Well this is the one thing no self respecting artist wants to happen: the dreaded accusal of art theft! This article will outline what happens, why it happens, how to deal with it, and how to prevent it happening again! From accidental art theft, to being totally innocent- this guide will hopefully make you more aware and help you if you land in this situation.



Disclaimer This article is based on my own experience within 6 years of deviantART. It includes FAQ but should not be considered rules and regulations on it's own. Please remember to read FAQ thoroughly and question staff if you do not understand it or need clarification. Consider writing the help desk here: [link] and find a list of staff and their roles here: [link]



What is it?
To find out how deviantART defines Art Theft it's important to read:
FAQ #8: What does deviantART consider to be Art Theft?
But there are always gray areas that artists tend to miss! Most people understand that if you didn't create something and you post it on deviantART that it is art theft. But sometimes you CAN post something that isn't 100% yours within certain limitations (we'll talk about this in prevention!) But the most common areas where you may find your work pulled is if you don't credit people at all or properly, if you use something as reference and don't credit it or don't have permission to use it as reference, or you upload copywritten material to the site such as a still from a tv show and/or add your own edits to it.



Er.. so what happens?
Whether you think your work is your own or not if someone files a complaint against it using the report deviation button staff are obligated to investigate it. Some reports are quicker than others depending on how much evidence is received. Evidence may include links to other sites, copies of negatives, photos of WIP, links around deviantART, magazines, etc. If it's believed to be theft you're sent an automated message informing you that your deviation was removed. So no, you don't get any advanced warning. Why you may ask? Well consider that there are far more accounts of true art theft being reported than false. Though it may drive you crazy, staff need to keep things legal (yup, art theft isn't just against policy... it's ILLEGAL) and do what's best for the site as a whole. Sometimes it's a judgment call.

If after receiving the message and reading the faqs on art theft you still truly believe you're a victim (and hey, it does happen! That's why I'm writing this!) what happens next is up to you. I can guarantee that writing a lengthy calling out the staff journal is NOT going to solve your problem or help you in any way. You may feel like venting... which is fine within reason but it wont solve your problem. ou may unintentionally label yourself as well or invite more people in to accuse you of art theft. After all, no one knows you've been accused until you announce it on a journal and we all know there are people who troll the site just looking for buttons to push...

You need to write the help desk, explain the situation, ask for verification on why the deviation was removed, offer evidence that it was yours (which may require a bit of work on your part considering the evidence against you) and follow their advice.

DO NOT under any circumstance simply re-upload the work without any changes. Even a description update stating how/why the work is yours is better than re-uploading. Re-uploading may result in a suspension or ban of your account for a period of time. DO NOT simply write the help desk and tell off whatever unlucky person gets your report. They aren't the person who removed your work, they don't know the whole situation even if you explain your side, and harassing a staff (or anyone for that matter) will get you suspended or banned from the site!



Why does this happen?
As mentioned above, you may have contributed to art theft unintentionally. I will outline ways to avoid this in the prevention section.
But what happens when you 100% did not steal the image? It's quite OBVIOUSLY yours to anyone who looks in your gallery? Well.. a few things may have happened...

There are lots of well meaning people out there. You may have followers from your personal website or who follow your artwork through another means other than deviantART, they stumble upon one of your pieces on deviantART and for whatever reason (lack of description, obviousness, or just the person simply not paying attention) don't know this is your account and report it. It happens a lot. Recently a user that I watched had someone report his image because they saw it in a magazine. They probably meant well... but the person investigating is now presented with evidence of a so-called art thief and removed the image. The user really did take the photo for the magazine! For some that's obvious, for others it's hard to believe! He wrote the help desk, got the situation resolved, and had a laugh over it.

You may have an art thief reporting you! Another friend I have ran into an issue when a user joined deviantART before he did and posted many pieces from his business website. When my friend joined DA he didn't post these images. The art thief reported as if my friend was the thief. He'd been here first. My friend wrote the help desk after they removed a image the thief claimed was theirs and sent photos of the negatives. The issue was resolved quickly. Though it was a bit upsetting my friend was actually quite impressed with how thorough the staff who investigated it was.

Maybe the person who investigated your work wasn't as thorough. Maybe they missed something that to you seemed obvious, maybe they had a bad day, or maybe you know... just maybe they made a mistake. Staff are human too. Please remember that. it's so easy when dealing with hundreds of these issues a day to slip up here and there. It's quite ridiculous for us to expect that this will never happen.

Maybe you didn't put anything in your description! Nothing at all. Or maybe just a "...". How is the staff investigating the report supposed to help you if they have nothing to go on?

These are just some examples of how you may have wrongfully been accused of art thievery. The important things to remember is that you really have no way of knowing what's going on 100% on the investigators end, so be patient, keep your cool, and above all remember they're a person just like you. They aren't attacking you.



Prevention
Here are a few simple suggestions to prevent this from happening to you:
always list your sources! Just like when writing an essay, name, link, list, icon or anything you can for all parties involved in your deviation. Credit your reference AND HAVE THEIR PERMISSION. Simply drawing your own version of someone elses work does not make it 100% yours.
get familiar with the FAQ. The policies section is your best bet and can be found here: [link] but if you didn't know you can SEARCH with keywords for the FAQ if you have something specific you want to know.
fill in your descriptions! Sure some people don't have much to say but when it comes to art theft inquiries it's always more helpful if you have something written there they can verify! When you've got no icon for DA, no user info, and no description... it sure makes you look like someone who joined so you could post someone else's work...
if you have your work posted some place else on the web, consider linking it in the description. If it gets in a magazine or is hung in a gallery or whatever... consider putting that in! Not only is it interesting for people viewing your work... it can help in the long run!
make use of release forms. Have you noticed that lovely function we have? Use it.
If you're posting a work that is already on someone's account but you have permission to do so.. STATE THAT YOU HAVE PERMISSION and link the account. Models and photographers run into this problem all the time!
watermark your images. You don't have to, but it certainly may help.



Conclusion!
No one likes getting accused of art theft. It can be downright enraging and insulting to anyone regardless of if they are a new member or a well established one. But mistakes do happen, for a multitude of reasons. So learn your faq. Be sure you aren't unintentionally stealing, and when you are a victim of a mistake or someone's joke... be patient and kind to your staff. Take their advice to heart.



Related Faq links!
FAQ #634: Why was my deviation relocated or moved?
FAQ #610: What happens when someone is banned or suspended?
FAQ #8: What does deviantART consider to be Art Theft?
FAQ #614: What are the rules for the use of music and sound effects in a Flash animation?
FAQ #332: Does deviantART have a feature that will automatically watermark my deviations?
FAQ #572: What does deviantART consider "Fan Art" to be?
FAQ #305: Is posting 'Adult' oriented artwork alright if I censor it first?
FAQ #84: What are the Core Values of the Community Relations and Operations Departments?
FAQ #304: Do you remove copies and trace-over art?
FAQ #257: What sort of permission do I need to use someone else's work?
FAQ #193: How do I prove that I had permission to use someone's work?
FAQ #157: Can I use things created by other people in my submissions?
FAQ #249: Are there restrictions on photographs of teenagers or children?
FAQ #94: Can I use the images I find on deviantART?
FAQ #9: Can I just take deviantART submissions and use them elsewhere?
FAQ #213: Where are the buttons for linking to deviantART?