A Rising Problem

YouTube seems to be the newest place in spotting stolen artwork. It wasn't brought to my attention that it was so serious until a few days ago when a fellow deviant, =Nakase, posted a screen shot of a video with literally hundreds of stolen artwork used in a slideshow. It wasn't just one video either. There are hundreds of videos full of stolen art, and this was just fantasy based artwork.

First off, I know some of you may be wondering why am I even bothering posting this since they are just slideshow videos of artwork. Nothing is really being harmed. No one is making any money from it, so what harm is there? While there really is no physical harm, many artist ask that if their work is to be used in an outside source that permission needs to be asked before the work can be used. In every single one of the links posted at the bottom of this article, NONE of the videos asks or even credits each individual artist that they took the work from. As dictionary.com states that the definition of the word steal is:

1. Steal v. - to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right

Each picture that was taken and used in these videos were stolen.

An true artist cares greatly for their art since it is their life and passion. Having it stolen from them is like someone is taking away a piece of their life. If anyone has had their work stolen or ripped before, they know what I speak of. Granted that art thievery can never be stopped entirely, but if people are more aware of it it can greatly be reduced. I'm not asking anyone to go around and start a war with the people of YouTube and I highly discourage it since it can cause only more problems, but if you happen to see something you recognize or possibly even your own work, report it!

Questionable Videos and Users On YouTube

[link] | [link] | [link] | [link] | [link] | [link] | [link] | [link] | [link] | [link] | [link]

[link] - This user has nothing but stolen artwork in every since video they've made.
[link] - Another user with videos containing all stolen material.
[link] - User has stolen images and used in multiple videos posted.

This is only a mere handful of videos found in question. I know there is countless more out there, but there is only so much I and a few other fellow deviants can go through a day. Just remember, if you see something, please report it.

What Can I Do To Prevent My Work From Being Stolen?

While any kind of artwork is not 100% anti-theft protected, there is many ways to greatly reduce it from being stolen. The first and most important thing it to ALWAYS watermark your image. Not just a tiny little watermark in the orner either. Art thieves have become more cleaver as technology progresses and can easily remove small watermarks and make the image seem like it was of their own. I'm not saying to cover your entire piece with a watermark either, but something that can easy be seen when an image is in thumbnail form is greatly suggested.

Another good means of keeping your work safe is to take advantage of the watermarking system dA has provided when you upload pieces. It adds a deviantart watermark with YOUR dA homepage onto the image, so if anyone sees the image elsewhere, they automatically know that you created it, even if someone else claims they drew it. I'll admit the dA watermark is not pretty and can take a lot away from a picture, but if it helps keep my work safer, then why not use it?

There are just a few awesome tutorial found here on dA to help you get started with creating and placing a matermark on your images.




What Can I Do To Help?

The only thing anyone can really do in the aid against bringing down art thieves and stolen artwork is to keep your eyes open anywhere you go for possible stolen material. The more people are aware of it, the less we have of possible thefts. If you recognize anything from an artist and you see it elsewhere where it shouldn't belong and they do not have permission to use said art, report it. Every website has either a copyright violation team or a webmaster that controls the content of the site. All it takes is 5 minutes or less to send in an e-mail, PM, note, comment, etc. notifying people of the situation. Why not spare those 5 minutes and help to bring this one step closer to being stomped out for good.