Tempest by Paul Christianson

One of the great things about art is that it allows the viewer to experience the world through the eyes of the artist, to a certain extent. Each artist renders their interpretation of the environment around them in a different way, allowing the same scene or event to be viewed and captured in as different ways as there are artists who have captured it.

Since artists make their living from sharing these interpretations with others, and because of the time, effort, and cost invested into the creation of their works, there are many laws relating to intellectual property and copyright designed to protect the artist from having another person make profit off of their vision and effort.

When someone uses another person’s image or design, and blatantly markets it as their own creation, they not only deprive the artist of their chance to make a living selling their art, but it also associates that artwork with any other dubious marketing activities that the thief is involved in.

When it is found out that someone has infringed on the copyrights of an artist, that artist has the justified right to seek damages from the person who tried to make a quick buck by stealing the efforts, investments, and vision of another person. When it comes to art, if you didn’t deign or create it, you can’t claim it as your own and sell it.