Copyright- the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

In Simple terms : The one who owns the design in all its iterations . The art is theirs

Plagiarism : : The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

In Simple terms : Knowingly passing of the work of someone else as their own

Exemption: A person licensing the art from another artist to legally Teach, reproduce , and generally use the art in as much the license allows. ( paint my photo is a good example )

Derivative : A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted.

In Simple terms: there are many many artists painting owls. Another good example is remakes of famous out of copyright works

Iterative: expressing frequent repetition

Simple terms : since 2012 I have painted many girls in the rain walking. I play with color and location

Do crafters need to worry about Copyright like artists? YES

An Angel Policy: is a form of limited license that specifies how a rubber stamped image can be used and any specific requirements of the manufacturer or artist. Typically this outlines under what circumstances, if any, a stamper can make and sell items created using a manufacturer's rubber stamps.Fabric and paper can have limited use policies too!

Student work : a person who is studying art

Can student work be good?

YES it can. It can be mind blowingly good. Student art does not mean BAD ever.

In Simple terms : You are learning how

Commercial work : you are getting paid for what you are painting

In Simple terms: Your work is commercial as soon as you sell it. BUT you may not be a professional. This is legal stuff about how much you have to sell and dedicate to selling to be a professional VS Ameteur

Ameteur: one lacking in experience and competence in an art or science. You can sell work and still be ametuer.

In Simple terms : you are starting out and are looking to gain experience

Fair use: (in US copyright law) the doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder.

In Simple Terms : sometimes for Parody, Teaching, and Artistic commentary you can use a work that is under copyright. Like you are fine artist painting a collection about how Mcdonalds ate the world ( real example )

Exemptions to these. An example is that sip and paints are not covered by Fair use as they are commercial and entertaining in nature ( not a legal opinion but it came from a legal source )

Creative Commons : (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work. A CC license is used when an author wants to give people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that they have created.

You can use this as described in the CC. follow the terms and you are Golden :)

Parallel thinking : When done in a group it effectively avoids the consequences of the adversarial approach (as used in courts). In adversarial debate, the objective is to prove or disprove statements put forward by the parties (normally two).

Simple terms is : In art this means we live in a Global community and can be effected by the same things at the same time coming to very similar outcomes. ( owls are awesome we all paint owls ) Rain is awesome we all paint rain BUT are we painting the Same owls or the Same rain?

Can you Copyright a style or a Technique?: No Style’s and technique’s can not be copyrighted.

Can I sell art from a class or workshop?

Ask the teacher they all have different rules

Can I show Art learned in a class?

Ask the Teacher and Read the entry rules ( always Depends )

If I have permission to sell my art from a class what is the cap I can sell it for?

If you are allowed to sell art from a class and there are no guidelines… For as much as you like. AS MUCH as you like as long as it follows the use policies of your teacher. You make have all kinds of limitations and it’s so easy to find out by asking. ( I have use policy on every video description)

Should Students copy

YES YES YES!! REALLY?? YES. You need to copy, look, at everything and try it all out.

As your teacher I really really want you to do an many tutorials and copies as you can store around your home :)

Is copying always bad

NOPE

Of course not otherwise we would never learn or grow

What should I do if I see “ stolen art”

If you think art is stolen you can always tell the artist and share a link.

Should I tell them they are a thief? #stolenart   

That sounds fun … not. NOT. Look I want to scream at artists I feel are stealing but the fact is there is soooo much I can't know that I must be cautious. Wrongly accusing someone can be legal trouble for you. You must balance what you feel is true against what you might not know. LIKE two artists legally used the same reference photo. OR two artist were moved by the same trend. Don't be the Art Police. It is great to talk and think about things like copyright and what that means to all of us as artist. BUT please don't be art cops. Don't go on social media accusing artists of stealing from each other. There are many things that can not and should not be copyrighted. "Style", "techniques" and "trends" being among them. Have you done due diligence to find the origin of an idea or just assumed. If you have a concern privately message that artist who's work you think is infringed on. They can decide for themselves if it is an issue and involve an attorney ... if it is. Perhaps the artist you think is wronged has taken liberties with art you have not seen or are not aware of. Things like Pouring Wine , Birds on branches, rainy days and Abstract cities are well covered territory in the art world. Things can feel similar and be legally different in every way. You may not be aware of permission given or a license legally obtained. The use policies of Nintendo are very different from the use policies of Blizzard. Star Trek vs Disney.

If I change 30% of the painting is it now original? ..nope that an artist urban myth but one of my favorites. How much is 30% of a painting. Great Art game to play look at a painting change 30% in your mind. How could you know you crossed the legal limits?

Can it be really similar and not be a copy? YES that can happen too. Trends and popular styles can make work seem familiar when in fact it is very different 

Can you be REALLY similar without seeing the other work of art

YES YES YES because we all share a world that has memes, trends, and other influencing images that can imbed themselves into our lives. We have CC images , WIKI, and places like PMP. We are not as original as we think and feel sometimes.

I did not see it as an excuse?

( OK Maybe... but is it likely you have seen it?) do you know the artist ? Is there work well known? Do you run in the same Circles and Social media ? Was it popular or Viral. Is google/youtube likely to have put it in your recommended feed?

Sometimes I did not see it IS a valid excuse !

If you don’t know the artist, share NO common ties, they or you do not have a large following on social media and the image has not been widely seen. You can’t have copied what you did not see. You can not know what you do not know.

Does it have to be painted or can it just be an idea ? Can my thought be stolen ? It must be out of the head and clearly put to some media.

If I do have similar work and it’s an accident what can I do: If it is not in copyright infringement you can ignore it and refer them to your legal counsel or

( my fav) If you do feel that this has happened you can reach out and talk to the other artist. LOTS of things can be worked out with communication. You gotta do what’s right for you here

What do I do If did not copy and I am being accused of stealing :

Tell them you are not and give them a chance to reasonably talk to you. If that fails Snapshot, store in file, and Block. If it keeps happening share with your lawyer.

IF two paintings look a lot alike ( LIKE A LOT) Who has the copyright?. Whoever was first ( unless it’s in the public domain )

Can I copy a famous painting ? MAYBE

Public Domain

If it is out of copyright then YES. All works published in the United States before 1923 are in the public domain. Works published after 1922, but before 1978 are protected for 95 years from the date of publication. If the work was created, but not published, before 1978, the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. Dead artist does not automatically mean you can copy a painting.

FAN ART: probably not a good idea BUT ( I keep doing it cause I am a fan ) some places are great about it and some are not. If you mess with the mouse (Mickey joke ) you may be removing the painting. Try to be a fan though and not monetize your fan art.

The ART POLICE can only respond to what you share and publically display. They do not know what is in your home so if you want to try your hand at a painting while your learning my two cents is do it ( not legal advice)