I have noticed that a number of stamp companies are selling stamps rendered from free vectors (AKA clipart, PS brushes, Illustrator files, Encapsulated Postscript images, etc.) found on the web. I don't know why, but this strikes me as weird and perhaps even a little disingenuous. (I also know that a number of "big-time" stamp companies simply buy images from the stock photo sites. Still weird [a bit] but at least the illustrator is getting paid.)
What's funny is how some companies have produced and sold some of the same free images (e.g. a silhouette stamp of a flower). Am I just being naive (or worse, dumb)? Here's how I thought most stamp companies worked:
- A company owner (BTW, we are not talking about the big stamp companies you would find at Michael's) would create or commission a stamp (set).
- As necessary, they pay the artist outright or a portion of the proceeds from the sale of that image.
- That company owns that stamp (and I would not see it elsewhere).
Can you let me know what you think or simply vote in the poll on my sidebar? Hmm...I'm perplexed...
P.S. Printed off a free image the other day that is exactly the same as that of one of my PSFs. It strikes me since a number of us travel in the same "circles" (i.e., the same people tend to visit and comment on a similar collection of blogs), I'm worried that people would think "Whoa, Allison just stole that image". I didn't though...I just have Adobe Illustrator and can manipulate and print it off! Honest!
5 comments:
Allison, woah, I thought maybe the thread was haunted. I tried to comment a couple times and my entire computer locked up. Eery.. ;)
Anyway, I know that you can buy stock art and pay extra (ie: through istockphoto.com) to have a commercial license that would allow to you to resell the image/derivative of it.
A long time ago I noticed a very popular stamp company came out with a set that featured a flower that is a FREE brush in Illustrator - I SWEAR it is exactly the same. Each and every loop, line, etc.
I always wondered about that. Was a bit fishy to me.
Maybe Illustrator bought it from some stock art site, though. Not sure.
I haven't seen any other stamp companies that offer the same images and others, but now I will be on the lookout. ;)
well now you have me thinking!!! I have not come across this, but maybe I am just not that observant!! Does not seem fair to me at all, I thought the value behind stamps was the unique images you would get..not able to get anywhere else.....hhmmm...
I've seen the same thing and also companies that copy other company's images and modify them ever so slightly, and resell them.
I agree with you, Allison...
You are so right Allison! I would never want to use clip art or an image that can be bout elsewhere as a company owner. But.... one problem I have come across as a stamp company owner is that I have been "ripped off" by illustrators.
When I purchase illustrations I ask for original work and require full copyrights be signed over. Once the artist is paid for the work they no longer have any rights to it. I pay the agreed upon price that the artist thinks this is worth.
Imagine my surprise when I found my images being sold as "digi stamps"!! I contacted the illustrator and after a few long legal discussions she pulled the images. I thougth it was kind of funny when I contacted her the first thing she said was "How did you find the website?" I don't think some of the artists realize how close digital scrapbooking ties into stamping. The internet really makes the world such a small place!!
I also purchases "illustrations" that were "clip art". I had no idea. I hired an illustrator to do a few specific "original" images. Paid him and later found the same images around the web. As a company owner I trust when I am paying some one for their art that they have created it. I have no way of verifying this information until I later find the images I thought I owned spread accross the web. I pulled the "clip art" from the website FYI ; )
Just thought I would throw that out there. Some companies may be purchasing clip art or they could be being ripped off and not know it : )
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