"Originals" of Classic Artwork regs123
9:04 PM Wednesday, July 15, 2009<img alt="" src="http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_155x125.72581408.jpg" class="alignnone" width="155" height="125" />
I came across this seller <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6506718">http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6506718</a> and feel really hacked off that she is just copying classic work by EH Shepard for Winnie the Pooh,
for example, just one of many, hers – <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25739434">http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25739434</a>
original – <a href="http://www.just-pooh.com/pictures-view.html?id=427">http://www.just-pooh.com/pictures-view.html?id=427</a>
and Helen Oxenbury for Alice
hers – <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=23610441">http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=23610441</a>
original – <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alices-Adventures-Wonderland-Lewis-Carroll/dp/0763620491">http://www.amazon.com/Alices-Adventures-Wonderland-Lewis-Carroll/dp/0763620491</a>
She says: “All of my artwork is Original and hand painted”, and never gives a name check to the real original artists or acknowledges they are copies. She might as well just use a light box.
I reported one of her items, but nothing happened.
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I would love to see what Disney thought of her "originals".
Looking at her sold items I see she has copied Nightmare Before Christmas and Curious George as well..
By "original" I think she means they're not prints.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Wow, that is flagrant! I reported her to Disney.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
how on earth can this be legal?
it's not in the public domain and just 100% uncool as well
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Hey dummies she means originals as in they are not prints they are painted reproductions. Get your facts straight!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Thanks for clearing that up, Pete. However, reproduction is not original. She's reproducing copyrighted work for profit (that's illegal, BTW, Pete).
We know what she means but she should be saying something like, "I handpaint each piece I sell." There's nothing original when it comes to plagiarism.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Hey dummy, you can't call a reproduction an original. And you can't reproduce another artist's work, that is copyright. Get your facts straight SLC.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Actually, you can reproduce another artist's work. Plenty of large companies make a living off of it while complying with the copyright law. They reproduce the work of painters such as Van Gogh and Monet in great detail. Here's an example:
http://www.fabulousmasterpieces.co.uk/
But here's the catch, copyright lasts for the lifetime of the artist plus 70 years. So you'll need to make sure the artist you're copying kicked the bucket in 1939 or so.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
copyright can also be left to your family in a will and therefore last through your remaining heirs ad infinitum. just b/c someone kicked the bucket in 1939 would not just open up the artwork to the public domain.it's complex
in certain art forms it is the life of the artist + 125 years
what is just a dazzling display of cheek is to duplicate these illustrations. a total wjw.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
It is complex. But either way, Helen Oxenbury is still alive and EH Shepard passed away in the 70's. Has anyone sent regs123 a convo on Etsy?
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
http://www.hundred-acre-woods.ws/faq/chapter2.htm
"2.7 What's the copyright status on the stories?
All the original Pooh stories by A.A. Milne are still under copyright protection. Here's the explanation from Christopher Franceschelli, president of Dutton Children's Books.
'Under the copyright laws of the United States, for all works published prior to 1978, copyright protection extends for seventy-five years after the date of first publication. _Winnie-the-Pooh_ was published in 1926, and is therefore protected by copyright until after the turn of the century. There are several elements, e.g. the colored illustrations of the Ernest Shepard drawings, in which copyright protection is extended to well beyond the middle of the next century. In the United Kingdom and in other countries subscribing to the Berne Convention, copyright extends for an even longer period than in the United States.
Copyright in the text by A.A. Milne and in the illustrations by Ernest Shepard resides jointly or individually in the Trustees of the Pooh Properties, Dutton Children's Books (a division of Penguin USA) and Methuen Children's Books (a division of Reed Consumer Books) and all three rights holders are committed to protecting the copyright fully. (The proliferation of various items of Pooh merchandise is not due to the books being out-of-copyright, but rather our recognition that there are indeed many Friends of the Bear who welcome the availability of more Pooh materials, and we have therefore, together with the fourth _Pooh_ rights holder, the Walt Disney Company, created or have licensed several ranges authorized merchandise in both book and non-book form.)
Therefore, the reproduction of any of A.A. Milne's text beyond that of fair use (as it is defined under the copyright law) or of the line or color illustrations by Ernest Shepard on the home page or any ancillary pages as they appear there currently or in future without prior and proper permission by the rights holders is a breach of both U.S. and international copyright law.'
U.S. copyright protection was extended to a period of 95 years for any works still under protection as of October 27, 1998. This means that "Winnie-the-Pooh" will be under copyright protection until October 21, 2021, in the United States."
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
What had upset me so much about it was there was no acknowledgement that these were the copies of other artists.
I think if she'd said - 'I love the work of EH Shepard, Helen Oxenbury (and whoever else) and I make these hand made reproductions of their work' - I would've thought well, that's an honestly declaration, and I probably would've left it at that.
As it is, the implication throughout her carefully worded shop is - These are my own originals.
I wondered if she assumed the US buyers would be more familiar with the modern Disney versions and that she could get away with copying Shepard (the illustrator of the AA Milne books) and passing them off as her own.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
honestly declaration = honestly made declaration
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
shop is now 'on vacation'!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
I'm sorry. I saw this today and it's just too funny to keep to myself!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7651757
Her shop announcement and all her listings say "Not Handmade"!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
She wants to finance a move to Montreal by selling her gently used thongs and bras....wjw.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
at least bedazzle the bras or something....
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
It worked for condoms!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Wow, WTH? Everything is maked not handmade; she didn't even try to mark it vintage (though I know thongs weren't too popular 20+ years ago)......why is it still up after 10 days? I tagged it!
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
On the seller with the Disney stuff . . . Disney will go after them in a freakin' heartbeat. They have a team of people who do nothing but go after these kinds of merchants.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
OMG, Brandye! That is hilarious.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Brand new Chanel purse sold on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25862534
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
original means original i.e. from the artist's brush, pen, mind, imagination, etc. it is the first. a reproduction is a reproduction whether it is painted or printed. what that seller is doing is shameful. the fine artists on etsy are working hard to get the site to reorganize the sub-categories of art and eliminate mistagging- ( not to mention eliminating copying or rather, stealing another artist's work).
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
etsy probably wont move too fast on this one- prints are one of their largest sellers. forcing sellers to stop tagging their prints as "originals" aint going to happen. so many have made their argument that their prints are the original work of the artist- even though they are prints- printed over and over again on a fancy printer but still prints nonetheless
although this seller is an entirely different issue- claiming someone else's original works as her own is theft of copyright or trademark or whatever and probably will not be allowed after appearing on this blog
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
I think that is is funny how people spend their time venting on etsy sellers when they don't have the guts to confront the sellers personally. I think it's incredibly cowardly to talk behind people's backs the way some of you do. Especially when comments are completely anonymous. Whats the point of this website? Go to ebay and type in Disney art and you will find thousands of artists selling their own disney paintings. This happens all the time. Disney is too busy, wealthy and large a company to spend time hunting down copycats.
-Hi Reagan :) Miss Lightbox herself. You might want to be a little more on the down low when you are slapping hands for wrong doing -eco
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Oh boo, like that makes it ok, Megan? Everyone's doing it so it's ok....meh. And aren't you anonymous too? Hello??
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Ten bucks says "Megan" lives in Salt Lake City.
-$10 are coming your way :) -eco
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Oh, and "Megan?"
"Copyright in the text by A.A. Milne and in the illustrations by Ernest Shepard resides jointly or individually in the Trustees of the Pooh Properties, Dutton Children’s Books (a division of Penguin USA) and Methuen Children’s Books (a division of Reed Consumer Books) AND ALL THREE RIGHTS HOLDERS ARE COMMITTED TO PROTECTING THE COPYRIGHT FULLY."
We don't need no stinkin' Disney, chica.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Disney goes after even the smallest infringement. A preschool nearby had two Disney characters painted on a wall. They were contacted by Disney and had to remove them.
Stealing is stealing. Those thousands of ebay Disney copies are thousands of stolen art pieces.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
"Illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard. Illustrations are copyright protected and used by permission of the Executor of E.H. Shepard and the E.H. Shepard."
Man-oh-man the Penguin/Dutton website contact us/email options are so fucking inadequate and confusing.
I may have to make a phone call.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Or.....
http://twitter.com/PenguinUSA
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Megan - I think toonces makes a good point.
The natural conclusion to what you say is: I may do anything - ANYTHING - provided other folks have already done it.
That's potentially pretty dangerous, eh?
The thing is - what's YOUR moral code? And what IS decent behaviour anyhow?
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
i'm really disappointed (if this was the same person,i.e.:Megan/Seller) if you willingly and knowingly made a copy, knowing it was wrong.
or should i appreciate your cheek?
hmmm
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
"-$10 are coming your way -eco"
Normally, I would gloat about being right but in this case, it's depressing to be right.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
And people wonder why art collectors shun Etsy.
EtsyCallOut September 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM