Hi GCU friends and others,
 
I wish I had more time to spend creating cards for GCU and keeping up with those whose work I so admire.  But as some of you know, I am busy running two companies, taking care of my family, trying to find an hour or two a month to play with my squirrels or go out dancing.  I don't get the chance to check in that often ... but when I do, I always try to stop by others stores ... comment on their cards, fav them to increase the chance of their sales, write testimonials, etc., and even recommend other GCU stores on my website.  I don't intend to have cards to cover every occasion and for every relative, so I'm delighted when I can refer customers to another GCU artist who I think will have what they are looking for.  Many of my friends, family, and clients have purchased cards from several GCU artists and I've heard great praise and positive feedback from all of them.
 
I took some time yesterday to upload new cards and see what's been doing here.  Unfortunately, I got a rather unpleasant shock when I found someone using my verses in their cards.    
 
Those of you who know me outside of GCU, and others who may be familiar with my work, already know that I am a writer by trade ... I've made a successful living at it for 25 years.  I will occasionally use a generic message, but in most of my GCU cards, the verses are original and specific for the occasion.  It was not fun seeing a verse that I wrote specifically for my mother, and another written for my brother, splattered verbatim throughout an entire series of cards in somone else's shop.  
 
I have brought the matter to Mindy's attention and will wait until I hear from GCU before taking any further action.  But fellow artists, please be aware that it is unprofessional and unethical to use someone else's original verses and claim them as your own.  It is also illegal to copy verses from other greeting card companies ... It can get you sued.  
 
I've been with GCU since March of 2007, and it has been joy and an honor to be included in this community of exceptional artists.  My artistic talents are not nearly as refined as many of the contributors here ... but I hope that my words and verses make my cards unique and appealing to customers.  My sales have been very good, and I've tried to help others here increase their sales in whatever way I can ... but it's totally unacceptable to me for someone else to help themselves to my writings.  
 
So, I don't know how it's all going to work out.  I'd like to believe that we all have integrity, honor and respect for one another work.  But I suppose it was inevitable that some who join us will have neither confidence in their own talent nor an appreciation for the hard work of others.  It's very sad that the honor system seems to have broken down.  I'd like to know how others feel about their verses and what you think we should do to protect ourselves.  We cannot copyright an idea (or a generic message), only the original and unique expression of an idea.  In my case, it was word for word ... and miscatagorized to boot!  We can't expect the GCU reviewers to know what's in everyone's cards, but do we need to ask for tougher standards of acceptance and professional conduct?  Let me know what you think.
 
Thanks for letting me rant ... I'm slightly less furious now.  
 
Teri

Thanks, Corrie  
 
I didn't mean to sound snarky, but I was pretty upset when I saw it.  I want to believe that the person just didn't know it was wrong to do that, but she bills herself as a professional artist, so I can't help wondering how she would feel if someone copied one of her drawings line for line.  Hopefully, this was just an isolated incident, but one that might serve as a head's up to those who are learning the ropes.  If they want to operate a professional business, they need to learn professional practices.
 
I do trust that Mindy and GCU will sort it all out.  Thanks to you both for your moral support ... you cheered me up and reminded me of what I love about GCU ... the people here!  
 
Teri

Teri, So sorry this happened to you.  It's scary to think someone is ripping off your creations.  I recently had an idea for a card and was in the process of creating it when I cruised the stores and saw one that was close to my idea.  It wasn't the same, but close enough that I didn't finish my card.  I deal with copyright and intellectual property all the time at my corporate job and can tell you it is a serious offense, and expensive!  Maybe there should be a post from administration about the rules about acquiring someone else's work....

I feel that anyone who intentionally "steals" images or dialogue from another artist, especially within an artist community such as GCU, should be banished from the site.    
However, keeping in mind that there really is nothing new under the sun.  Pretty much any idea has already been done before, and will be done again.  So, there is nothing wrong with finding ideas or getting inspiration from other's works. But, the operative word here is "idea."  
If a person cannot be original in their approach, whether it be creating an image or writing verse or both, than that person has no right to consider themself an artist.  
It is my hope that GCU will attempt as much as possible to maintain integrity in this matter.  And, from what I've seen in other sites where outright thievery became common, it will most likely be up to us, the artists, to report such occurences.  It will then be up to GCU to take appropriate measures, which I feel should be severe.
If there cannot be honor among artists there is something seriously wrong.  Greed is not an artistic trait.  
Making money from one's art is a privilege that comes from putting in the effort, thought , and creativity to produce something beautiful, expressive, original.  For a true artist, it is the process of the creation that is the most fullfiling, however.  Therefore, "stealing" an artists creations is loathesome indeed.  ~David

Hi Teri,
 
I really feel for you here. Like Duane, I am also familiar with intellectual property law (from an inventor's perspective) and this just should not happen. Since we all operate here in cyberspace, maybe an email from GCU administration needs to go out to all artists reminding them of their obligations in this regard. As Corrie says, most of us know these obligations i.e. not to plagiarise other's images or verses, but we don't really know which of the few don't know this. Not everyone reads the forum posts, I'm sure, so a general post from Mindy or Shaun on this subject may not reach everyone.
 
Just a thought - what about the concept of having a message come up during the card creation process, just before the end, where you have to affirm that you hold copyright on the image as well as any specific verses in the card? It would only add a few seconds to the card creation process. At least, it might drive the copyright concept home.
 
Cheers,
 
 
Rosanne

Thanks Corrie, Cara, Duane, David, Roseanne, and Wendy … I really appreciate your empathy and moral support.  I also appreciate the thoughts and comments you’ve shared here on an issue that concerns all of us.  
 
Each of you have contributed very good points for consideration.  I feel confident that Mindy and staff will address this matter promptly next week, and we’ll see what happens.  Personally, I would like to see GCU post or email their policy on this … some kind of submitter’s guidelines that clearly explain the terms of copyright infringement and misuse, along with the consequences and repercussions if a submitter violates the terms.
All of the microstock companies that I belong to have zero-tolerance policy in this regard, and they make it very clear what will happen if a submitter violates their guidelines.  
 
I think banning someone for a first offense is a bit extreme … I’ve seen how this can discourage and even frighten a budding artist.  I don’t want to see any artist crushed for what may be an isolated misjudgment or over an innocent accident of two artists with the same idea.  This happens all the time in microstock sales where you often have hundreds of people with the same idea … while the concept may be the same or even identical, the interpretation of the concept is rarely an exact duplicate of another’s work.  In those cases where it is clear that two or more people came up with the same idea, producing similar images with discernable differences, the policy is to let them both stand side by side and let the customer choose.  I think that’s reasonable and sensible … as long as you don’t have someone going through another’s portfolio, just copying all their best sellers with slight modifications.  Microstockers are very vigilant to this kind of thing.  Sure, it can and does happen frequently, but if you look at the portfolio of an alleged “copycat” and see that most of the work and concepts are unique and bear a signature style, it’s a sure sign that they are NOT mass-producing someone else’s work.  It becomes a big problem though when an entire portfolio shows strikingly different styles throughout and every image is a replica or derivative of the top 50 best sellers … that’s a telltale sign of a true copycat.  
 
David is absolutely right … no idea is really original.  We are all influenced and inspired by what others have done before us.  What makes our work our own—be  it in visual arts or written text—is the personal style and interpretation that we apply to our craft, and over time the whole body of our work.  This is what separates a true artist from a hack.  We all use common elements within our cards, whether it’s a birthday cake with candles on birthday cards, dresses on hangers for bridesmaids cards, roses on romantic cards … we’re not copying each other, we’re working within a themed concept, so of course there will be “similars”.  None of us can claim copyright on the commonly used text of “Have a happy birthday,” or “Wishing you a Merry Christmas,” although I do know some microstockers who would dearly love to put their copyright the color red, curly vector brushes, and the keyword, “sexy”.  That’s how ridiculous it can get if we go to the extreme of believing that we own every nuance of what we create.  
 
Cara, thank you so much for your kind words and compliments, but in all honesty, I’m not all that original either.  The Love card that mentioned was certainly influenced by a famous piece of artwork … the Love Statue in Philadelphia, which is about 10 minutes from where I live.  I’ve been experimenting with a new 3-D plug-in, and while I was working on some Valentine ideas, I toyed around with the letters L-O-V-E, specifically with the famous LOVE sculpture in mind.  My first couple of tests looked way too much like the original and I would never have considered submitting them on a card.  But as I continued to play with the plug-in tool, the form and shape gravitated farther away from the original, enough so that after trying 40-50 different angle aspects and doing some shading and gradient technique practice, I felt I had something that was a new interpretation of an idea, not a copy of the original.  You can google LOVE sculpture and Philadelphia if you'd like to see the original work.  
 
Let’s all be honest, as artists, we know where the line is.  My observation is that some folks tend to forget or ignore where the line is when money gets involved.  I, too, have come across cards or microstock illustrations that were so similar to something I was working on that I either shelved the project or re-worked it in an entirely new way.  I won’t abandon something that I feel passionate about simply because it’s been done before … I’ll just dig a little deeper and try to approach it from a different perspective.
 
/continued in next post ...

Hi Teri,
 
Again so sorry this happened to you.  I was wondering if you would feel comfortable telling us who this person is?  I know that lots including myself do not feel comfortable giving out names.  But I would like to check this person's store for any other stolen art.  How are we going to know who is doing it, or even if our art is stolen too, if we don't know whose store to look in?  I realize this puts you on the spot and if you would rather not, I understand.  In that case, may I contact you from your store?

Quote from Cara_131386 on Feb 10^th, 2008, 3:05pm:

 
Cara, unfortunately I cannot name the person or the store name on a public forum for legal reasons.  I also think it's best to give Mindy and GCU a chance to look into these matters and let them address it directly with the person(s) involved.  
 
Everyone here is welcome to site mail me through my store, or contact me privately through my website:  http://terifrancis.com.  I'll be glad to discuss privately whatever I can without violating the rights or reputation of any person(s) in question.  And that's as it should be.  Suppose my claim had no real merit?  I am as passionate about protecting innocent people from false accusations as I am about protecting the rights of artists.  
 
FYI ... we must be careful about making accusations or naming a person/company negatively on public forums and blogs as this constitutes grounds for libel unless either criminal or civil action is brought against the accused and they are found guilty or a judgment is awarded against them.  There have been cases in which someone cried, "He stole my work!" on public forums such as this ... the accused was either cleared of the charge or banned from the site for violating the terms of use ... afterwards, the guy who cried foul got slapped with a defamation lawsuit.  I heard about one case in which an admitted thief won a huge judgment because his accuser never filed a civil action to support his claim.  So, until or unless it is proved in a recognized court, it is considered defamation of character to name names.  
 
While I certainly understand and share your concerns, I feel that we have to let GCU do the investigating in this matter.  My purpose in starting this thread was not to raise alarm, nor to single out one individual.  It was to bring awareness, maybe vent a bit and find out if this has happened to others here--without naming anyone in particular--and to find out how we as a community feel this kind of issue should be dealt with in the most general terms.  I hate that it sounds like I'm not willing to back up my claim by naming the person, but I hope you understand that I have to protect myself, as well as the rights of the other person ... at least until we see how GCU addresses with the matter.