Thursday, January 7, 2010

Artistic Integrity

I'm not gonna sugar coat it. I'm pretty pissed right now. Someone is copying our designs... again.

This isn't a unique situation. In fact, it's happened several times and I've even written about it before (and, I might add, both companies/individuals referenced before have had positive outcomes and we actually refer customers to them now). I'd come off sounding like a broken record if this situation wasn't quite so unique and painful.

Basically, this individual made and posted a collar design that is my current dog's collar (The Xdog) layered atop of my deceased dog's collar (Paco's Ruadh collar). If it was an accident, I could forgive it, but it's not. I won't go into the details, but it's clear that it's a calculated move.

As an artist (*shuddering at my least favorite statement ever*), I find it really offensive when other people copy work exactly.

Now, I totally understand the concept of "inspiration" and "derivative." Let's face it, pretty much all of the cool things in this world have been invented. There is only so much room within which you can maneuver unless you are willing to create something totally outside of the realm of what the mind can handle, and when that happens it doesn't always have a great outcome.

Take music, for instance. The guitar is a medium that has been played for hundreds of years, yet even with all that time for innovation, there are only so many notes in existence. Try as you might, you can't change that. You also can't change the fact that "Wild Thing" and "Louie Louie" have the exact same chord progression and nearly identical strumming. To the average listener, however, they sound like totally different songs because, well, they are.

You can have things that are similar at the core and then take off in very different directions, and that's fine. That's the basis of design, of songwriting, etc.

But when you take something that's already made and do it again without making any significant changes, well than that's just copying. It's like the imitation designers you see on "The View" the morning after the Oscars, showcasing the duplication dresses they stayed up all night making, only out of crappier material. There's no improvement, no differentiation, you're just replicating something that's already been done. Where's the art in that? Where is the dialogue, the wit, the innovation?

The fact is there isn't any of that, and that's what bothers me about copy cats. And when you drag Paco (the dog, not the company) into something, then you make it personal.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is this company known for making leashes?

ana poe said...

:)

Anonymous said...

I had the same thoughts when I saw the pictures.

Jessica said...

People are so lame, so sorry this is happening to you again. We have had 7 people copy our dog walking website word for word, 6 changed it when asked thankfully. I know how violated we felt when that happened. You'll always have the upper hand though-your're the creative one with talent!

anon... said...

Just be happy her website sucks.

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ana poe said...

Negative comments from anonymous posters will be deleted. I smell a troll.

Anonymous said...

I thought the same. I'll say, however, that my dogs will stay happily in original paco attire.

Anonymous said...

this person on flickr looks like they are also into making your designs
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29665779@N03/4199669913/sizes/l/

Natalie Kirk said...

In the eventual future when I live in a place where dogs are welcome, Paco's Collars will be my collar of choice.

Anonymous said...

little miss copy cat is at it again. she stole designs from my wifes photo acct and just posted the exat collar my wife made that she has been working on with a client for almost a month.

it wasnt released yet b/c it was a presint for her husband and now the client is upset because it was a redesign of a old pictir with changes to the big s[pots.

if she was going to mak vintig collars she should have done her own reseatcch instead of stealing the pictirs in my wifes acct

anybody can make vintig collars but seems suspicious that she is doing it now after my wife has been making them

Fran said...
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