What would you do?

Laurelin

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#1
Say you are googling something and come across someone selling paintings and prints of dogs and you recognize the dogs in their prints? You know who owns the dogs and the pictures are identical to the ones on their website. Do you assume the owner knows or point it out to them? I mean, I can name the dogs and point you exactly to their pictures on the breeder's site.
 

Laurelin

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#5
Thanks! I didn't want to come off too nosy or anything. I mean it would be great if they were affiliated because then I could have a print with Mia's brother, uncle, and father on it.

Ironically enough I also found prints once that were paintings of Trey's father too.
 

adojrts

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#6
I had someone contact me many years ago to tell me that a pic of Petie was on a breeders website and listed as (not by name) a dog that they had bred. Of course that wasn't true (same pic that I use for my avatar). I probably would never have come across that website. I checked it out and contacted that breeder, told them they had 24 hrs to remove his pic or I would take legal action.

I was very thankful to the person that notified me. So I would let the person know, no harm can come of it.
 

~Dixie's_Mom~

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#7
I had someone contact me many years ago to tell me that a pic of Petie was on a breeders website and listed as (not by name) a dog that they had bred. Of course that wasn't true (same pic that I use for my avatar). I probably would never have come across that website. I checked it out and contacted that breeder, told them they had 24 hrs to remove his pic or I would take legal action.

I was very thankful to the person that notified me. So I would let the person know, no harm can come of it.
Same thing happened to me and a picture of Dixie, someone told me they had a picture on their site saying she was a puppy from their kennel - not true. I honestly don't even remember the breeder or the website or if they ever removed it but I told them to remove the picture immediately. It was of ME and Dixie. :yikes:

I'd definitely mention it.
 

Dekka

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#8
I don't think you have any recourse if someone takes a pic you post on the internet and paints it to sell.

They can't say the dog is something they aren't though, or belongs to someone it doesn't..

But I would tell them, just in case they can get a free painting of their dog out of it :)
 

Laurelin

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#9
Isn't there some sort of coypright laws though? I know in art we could use things as references but I was always told you couldn't use something exactly as it is.
 

Romy

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#10
I think there is copyright law about painting an exact copy of someone else's photo.

People have stolen my art and tried to sell prints. I was really grateful to the folks who noticed and let me know. If they don't take the pictures down you can contact their hosting service and let them know about the image theft, that they've been notified and took no action. They don't want to get slapped for hosting stolen work and usually will take the offender's website down without much fuss.

Edit: This link explains the copyright law pretty well.
Copyright FAQ Painting Photographs -- Can I Make a Painting of a Photograph
 

Dekka

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#11
All they have to do is change it a bit, make it 'artistic' in some way and they are good. So if they make the background different, or stylize the portrait in anyway then they are good.

You can paint other paintings too, as long as you 'make them your own'.

Edit to add, countries have different laws. This is what I was taught in art classes.
 

Shai

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#12
Agree with the above...I'd mention it, though neutrally, just as an FYI. Especially since it's someone you know. If they don't know they'd appreciate the head's up and if they do know and gave permission they'd probably be happy that someone they know likes it and wants it, given their blessing :)

Wouldn't be the first time I've heard of someone legitimately painting images of other people's dogs and offering them for sale the general public, having been given permission by the owner of the dogs/photos.
 

corgipower

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#13
All they have to do is change it a bit, make it 'artistic' in some way and they are good. So if they make the background different, or stylize the portrait in anyway then they are good.
Maybe you can in Canada, but not in the US. Also, art class is possibly different. To base your painting on another painting/photo specifically for art class might fall under "fair use", but I'm not sure.
 

Laurelin

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#14
Well all I know is in art class we often did things with other paintings. In fact our final was to choose a piece and make a replica. BUT when it came to our portfolio work and things for shows it had to be original pieces where everything was copyright to you or from someone you could get explicit permission to use their work (like a stock image). That said, I had a portfolio piece where the background was one painting but then I painted over it several layers till it was totally different and unrecognizable unless you were told exactly where it came from.

These aren't exact duplicates- there's different backgrounds and pieces of the pictures that aren't in the actual photos but the dogs are 100% replicated. Same poses exactly, same markings, etc. Also there is something on the breeder's website saying all photos are copyright and are not to be used without consent.
 
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#15
I would let her know and let her decide what she wants to do, presuming she didn't give permission for the use of her photo. If she did, like others mentioned, she'll probably be glad to hear it's being seen.
 
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#16
Blue has shown up on other people's websites and I always appreciate it when people point it out to me. Not only do I like to see how "far" he has traveled (he was once found on an Italian Dobie forum, I think from a Chazzer in fact), but I also like to know who admires him enough to consider him a good example of the Alapaha breed.

Only ONCE have I sent an email to someone, and only because his website hinted that Blue belonged to a different breeder and I just asked that the correct name and owner be listed under his picture.

But usually I'm flattered when I see him online.

Though I've never seen him in painting form. What? Is my Blue boy not pretty enough to paint? LOL!
 

SailenAero

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#17
you have to actually have a copyright on an image to actually have it fall under copyright laws though. Just taking a photo and posting it on the internet (even if you have a signature on the photo - or even if you put a little copyright logo on it) doesn't make it fall under copyright laws. You have to have documentation to back it up.

But yeah, you can always mention it and see what happens. but as long as they are not claiming ownership of the dogs there is probably nothing that can be done.
 

Romy

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#18
you have to actually have a copyright on an image to actually have it fall under copyright laws though. Just taking a photo and posting it on the internet (even if you have a signature on the photo - or even if you put a little copyright logo on it) doesn't make it fall under copyright laws. You have to have documentation to back it up.

But yeah, you can always mention it and see what happens. but as long as they are not claiming ownership of the dogs there is probably nothing that can be done.
That's not true. Anything you create is automatically copyrighted to you. You really only need to register a copyright if you plan on selling the rights to someone else, and need documentation of the transfer of ownership (like to a publisher, or a record company, etc.)

This explains how it works pretty well, with example.
My local copying store will not make reproductions of old family photographs. What can I do?
Photocopying shops, photography stores and other photo developing stores are often reluctant to make reproductions of old photographs for fear of violating the copyright law and being sued. These fears are not unreasonable, because copy shops have been sued for reproducing copyrighted works and have been required to pay substantial damages for infringing copyrighted works. The policy established by a shop is a business decision and risk assessment that the business is entitled to make, because the business may face liability if they reproduce a work even if they did not know the work was copyrighted.

In the case of photographs, it is sometimes difficult to determine who owns the copyright and there may be little or no information about the owner on individual copies. Ownership of a “copy†of a photograph – the tangible embodiment of the “work†– is distinct from the “work†itself – the intangible intellectual property. The owner of the “work†is generally the photographer or, in certain situations, the employer of the photographer. Even if a person hires a photographer to take pictures of a wedding, for example, the photographer will own the copyright in the photographs unless the copyright in the photographs is transferred, in writing and signed by the copyright owner, to another person. The subject of the photograph generally has nothing to do with the ownership of the copyright in the photograph. If the photographer is no longer living, the rights in the photograph are determined by the photographer’s will or passed as personal property by the applicable laws of intestate succession.

There may be situations in which the reproduction of a photograph may be a “fair use†under the copyright law. Information about fair use may be found at: U.S. Copyright Office - Fair Use. However, even if a person determines a use to be a “fair use†under the factors of section 107 of the Copyright Act, a copy shop or other third party need not accept the person’s assertion that the use is noninfringing. Ultimately, only a federal court can determine whether a particular use is, in fact, a fair use under the law.
U.S. Copyright Office - Can I Use Someone Else's Work? Can Someone Else Use Mine? (FAQ)
How much do I have to change in order to claim copyright in someone else's work?
Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to prepare, or to authorize someone else to create, a new version of that work. Accordingly, you cannot claim copyright to another's work, no matter how much you change it, unless you have the owner's consent. See Circular 14, Copyright Registration for Derivative Works.
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ14.pdf
Right to Prepare Derivative Work
Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to prepare,
or to authorize someone else to create, a new version
of that work.
People can't make movies from books without paying the copyright holders for the right to do so. Copying a photograph into a painting or illustration is no different. That's why I take my own reference photos to work from. Allegations of copyright infringement will 100% screw over any chance of a career in the arts if you're just starting out. It'll often screw over any chance of continuing a career if you are well known. Publishers, art agents, etc. don't want to be associated with thieves and assume the risk of litigation if they steal someone's work again.
 

SailenAero

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#19
Believe me I know about that. I've worked in the film industry for 9 years professionally. I'm talking about taking any legal action. You can't just say it's copy written without documentation.

But I was just trying to be helpful. You can go out of your way to disprove someones point, but that's not really helpful in the situation. :)
 

Romy

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#20
I was trying to save folks reading this thread from thinking they can copy/paste website text, photos, artwork etc. off the internet thinking it's copyright free. That's not true, and you WILL get busted if the owner finds out and wants to sue. The way your post was worded made it sound like anything uploaded to the internet is public domain unless a copyright was paid for by the creator, and it's NOT.

Sorry, I'm probably extra touchy about the subject since I'm working on a career in the visual arts and have had people steal and profit from work I've uploaded to the internet. It sucks very badly, and makes me really angry when it happens to any artist.

And this part:
ou have to actually have a copyright on an image to actually have it fall under copyright laws though
is seriously blatantly untrue. Anything you create is protected under copyright laws. I can sell a painting, but if the buyer starts making prints of it you BET I'm going to tell them to knock it off and take them to court if they don't because I still own the rights to reproduce it as the creator.
 

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