Blogger and jewelry designer Stevie Koerner did not think twice when selling her handmade silver creations off her online store, I Heart Shiny Things, on Etsy. While business was booming, on May 25, 2011, she was notified through a customer that Urban Outfitters, a multimillion dollar enterprise, store her design and mass produced it without her credit or notification. Urban Outfitters renamed the line “I Heart Destination” from “United States of Love”. Koerner posts on her blog, “My heart sank a little bit. The World/United States of Love line that I created is one of the reasons that I was able to quit my full-time job. They even stole the item name as well as some of my copies” (Koerner) When the company received attention on the subject, Urban Outfitters withdrew their line from the online store. However, just this year, the line “Home is Where the Heart is” (Free People) appeared on Free People, a brand that is managed by Urban Outfitters. (Free People)
Urban Outfitters Screenshot, Courtesy of The Village Voice
Original Etsy Screenshot, Courtesy of The Village Voice
Most work stolen off Etsy is handmade jewelry or sculptures. On Tumblr, mostly 2-D work is at risk of being copyrighted.
Laura McMahon, known by her pseudo artist name as Brain Foetus, has also had her work copyrighted by a large company. Brandy Melville, a popular clothing store for young adult women, put an article of clothing named, “Elin Moon Tears Embriodery Top” that was a direct copyright to Brain Foetus work, an embriodery. McMahon took direct action and contacted the brand directly, and was “confident that the issue would get resolved” (Schmidt) However, she writes on her blog to supporters that “after months of chasing…I must out them as a company that is making profit from someone else’s hard work and creative thinking, while no credit or financial compensation has been provided.” (Schmidt) According to her blog, McMahon failed to acknowledge that professional support was utilized in her struggle to gain recognition. (McMahon)
(On the left, Brain Foetus’s original work- on the right, Brandy Melville’s Elin Moon Tear’s Embriodery Top)
Courtesy of http://www.youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com/2014/06/
Kelly Bastow, known as ‘moosekleenex’ on Tumblr, also had her work copyrighted after posting high quality photos on the site. Forever 21 took her illustration and printed it on men’s t-shirts, which were being sold online. (Alfonso) Bastow took immediate action by contacting Forever 21’s complaint center, unlike Koerner and McMahon, and received an unsatisfying response:
“This 21Men’s graphic tee was purchased from a third party vendor and as soon we received word we removed the item from our inventory and contacted our vendor.” (Alfonso)
She blogged to her followers on Tumblr, “This is not good enough. I want compensation, an apology, and a more detailed explanation as to how this happened…I’m not gonna let this go. Who know how many other artists are being ripped off like this?” (Bastow) Bastow did not acknowledge that she contacted professional help, which is advised in Tumblr’s Copyright acknowledgements. (DMCA Copyright Policy)
Courtesy of the Daily Dot
Despite the situation, Koerner has still been successful and continues to create jewelry. Her own personal brand has reached boutiques in 17 different boutiques around the country, in addition to creating a professional website for her work that protects herself from copyright to the highest degree. However, McMahon and Bastow continue to post work on Tumblr, the site that they were plagiarized from. Unlike Koerner, after the company took advantage of their work, the artists did not improve their situation by continuing to post on social media as her official website.
An artist can still be starving and still be safe on the web. A person does not need to invest in a website, but rather be safe online by simply following the Do’s and Don’ts: How to Have a Professional Presence Online article on this blog.
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Works Cited
Alfonso, Fernando, III. “Forever 21 blames vendors for stealing Tumblr art for tees.” The Daily Dot. The Daily Dot, 16 Jan. 2013. Web.
<http://www.dailydot.com/news/forever-21-steals-tumblr-art/>.
Bastow, Kelly. “MooseKleenex.” Moosekleenex. Tumblr, 2013. Web. <http://moosekleenex.tumblr.com/post/40625189733/i-finally-got-an-email-back-from-someone-at>.
“DMCA Copyright Policy.” Tumblr. Tumblr, 27 Jan. 2014. Web. <https://www.tumblr.com/policy/en/terms-of-service#dmca>.
Koerner, Stevie. “Not Cool Urban Outfitters, Not Cool.” I Make Shiny Things :. Tumblr, 25 May 2011. Web. <http://imakeshinythings.tumblr.com/post/5855716317/not-cool-urban-outfitters-not-cool>.
McMahon, Laura. “BRAIN FOETUS.” BRAIN FOETUS. Tumblr, 2015. Web. <http://brainfoetus.tumblr.com/>.
Schmidt, Chantelle. “International Clothing Company Brandy Melville Allegedly Steals Work from Tasmanian Artist.” The Fashion Spot. N.p., 19 June 2014. Web. <http://www.thefashionspot.com/buzz-news/latest-news/418423-tasmanian-artist-claims-brandy-melville-stole-her-intellectual-property/>.
Noa West: Writing 205 