Illustrators and graphic designers fume as print vendors copy their designs

It came as a rude shock to independent artist Pranita Kocharekar when she was tagged on an Instagram post last week A friend had stumbled upon an illustration that looked like one of Kocharekarrsquos works but on an online Tshirt vendorrsquos account The post was accompanied by hashtags routinely found on online merchandise websites mdash wecanprintthistee inspired and customize Only the vendor forgot one important lesson To be inspired is one thing to borrow without asking is anotherWhen Kocharekar confronted the vendor she was met with smug retorts and equally smug apologiesGraphic designer Mira Malhotrarsquos illustration titled Drawing a Blank was used in the set design of a Tamil movie released in 2010 In one instance they wrote We are sorry for your loss But we can offer you a half price Tshirt with your own piece of art printed on it If you likeDouble whammy There will come a time when the illustrator community in the country will laugh away these mockcondolences but for now they are miffed Kocharekar is one of the few independent artists to have hired a lawyer to deal with copycat merchandise vendors The problem says the community has grown commoner with a spurt in smalltime merchandise vendors who either sell directly or on larger ecommerce platformsAnother work Bani Thani came up in a Raja Rani cushion cover set sold by a Singaporebased woman in 2009The Internet has freed the art movement says New Delhibased art lawyer Mekhala Dave but there are businesses that deprecate artwork by selling these spurious products and prints You never get to know how many pieces of an artwork or merchandise bearing an artwork have been sold on the InternetTime for originalsKocharekar isnrsquot alone She speaks of social media as a doubleedged sword Showcase your works on Instagram Tumblr Facebook and Twitter Put up your portfolio on Behance Add that watermark or signature Yet there is no stopping your artwork going viral in all the wrong waysA student then Malhotra couldnrsquot afford to sue the plagiaristsGraphic designer and illustrator Mira Malhotra found her artwork floating around the country on cushion covers and film sets In 2009 a Singaporebased woman was selling Raja and Rani covers at Rs 750 a piece using Malhotrarsquos original design called Bani Thani A Tamil movie that released in 2010 used her illustration titled Drawing a Blank as a mural in brothel setting Malhotra then a student at the National Institute of Design says she couldnt afford legal recourseIndependent artist Pranita Kocharekar found an online Tshirt vendor misusing her illustration The vendors post on Instagram was accompanied with a we can print this tee hashtagHer reflections on the frugal life of students are reiterated by Furqan Jawed a graphic design student from Bengaluru A couple of weeks back he was led to mobile phone covers and Tshirts being sold by two vendors that used his work NeedWeed ldquoItrsquos infuriating that they are making money this way specially with illustrations which is anyway a hardstriving businessrdquo he says But it is time to hand in his college thesis wherersquos the time to get tangled in legal procedures Luckily for him Kulture Shop which has the rights to sell NeedWeed stepped inIndependent artist Pranita KocharekarldquoThe direct violation is against the artist who holds the copyright to the work We suffer because we hold the exclusive commercial rights to the license A cease and desist notice is sent to the vendor who infringes on copyrights If action is not taken immediately we will escalate this through the press and social mediaIf action is taken we will mark the issue as resolved If it is still not actioned the artists and us can seek legal remedial actionrdquo says Arjun Charanjiva founder and CEO of Kulture ShopArt director Shruthi Venkatramanrsquos work Dipped in Colour made for Kulture Shop was used illegally by an online merchandise vendor last yearLast year Charanjiva had to address Shruthi Venkatramanrsquos artwork Dipped in Colour made for Kulture Shop which was found printed on ceramic mugs sold by an online vendor on Flipkart Notices were sent to both the vendor and the ecommerce giant and the products were promptly removed In most cases illustrators and companies are placated to see copycat vendors cease the sale of such products But what of the pieces already soldVenkatraman who works as an art director at an ad agency chooses to have a more sympathetic view She says ldquoIt is easy to point fingers at stolen artwork But someone is supplying this to them right It is a naiumlve market and things will settle down by itself eventuallyrdquoIs it artDave points to a more essential problem Unlike a Husain or a Raza illustrations are not perceived as art Moreover fine art is represented by galleries whereas art emerging from illustrators is seen as commercial she says She urges that illustrators understand that they donrsquot always need a lsquospecialrsquo copyright to protect their work The minute a design or illustrations is out in a tangible or digital medium she says copyright is inherently presentWhatrsquos more difficult is dealing with art appropriation she continues in which artists borrow each otherrsquos work as inspiration In the case of Malhotrarsquos Bani Thani for instance the alleged plagiarist had changed the colour palette and pared down the ornamentation on the figure The tweaked work passes off as a different RaniThe onus of protecting work lies with vendors and retailers too Postergully an online merchandise platform that collaborates with 3000plus active designers asks viewers and buyers to report artwork on their site that seems to be stolen They also have a fourmember panel that reviews all artwork submissions Kulture Shop educates its collaborating artists about copyright infringement through details available on their websiteFor independent illustrators and graphic designers like Kocharekar does it make sense for them to form a union to represent copyright infringement ldquoIt will be good to have people back you up and to strengthen your case with similar incidents but in the end it is your own problem that needs to be addressed individuallyrdquo says Dave Currently there exist Facebook groups such as Blacklist where wrongdoers in creative industries are pulled up but its not exclusively for illustratorsBuyers need to get vigilant too We check where our meat diamonds and chocolate come from Why not ask the source of that quirky design on our mugs