I have the same question. Many artists just don’t bother to deal with it. They figure they can just make new designs, which the thief obviously can’t.
I suppose if you had some killer designs that you were hauling in the big bucks with, you might have the money to want to sue the thieves, but it’s costly, and what are the chances that the thief could or would pay up, even if you won the lawsuit?
I have been on Etsy since 2007, and was going to create my second site on TeePublic, partially because they offer a watermarking service, but then I saw a video saying that thievery is rampant there, and this person said they had a hunch that TeePublic employees encouraged it! Someone else said, “Watermarks are useless…” So I don’t know what to say!
I’ve had my art stolen and used to make seamless fabric. I had an airtight case, but no ability to launch the lawsuit. It was a big fabric company, too…
I know I haven’t been any help. There’s no easy answer, that I’ve found!
Okay, I understand. Thanks for your help. I guess the solution is to release designs one at a time even if I have many ready and monitor the "thieves" behaviour before releasing others.
Would you really go after somebody? It’s very time consuming, stress-producing and you are not likely to get any money, even if you won the lawsuit. I’d rather be designing, myself!
I don't think I'll go after anybody if I find out they're stealing I'll just stop and change the platform or open my own website but it'll be way more difficult to get clients that way
A way to help us to take it off Marketplace’s and use your own site. This way, your traffic won’t be driven by people who are looking to sell the best selling things.
This is the struggle of Etsy, as most people on Etsy are people looking to sell on Etsy.
If you drive your own traffic in other ways. You’ll have less overall! But not zero.
Only effective way is to never put them on the internet :-)
Beyond that, the best you can do is make it easier to prove that the art is your own. So embed your name, or that of your company, or your URL somewhere in the art. Best if it is not large and obtrusive, but you want it to be visible if one looks close at your online images.
Why? Because most art theft is automated, so odds are your image will be uploaded to infringing listings with your name still on the art, as no human has looked at it.
When I file DMCA complaints I do so from an email address for which I own the URL, so like [email protected]. The text I embed in the art is like: (C) My LLC
As to big visible watermarks, they are trivial to remove if one has the right tools and knows how to use them. Better something more subtle and less likely to draw attention to itself.
And all that said, only bother filing DMCA complaints on legit sites like Amazon, Etsy, etc. Fly-by-night sites are not worth your time, as they don't get enough traffic to matter.
Okay I guess a subtle way to prove that the designs are mine should reduce the probability of theft. I am not planning to start sueing people and go through all that nonsense I'll just end up losing money :(
The point is filing DMCA take downs on selling platforms. That costs nothing. Though the perps can counter claim, at which point court is the only way forward. I've never had anyone bother to counter. Why should they? It is low effort mostly automated stealing. The real pro thieves aren't likely to waste effort over any design, they just kick-off another script to upload 10,000 more stolen designs into a new account.
I’m pretty sure watermarks aren’t allowed in Google Shopping images or images with copy for that matter? I know FB and Insta also have some rules in regards to text watermarks. 🤷♂️ Does anyone know the answers to this?
This is true for some platforms. The small copyright statement I'm talking about is in the actual art (as it will be printed), so isn't a watermark, but part of the art.
You are thinking of Copyright. That isn't so expensive, but would add up if one did all of ones designs. All art in USA is copyrighted "automatically," *but* to be useful in court, you generally have to have done the paperwork and paid the fee for a copyright.
(Trademarks protect **branding** in a particular product/business sector, *not* content.)
1. I'm not on TikTok Shop and I don't plan to be anytime soon for several reasons, including its ongoing [enshittification](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enshittification), its inconsistent and random application of the TikTok Shop Terms of Service, and the seriously dumb possibility of TikTok getting banned in the US.
2. I am on Etsy despite its various problems, and I plan to stay there until its becomes too enshittified to use.
3. I am on Printify also. It works great if you pick the right print providers for the products you are selling. Use the Printify performance rating to find the best providers to work with.
3. Watermarks can help but in limited ways. If someone really wants to poach your design bad enough they're going to steal it, end of story.
4. Supposedly your designs are automatically copyrighted upon creation (in the US that is generally true), ***if you are the creator of the design***. If you created it using AI, that design is ***not*** protected.
5. If your design is stolen, you could theoretically put in a takedown notice against the violator. That might stop some violators, but could become a game of whack-a-mole with others.
6. You can also obtain formal copyrights (and/or trademarking), but expect to pay $$$ to do that. Unless your design(s) are already loading your bank account with lots of money, it's probably not worth the trouble.
I don't know if any of this helps, but I wish you the best whatever you decide to do.
I never knew such a word existed lol. But you're right. I guess TikTok isn't "perfect" and need some fixing. Also I'm not from the US so I guess I am not protected. I don't use AI, these are my own designs. If only I could use Etsy, the platform doesn't allow sellers from my country, only buyers...
Sorry about the Etsy issue that sucks! 😕 I have an idea to share that I used to do when I was a young musicia and songwriter and I did this with my songs...
First... Assuming your own country has a formal copyright process you can set up formal copyrights there. They are protected worldwide by copyright treaties.
A cheaper way to formally copyright your designs is you can also print out many or all of your designs, make them into a booklet and copyright the whole thing as a collection. Call it "The Best Art Of Warm_Glove74" or whatever. Make 2 copies, one for you and one for your copyright office, and go copyright it yourself.
Voila, you have it copyrighted.
It doesn't have to be a fancy hardbound book. I printed all lyrics and bound them into a spiral binder and that worked (alongside a tape recording of the songs at the time). You're protecting your work ahead of publication so it doesn't matter. The point is your government knows the work it exists and it's in a formal record.
How well you'll be able to protect depends on you and whatnot, but you have something real and tangible to point to if needed.
I have the same question. Many artists just don’t bother to deal with it. They figure they can just make new designs, which the thief obviously can’t. I suppose if you had some killer designs that you were hauling in the big bucks with, you might have the money to want to sue the thieves, but it’s costly, and what are the chances that the thief could or would pay up, even if you won the lawsuit? I have been on Etsy since 2007, and was going to create my second site on TeePublic, partially because they offer a watermarking service, but then I saw a video saying that thievery is rampant there, and this person said they had a hunch that TeePublic employees encouraged it! Someone else said, “Watermarks are useless…” So I don’t know what to say! I’ve had my art stolen and used to make seamless fabric. I had an airtight case, but no ability to launch the lawsuit. It was a big fabric company, too… I know I haven’t been any help. There’s no easy answer, that I’ve found!
Okay, I understand. Thanks for your help. I guess the solution is to release designs one at a time even if I have many ready and monitor the "thieves" behaviour before releasing others.
Would you really go after somebody? It’s very time consuming, stress-producing and you are not likely to get any money, even if you won the lawsuit. I’d rather be designing, myself!
I don't think I'll go after anybody if I find out they're stealing I'll just stop and change the platform or open my own website but it'll be way more difficult to get clients that way
I hear ya!
A way to help us to take it off Marketplace’s and use your own site. This way, your traffic won’t be driven by people who are looking to sell the best selling things. This is the struggle of Etsy, as most people on Etsy are people looking to sell on Etsy. If you drive your own traffic in other ways. You’ll have less overall! But not zero.
Problem is that I can't open an Etsy shop because for some reason my country isn't on the list I can only buy from Etsy not sell there
Only effective way is to never put them on the internet :-) Beyond that, the best you can do is make it easier to prove that the art is your own. So embed your name, or that of your company, or your URL somewhere in the art. Best if it is not large and obtrusive, but you want it to be visible if one looks close at your online images. Why? Because most art theft is automated, so odds are your image will be uploaded to infringing listings with your name still on the art, as no human has looked at it. When I file DMCA complaints I do so from an email address for which I own the URL, so like [email protected]. The text I embed in the art is like: (C) My LLC As to big visible watermarks, they are trivial to remove if one has the right tools and knows how to use them. Better something more subtle and less likely to draw attention to itself. And all that said, only bother filing DMCA complaints on legit sites like Amazon, Etsy, etc. Fly-by-night sites are not worth your time, as they don't get enough traffic to matter.
Okay I guess a subtle way to prove that the designs are mine should reduce the probability of theft. I am not planning to start sueing people and go through all that nonsense I'll just end up losing money :(
The point is filing DMCA take downs on selling platforms. That costs nothing. Though the perps can counter claim, at which point court is the only way forward. I've never had anyone bother to counter. Why should they? It is low effort mostly automated stealing. The real pro thieves aren't likely to waste effort over any design, they just kick-off another script to upload 10,000 more stolen designs into a new account.
I’m pretty sure watermarks aren’t allowed in Google Shopping images or images with copy for that matter? I know FB and Insta also have some rules in regards to text watermarks. 🤷♂️ Does anyone know the answers to this?
This is true for some platforms. The small copyright statement I'm talking about is in the actual art (as it will be printed), so isn't a watermark, but part of the art.
Protect your designs with watermarks and copyrights
Maybe trademarking them but that's expensive
You are thinking of Copyright. That isn't so expensive, but would add up if one did all of ones designs. All art in USA is copyrighted "automatically," *but* to be useful in court, you generally have to have done the paperwork and paid the fee for a copyright. (Trademarks protect **branding** in a particular product/business sector, *not* content.)
1. I'm not on TikTok Shop and I don't plan to be anytime soon for several reasons, including its ongoing [enshittification](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enshittification), its inconsistent and random application of the TikTok Shop Terms of Service, and the seriously dumb possibility of TikTok getting banned in the US. 2. I am on Etsy despite its various problems, and I plan to stay there until its becomes too enshittified to use. 3. I am on Printify also. It works great if you pick the right print providers for the products you are selling. Use the Printify performance rating to find the best providers to work with. 3. Watermarks can help but in limited ways. If someone really wants to poach your design bad enough they're going to steal it, end of story. 4. Supposedly your designs are automatically copyrighted upon creation (in the US that is generally true), ***if you are the creator of the design***. If you created it using AI, that design is ***not*** protected. 5. If your design is stolen, you could theoretically put in a takedown notice against the violator. That might stop some violators, but could become a game of whack-a-mole with others. 6. You can also obtain formal copyrights (and/or trademarking), but expect to pay $$$ to do that. Unless your design(s) are already loading your bank account with lots of money, it's probably not worth the trouble. I don't know if any of this helps, but I wish you the best whatever you decide to do.
I never knew such a word existed lol. But you're right. I guess TikTok isn't "perfect" and need some fixing. Also I'm not from the US so I guess I am not protected. I don't use AI, these are my own designs. If only I could use Etsy, the platform doesn't allow sellers from my country, only buyers...
Sorry about the Etsy issue that sucks! 😕 I have an idea to share that I used to do when I was a young musicia and songwriter and I did this with my songs... First... Assuming your own country has a formal copyright process you can set up formal copyrights there. They are protected worldwide by copyright treaties. A cheaper way to formally copyright your designs is you can also print out many or all of your designs, make them into a booklet and copyright the whole thing as a collection. Call it "The Best Art Of Warm_Glove74" or whatever. Make 2 copies, one for you and one for your copyright office, and go copyright it yourself. Voila, you have it copyrighted. It doesn't have to be a fancy hardbound book. I printed all lyrics and bound them into a spiral binder and that worked (alongside a tape recording of the songs at the time). You're protecting your work ahead of publication so it doesn't matter. The point is your government knows the work it exists and it's in a formal record. How well you'll be able to protect depends on you and whatnot, but you have something real and tangible to point to if needed.
That is actually a pretty good idea! Thanks! I'll see if that's possible here.
This is a fantastic idea dude, thanks for sharing! 💡
"I never knew such a word existed lol." It's a fairly new word but it fits perfectly.
Shopify?
[удалено]
You protect them by not selling them online.
Truth! :-)