As it turns out, Tartsie, the Etsy member who used my bead pics in her banners for sale, replied to my inquiries about what was up with that.
She claims to be very young - right out of high school. She also let me know she got my pics from something called Flickr Creative Commons.
Now, the high school thing - well, first off, I am not sure I believe that it should be a good excuse, but I can let that go, I think.
However, the Flickr Creative Commons thing is just strange. I did at one time have a Flickr account, but I never uploaded anything to Flickr Creative Commons. From what I understand, Flickr Creative Commons is an area of Flickr where people can grant licenses giving permission for use of their artwork. However, none of the license agreements I read there grant permission to sell the artwork to others.
It's confusing, I know. At any rate, Tartsie claims that someone else must have put my pictures there if I didn't, because that's where she got them. She was unaware that she did anything wrong. I am not sure if I believe and/or agree with that, but there's not much I can do other than what I have already done.
The person who bought the banners has graciously taken them down and replaced them with something else, for which I am very grateful. Tartsie's shop on Etsy has been closed for a long time, so I am hoping this won't happen again with her.
However, this is a common thing, and I am sure it is happening elsewhere as we speak. All I can do as an artist is hope that people will listen to me and use their own images in their marketing. I also fervently hope that people who make and sell banner ads, avatars and web graphics will consider purchasing images legally and not resort to lifting them from the web, even from a place called Flickr Creative Commons. Obviously, it's easy to illegally post images there.
Aaaaanyway, I am moving on from this. I made some pretty beads yesterday, so if you read this far, thank you - here are some pics! :)
Posts
Im sorry sorry this has been such a thorn in your side for so long, Kandice. I cant begin to imagine how frustrating it is to have your work stolen time and time again.... and I hope I never find out. I love your new sets, gorgeous colors especially the blue and green ones! Hang in there... and keep torching!! :) Nikki
ReplyDeleteI'm glad things are getting settled, and your new beads are so fantastic, really happy and summery and gorgeous, as always :)
ReplyDeletehi Kandace.. out visiting ..
ReplyDeletehope the rest of your week has you torching away & making more of your pretty beads :)
mona & the girls
Ooh I love the third set, the purple and brown ones. I love pink, and brown color combo too.
ReplyDeleteI love the new beads!
ReplyDeleteWell, i'm glad you finally got some closure and answers about it at least! The high school excuse is so lame- they know what they are doing. Sounds like she does know she was wrong, just don't want to admit it. Seems to me that she just ratted herself out there; If she admits to knowing logistics of flickr commons, then she in turn knows that getting permission to post photos of others' work is required. If you didn't put it on there, you didn't put it on there!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Flickr Creative Commons..is it?? At any rate, I am glad it was taken down..
ReplyDeleteAnd your beads are beautiful!
Glad to hear you resolved the issue you had. Granted, internet licensing can be time-consuming to read about and tricky to understand, but it's something you have to understand the basics of (at the very least) if you are going to design graphics for any kind of personal or professional use.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your beads are *gorgeous*!! If I was better at making jewelry, I would totally buy some.
I'm glad it's getting solved! I've heard of this happening to other Etsy sellers - it's so frustrating that it happens!
ReplyDeleteI love how you continue to remain upbeat, even after all the stealing that has happened to you, so many times!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I am sorry you had to go through such an ordeal, but definitely a learning experience regarding Flickr.
ReplyDeleteThose beads are GORGEOUS!!!! Yum! :)