Copyright Infringment - part 2

I'm humbled and encouraged by all of your empathy, offers of help, and private messages sharing your own similar experiences with intellectual property violations.

I'm still processing, and trying to respond to, all of your comments. I'm still going back and forth with this week's(!!) perpetrators. And I'm trying to figure out how to do my little part to tamp down this rampant problem.

It's SO much bigger than me.
But together we are so much bigger than the problem.

Perhaps the following is a start:
1. Education - hard to believe, but some folks actually don't know what is right and wrong

What NOT to do: A woman in Montana posted a photo of my artwork advertising her wine + art class (without an art license). She then proceeded to create a copy of my work, signed it as her own work, posted it ('published') on social media, then sold it.

There are SO many things she did wrong my head is spinning! (For a start, take a peek at my notes on this image.)

2. Flagging Content - ways we can all help each other!

If you see an image of an artist's work on someone else's page:
- Use that lovely @ sign to tag the original artist... something like: 'This is/looks like Beverly Ash Gilbert's artwork' (this will automatically alert me and I can make sure it is a legit use)
- Whether or not the use is legit - there should ALWAYS be a credit to the original artist, and preferably hyperlinked!
- And please follow up with a private message to the original artist with links

3. Response - many of you shared how intimidating it can be to stand up for yourself and your intellectual property - as if by calling out copycats, we are somehow the bad guys!! Let's figure out a way to respond that puts the onus back onto the perpetrators.

(I'll write more about this when I make sure I have all my legal ducks in a row!)

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your comments and support. You have uplifted me!

Beverly Ash Gilbert