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icv2 weighs in
Jun. 14th, 2016 11:10 amFrom the industry website ICv2, part of a column titled "Three Convention Trends We Could Do Without"-
Art scammers. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen increasing attention to sellers of unlicensed prints and illegal copies of artwork in the exhibit halls of big shows, sometimes right down Artists’ Alley from genuine professionals selling original work. Selling unauthorized prints of someone else’s artwork is wrong for reasons that should require no further elaboration and it’s good to hear that some shows are starting to take a harder line on this. But there are shades of gray once you get past the black and white of out-and-out piracy.
For example, professional artists frequently sell works that feature characters they’ve drawn in comics or other media, but did not create and do not own. Perhaps they pay license fees to the publishers. Perhaps they have tacit or explicit agreements that cover these activities. Or perhaps not. Fans rarely ask their favorite Batman or Sonic the Hedgehog artist to sign a legal release when buying a Con sketch and artists don’t offer.
This kind of thing has been going on at Cons for as long as there’s been Cons and it benefits no one to crack down on it. Sure, IP owners have some risk exposure in this scenario if they don’t protect their rights, but no one wants to go around suing their own artists. Besides, they’d never recover the costs of litigation.
But what about semi-professional artists selling their “versions” of characters they don’t own, didn’t create and never worked on? These fan artists have been around cons forever too, but lately they seem more visible and more present. Some have cultivated a following on DeviantArt or Tumblr. A few of them are pretty good.
If they pay for their tables and fans want to buy their stuff, organizers may be tempted to see this as no big deal. After all, smaller shows need to fill their exhibit halls with dealers, and there’s a shrinking market for traditional collectibles as older, hardcore fans get turned off by escalating prices, crowds and irrelevant attractions.
If I were a professional artist, I’d be pretty concerned about this. Making table at shows is always uncertain. Is it helpful when cons roll out the red carpet for amateur competitors?</i?
Art scammers. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen increasing attention to sellers of unlicensed prints and illegal copies of artwork in the exhibit halls of big shows, sometimes right down Artists’ Alley from genuine professionals selling original work. Selling unauthorized prints of someone else’s artwork is wrong for reasons that should require no further elaboration and it’s good to hear that some shows are starting to take a harder line on this. But there are shades of gray once you get past the black and white of out-and-out piracy.
For example, professional artists frequently sell works that feature characters they’ve drawn in comics or other media, but did not create and do not own. Perhaps they pay license fees to the publishers. Perhaps they have tacit or explicit agreements that cover these activities. Or perhaps not. Fans rarely ask their favorite Batman or Sonic the Hedgehog artist to sign a legal release when buying a Con sketch and artists don’t offer.
This kind of thing has been going on at Cons for as long as there’s been Cons and it benefits no one to crack down on it. Sure, IP owners have some risk exposure in this scenario if they don’t protect their rights, but no one wants to go around suing their own artists. Besides, they’d never recover the costs of litigation.
But what about semi-professional artists selling their “versions” of characters they don’t own, didn’t create and never worked on? These fan artists have been around cons forever too, but lately they seem more visible and more present. Some have cultivated a following on DeviantArt or Tumblr. A few of them are pretty good.
If they pay for their tables and fans want to buy their stuff, organizers may be tempted to see this as no big deal. After all, smaller shows need to fill their exhibit halls with dealers, and there’s a shrinking market for traditional collectibles as older, hardcore fans get turned off by escalating prices, crowds and irrelevant attractions.
If I were a professional artist, I’d be pretty concerned about this. Making table at shows is always uncertain. Is it helpful when cons roll out the red carpet for amateur competitors?</i?
