Looks Like a Raven, Acts Like a Raven –A Raven By Any Other Name?

Hers are above and mine are below.

Is copying really the best form of flattery? Or do “great minds” really think alike? I’ve known many artists over the years whose work has been copied, replicated, altered, duplicated, inspired, and flat out ripped off. I’ve had an experience in every one of those categories with my art making being on the receiving end. Sometimes copyright infringement is hard to prove but I know it when I feel it. When I see visual art that’s similar to something I’ve already created my stomach tightens and my heart rate quickens. For me it is an emotional experience. When I first saw another company’s Ravens silk screened onto squares of batik fabric I thought they looked very similar to the Raven Quilt Panels and Raven Garden Flags that Jana and I have been producing for over a year. After researching copyright definitions, consulting with other artists and legal professionals I wanted to have a better understanding of what really was considered copyright infringement. Whitney Smith’s Sprout Vase was clearly ripped-off by a major retailer though most of her copyright issues have stemmed from her work “inspiring” other ETSY artists! This is what the United States Copyright Office says:

What is copyright infringement?
As a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner. http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-definitions.html

After making a couple of calls and speaking directly to the company owner who is distributing the Raven Panels and who I’ve known for years, I learned that more than likely this is a situation of the similar Raven Quilt Panels being a case of a creative process that ended up with a VERY similar product but without malice or intentional copyright infringement. That’s what I’m hoping. Nevertheless, I did follow up with an e-mail to the proprietor of the company to make her aware of the similarity by attaching copies of our packaging covers showing our copyright mark. Here is what my first e-mail said in part:

“Thanks for taking my call this morning. As promised I'm sending you images of the batik Raven panels Jana and I already sell. I was surprised to see how similar your Ravens silk screened onto the various batik fabrics are to our designs we created, produced and started selling last year. I was the designer and the original idea of Raven Garden Flags was also mine. Jana's idea was to sell the silk screened panels in the Quilted Raven for quilts, flags or other projects. I'm hoping that you reconsider selling such a similar product.”

Her reply explained how her company came to produce such a similar product and claimed she had not seen Jana and my Raven panels before. She also claimed it should be OK to sell her product because at the moment Jana was only selling her Raven Quilt panels at one of her stores The Quilted Raven. However, my two final points in response were that our distribution is not her concern and ultimately “while I appreciate the process that led you to create a similar product, after seeing such a similar idea I felt it was my responsibility to make you aware of our pre-existing product design so we may protect our copyright.”