Thursday, January 08, 2009

polyvore problem




i've gotten several tips from some kind people recently
(twice just today) about copyright violation of artists' works
on polyvore.com.







it's basically collages of photos, which unfortunately include artist's
works found around the internet.
(creating things like these with my works, for example).

i didn't really know what to do or feel about it,
since it seemed somewhat harmless, and they had links
back to the original source...

but now, i'm a little put off now it's said that they're going to have
a print feature and make profit off these collages.

artist art & ghosts has more details on this matter here, and here as well.

you can sign the petition against them here.

15 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:02 AM

    Thanks for posting a link to the petition. I'm against polyvore, a number of users totally trashed my work on the site, and defaced it. Some putting their own graffiti words across my illustrations, some putting chunky sunglasses over my girls, and others cut the heads off and stuck other things on.

    I can understand people wanting to promote the work and using it as inspiration, but I also feel that their should be limits and that people should respect the artists who create the work.

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  2. Anonymous6:54 PM

    Stella, thanks for bringing this up. It's really not on - people exploiting artists' hard work - in what, to me, is simply defacing work for someone else's quick buck.

    I'll be signing the petition.

    Shona
    x

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  3. Anonymous8:15 PM

    it does seem like total defacement to me as well, and totally cheapens the work of any artist whose work ends up on there. sad!

    signing the petition now.

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  4. Anonymous8:28 PM

    I'm pretty into polyvore to plan outfits, and it's encouraged me to buy the things I've seen there which... is good for the stores I suppose, but I'm never sure why artist's work is on there - I imagine it's the user-based aspect of the site, the stuff uploaded needs to be monitored more carefully.

    You'd think such a popular website would take breach of copyright more seriously - it's not hard to prove that they're using the images without permission xx

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  5. Anonymous8:59 PM

    Signed the petition.
    I think polyvore is great for fashion stuff, but I have no clue why they allow people to pull artwork. It doesn't make any sense.

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  6. Anonymous2:17 PM

    i fond this girl at myspace. obviously she is copying some of your work and also pretending it's her own... (presenting it at her portfolio and so on)
    http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=48093618

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  7. Anonymous2:21 PM

    that's her website: http://www.loulounoir.com/portfolio/

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  8. wow that's really crazy.
    thanks for letting me know!

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  9. oh yes, i see your work in this moment, is a terrible thing.., i hope they dont have my works..

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  10. Anonymous3:47 PM

    utter defacement. so sad

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  11. that is so not cool!
    people should not be able to cash in on someone else's talent, it's not like it's all that easy to cash in on your own!!

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  12. Anonymous10:25 PM

    Stella- thanks for sending this out; I have heard of various web places out there that do the same (repackaging images gleaned from the web and then selling as their own product). Nice to see at least some pressure to shut these folks down.

    just signed the petition...

    peace
    TD

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  13. Anonymous10:37 PM

    ps. found this on the polyvor site itself (?!):

    http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/help.copyright

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  14. Anonymous9:55 PM

    I am an artist and I love Polyvore. It's a site set up to put together outfits in a creative fashion. It seems as though if something is offending a group of people the main push is to shut it down. My grandmother sits in a nursing home and plays around with Polyvore in her spare time. She and I love to share the different outfits and keep each other up to date on fashion, past and current. It allows us to open up dialogue and bridge a generation (or two) and helps us understand the perspective of others.

    I understand that the artist's are afraid of people making money or defacing their art. That's an issue you should take up with Polyvore directly. I don't think the intent is to rip off artists and profit.

    In a few of my sets, when an item became no longer supported by Polyvore, I was unable to publish my set. No biggie, I just chose a different item. If you want to protect your art, put a block on your page like many artists do, like I do.

    I mean, if there is no block, I can download your source code, get your pic, print it on my high quality printer and frame it. That's really stealing from the Artist. So, do yourself a favor, stop trying to get the entire site taken down and concentrate on protecting your works and making sure they don't end up in the wrong hands.

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  15. Your works should be all copyrighted and only you who'll benefited by it and not any other cheaters. People should respect artists for their works and not exploiting their works for their own benefits. - diaper bag from juicy couture

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