Artwork theft and showing your portfolio on other sites

[Rick]

We sometimes get requests from one of our designers who has a few pieces on Dribble, but it's never turned into a job. We've gotten more work from Pinterest, and Instagram. Pinterest is no less a mecca to have work copied from than those other sources, but it has turned into work. We just had a nice client come via Pinterest that has about a $25k project passing through here, so it has worked.

I can tell you that on the publishing side, writing a few books on branding is an equal double-edged sword. After the first two books I had a lot of 'inspired' work out there. When I'm notified about theft (generally by the design community), I notify the client immediately. Many have pursued actions against those that have committed trademark or copyright infringement. All in all its a pain in the ***, no doubt.

Im pretty sure if someone says 'I want a logo just like Joe Diaz does' that they'll get a half-assed wanna-bee attempt at that. So much of our work that is ripped off is just that - a half-assed attempt at getting the real thing.

Whether it was your very early work or your new stuff too many
times I have noticed a logo or layout and said "That's an Antonelli!"
Usually a really bad interpretation... I wonder how clients see that.

Interesting about the exposure... google image Dan Antonelli and
enough shows up that it would be easy to find more of your work.

About 10 years ago I was in a Trader Joes where the the whole store
was done using Mike Stevens layouts. Clearly more than influenced
but still clever how they incorporated food ads into the layouts.

So we all know "stealing" is a no-no... but being influenced is
another thing... how close do we have to get to tick off our fellow
designers before we start looking like them.

This lawsuit has always interested me... this design firm has made
attempts at owning a "look" They had a watch company reimburse
them in some way, and they sued a corporation. I think it's ridiculous to
own a look, but I would get a little pissy if I made my business using the
look I made up and others started doing bad (and great) interpretations
of it... but in the end, I only own the work I do.

http://adage.com/article/special-report-magazines-the-alist/owns-a-days-bonehead-case/63553/

 

[bob]

...I would get a little pissy if I made my business using the
look I made up and others started doing bad (and great) interpretations
of it... but in the end, I only own the work I do...

How do you suppose Jack Davis feels about the legions of people who have copied his unique style?

 

[TyrantDesigner]

You have to expect theft when you place your work online. It's gonna happen. Not much you can do about it other than try to limit your exposure and risk. Just ask LHF and A&S about their fonts and steps they have to take in order to stop theft.