When I started posting about similar images (see this post plus the links inside it) I had a simple set of goals: To mention all the various aspects, while not having it take over this blog. Turns out you can’t have the former, without forgetting about the latter for a while. There is yet another area where recreating work done by an artist seems to be very common: Advertizing. Here are just two recent examples (there are countless more): Corey Presha just blogged about Thomas Allen getting copied by an ad agency (make sure to follow the link to Allen’s original blog post). And a reader (thank you!) sent me Denis Darzacq’s La Chute getting copied by this Cat Earthmovers Campaign.
Read more »

I have a pretty good idea how many people read this blog, but it’s hard for me to tell who those readers are. From the emails I receive, I know of many photographers following the blog, and I have some ideas about/from gallerists, photo editors, or museum curators. The group I literally I know next to nothing about are photo collectors. Do they follow this - or other - blog(s)? I don’t know. For me, this is a bit unfortunate, since I often talk to people to get different perspectives of issues that come up. Getting the input from photographers, gallerists, and/or other bloggers usually means that I get to see different sides of the same story; and I think there is a lot to be gained from seeing more than one side.
Read more »

There’s a lengthy article in the LA Times about the ongoing conflict between photographers Sze Tsung Leong and David Burdeny, which details how this actually involved, various previously unknown details, and opinions by various people, some involved in the case, others not. If you’re interested in the case, go and read it. Another must-read is a blog post by Sérgio Muñoz Sarmiento about the case. Sérgio maintains a blog about art and law, a must-read for anyone interested in copyright and/or fair use and especially about the various legal cases in front of judges. I know about copyright and fair use, but I actually had no idea how a case like Burdeny vs. Leong would/might play out, so I asked Sérgio about it. It will be interesting to see how this case is going to evolve.
Read more »

A final (?) follow-up to my recent series of posts on similar photography (1, 2, 3, 4): This subject matter obviously can only benefit from the input of as many active photographers as possible, so I decided to email a few (I wasn’t aiming for a representative sample, whatever that might actually be) and ask “As a photographer, how do you define plagiarism? Where do similarities end, where does plagiarism begin? How can we approach the issue, given that some images might be too similar for some people, whereas other people insist that similarities are unavoidable in this day and age?” Here is what I got back. My thanks to all of them for taking the time and willingness to share their thoughts with the readers of this blog! If anyone wants to add their voice, email me, and I’m happy to have the post grow in size.
Read more »

PDN has more about the copycat issue they raised yesterday. I wasn’t going to spend more time writing about it, but I’ll admit I’m surprised about all those people using the tourist-spot defense in the comments on PDN’s blog. Here’s why.
Read more »

PDN reports on a case of images being very, very similar, involving photographer David Burdeny, various of whose most recent images look like almost exact copies of works by Sze Tsung Leong or Elger Esser. These images indeed look like a case of similar being too similar (I mentioned Burdeny in that post, but unfortunately, I missed finding these very similar images). (Updated below)
Read more »

Another follow-up, this one to my post about fair use. Here is a post about sculptors who produced a piece out of a photo by Alex Brown. I actually knew of that case, Alex had emailed me before I wrote my fair-use post. In my response to Alex’s email I wrote him that I considered this a case of plagiarism. That said, here is a suggestion for how to solve this particular case: Have the sculptors add Alex as a co-creator of the work and have them give him a share of whatever money they might make (if they make any). This solution might actually work for a lot of similar cases, and it would satisfy those who think it’s obvious plagiarism (the creative work of the photographer would be preserved, since he would be given credit for his work), and those who think it’s not (because the derived art work - if we want to call it that - would just remain part of the art world).
Read more »

This one’s from Ian Elsom who wrote in an email: “In the end, though, a photographer’s honesty and integrity are at the core of any Too Similar issue.”
Read more »

My thoughts on how to approach photography by different artists that looks very similar generated a higher than usual number of emails. I am always happy about emails with feedback, and I seem to have put my finger on something that many people have been concerned about.
Read more »

If you have been following this blog for a while you will remember this mosaic from one of my earlier posts, where I tried to tackle the problem of plagiarism. How can one decide when to cry foul? What is a good way to approach this complex? I’m not sure I have a better answer now than three and half years ago, but I’ve thought about it more; and it’s worthwhile to come back to this topic.
Read more »

If you’re not immensely bored by the Fairey saga (you know, where a hipster/amazing artist took/stole someone else’s photograph to transform/convert/rip off it into a political campaign poster/an amazing piece of art/an utterly shallow piece of nonsense - your picks - and then got sued), here is the latest update: The photographer who took the photo now claims he owns the copyright and not AP. It’s hard to predict what will happen next; but I’m sure there will be new “developments” for a while.
Read more »

Picking up a thread from my earlier discussion, I occasionally get email telling me about a photographer who has done the same work (or something very similar) as someone featured on the blog, often with the implication that someone is ripping someone else off. For me, the issue usually is not about whether there is a rip-off going on (especially since two people, in different countries and without actual contact with each other, can easily create the same kind of work), but, instead, which of the work is more interesting. I think it might help if I gave an example.
Read more »