Designer, artist, architect, creator… whatever you may be, if you put your work out there, with or without an art copyright, people will steal it. Unfortunately, as artists in the modern age, this is something we cannot avoid. We can, however, learn from each other’s experiences. In this article, we’ll be chatting about our own experience and how you can keep moving forward if (and when) your work has been stolen. So grab a cup of coffee and let’s dive in! Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Experience with Art Copyright

We’ve had people copy our articles word for word, and reuse our video content nearly, or exactly, without attributing us any credit. In one specific example, we noticed someone taking our video content and claiming it as their own. When looking at their channel we saw a thumbnail that looked strangely familiar… It wasn’t an exact copy of ours, but it was the same format, same style, same fonts, same composition, and of course the same topic. It’s technically not an art copyright infringement, but using the same exact content and not changing it up is still stealing! That’s a small example, but that kind of stuff can get under your skin, discourage you, and stop you from focusing on creating more and better things!

Have you had a similar experience? Maybe the person that stole your work has a larger following or is growing much faster. Maybe their video even has more views than your own. This can be so frustrating knowing that the work was originally your own and whoever stole it is possibly reaching a larger audience.

How to Respond

The first time you experience this you will probably be very upset! And rightfully so. Your initial response may be to hire a lawyer. Maybe you just want to give up. You may think there’s no point in creating content if someone else is going to get the credit from your hard work. It could even give you the idea that stealing is how people succeed. They have a larger following, therefore the only way to get there is to steal content. So what are you supposed to do now?

Don’t stoop to their level! It may be a cliché response but giving up or fighting back with dishonesty isn’t going to help you in the long run.

Just be the better artist. After struggling with this ourselves for a few months, we’ve come to the conclusion that the best response is to just be better. Do your best and create content that is so strong they can’t even replicate it.

If you truly want to succeed, you’ll have to take your work to the next level. For us, that meant hiring a video editor so we could have the highest quality videos. Maybe you hire a professional proofreader to overlook your writing, or maybe it means you experiment with new mediums. The bottom line is, you want to be so creative that the other guys can’t keep up.

Having your work stolen can feel discouraging, but it forces you to push yourself and keep creating new things that have never been done before. Keep creating work that you are proud of and you will be sure to succeed. Eventually, people will see right through the fake façade. If you create content that you’re passionate about, people will recognize that, and you will have a loyal following that will last.

Have you ever had problems with art copyright? Do you know someone who has had their work stolen? Be sure to share this article with them so they know what to do! Let us know in the comments what you think.

Happy Hacking!