SOMEONE COPIED MY ART WORK!!!!

Has anyone ever tried to copy your art work? Some people say, its a compliment, i say, "hog wash"! It happened to me and I assure you, it wasn't a compliment.

An artist friend of mine, called to tell me that someone had "copied" my art and it was on display at a local craft store. I didn't give it much thought, until I happened to go into that craft store and saw it for myself .......and I was apalled! I had been successfully selling my art on the art fair circuit and I told all my customers that my designs were original. This incident challenged my integrity and I did not handle it well.

I argued and argued with the sales lady and made quite a stir, even my friend who was with me had to walked away. This sales clerk would not back down and I kept getting more livid by the second. Thank God, I left the store but in a rage.

I knew once I slept on this, I could figure out what went wrong and I would correct it first thing in the morning. I did not get much sleep that night but I got the answer. Once refreshed and removed from the ignorant sales clerk I got clarity on how to handle this situation. I was not going to shove it under the carpet, I was going to write a letter to the manager (not the sales clerk) and let them know I meant business.

I let them know who I was in the art community and dropped names of galleries and associations I have been a part of for many years. I told them I had documentation (slides) of all my work and that I could prove that this was a "copy" in a court of law. In return, all I was asking them to do was to take down the "copied" art work which was displayed in their store immediately.

My friend went in the store a few days after I had written the letter and she said they had removed the "copy" from their display. I was happy and learned a valuable lesson. You must speak with the right party, at the proper time with documentation. Had the craft store not have been cooperative, I would have contact my art attorney, Kyle Citrynell (Citrynell@derbycitylaw.com) to write a letter on my behalf.

Hope this story helps you from making a fool of yourself like I did!! Be encouraged!!