Ever seen a design or campaign by a large corporation that looks uncannily similar to the work of an artist or designer? Now there is a website that rounds up examples of these situations.
Scott Alan Burroughs runs YTWWN (You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice), a blog that helps creatives fight plagiarism. In an interview with Creative Bloq, he explained that the site highlights examples where companies borrow, steal and pass off the work of artists as their own, and leaves readers to discuss whether these actions are legally and morally wrong.
A lawyer by day, Burroughs started out as a contributor covering legal issues relating to the art and design world and fielding questions from readers, eventually editing and curating the site.
According to Burroughs, while certain companies have a reputation for ‘borrowing’ aggressively from artists, it is generally hard to determine if the design theft is due to the company’s creative culture or an unethical designer. Some well-known companies may also feel that the monies saved in design costs will outweigh the cost of litigation if they are caught.
He said that ‘appropriation art’, which means taking a very minor element of someone else’s work and adding one’s own interpretation and content to it, is acceptable but the reality is that most appropriation art is outright copying.
The blog has helped resolve disputes, such as a case in which an artist from Scandinavia had her work stolen by a large Swedish company, who marketed and sold it in their stores. The company contacted the artist a few days after the post was published, and both parties worked out a mutually acceptable resolution.
Burroughs advises artists who suspect their work has been copied to immediately contact a lawyer, who will suggest holding an informal meeting to settle the conflict.
For all artists and designers out there, it would be worth bookmarking YTWWN to help you check if your work has been ripped off by unscrupulous organizations.
[via Creative Bloq]