: Posted PDFs here: www.mykimdesigns.com/COPYRIGHT_Client.pdf
and...
http://www.mykimdesigns.com/COPYRIGHT_Textile_Design.pdf
In UK there is an organisation called ACID (Anti Copying in Design) that perhaps you can give your designers the link below so that they can have a read
Also on Linkedin there are 3 groups that I belong to and it might be useful for your designer to join in order to find out or start a discussion "what constitutes copying vs. using references in our art"
1)Surface Pattern Designers Group
3) Art Licensing Group
Regards.
Send to me - kim@kimdesigns.com - or Chanta@kimdesigns.com
