I am going to tell a little tale about plagiarism, one that has already been mostlly told by Allie Brosh. I am going to use her images to tell my tale because they present a dramatized version of how I’m feeling at present so perfectly.

[See kids? That is a little something I shall henceforth call not taking credit for another's work.]

On Thursday (May 22) I decided to head over to my good friend Kayla’s house. She’s cool. I decided to flip through the stack of graduation announcements they had received from various people, just for fun. Imagine my surprise when I saw MY design on one of them…. but I didn’t actually make the announcement.

The gears in my brain started jamming up. I didn’t quite understand how that could have happened; did I forget that I designed this person’s announcement? No, of course not. So that means….

*Cue dramatic music* SOMEONE STOLE MY DESIGN. This was my first reaction:

After lots of screaming and saying “WHAT IS HAPPENING?!??!?” repeatedly something else started happening. Adrenaline started coursing through my veins; my lungs started running on overdrive; my heartbeat was approximately 1 billion beats/minute… you get the idea. I was pumped but NOT in a good way. Not like a football player ready for a big game; that suggests I would be excited for what was happening. No, I was more like on that one episode of Sparticus where they kill everyone in sight because they’re so royally enraged. Here’s what the little girl in my soul turned into:

I need to tell a little side story to explain how the people got my design in the first place. I was doing contract work for Darlene’s Printing and Promotions and the owner saw MY announcement design; she asked if she could use a few samples. I agreed and gave her a copy of the announcement shown below. After I thought about it, however, I didn’t feel comfortable with Darlene’s using my designs in case someone ordered my exact design. The owner agreed and also agreed to take care of it. I did not assume that meant I had to go up and physically take my announcements away from them because she said she’d make sure no one would order my design. Okay, back to the story.

So there I was, pacing around Kayla’s living room like a crazy person! I was screaming and jumping up and down and looking incredulously from Kayla to the ripped-off design in my hand. I wanted to speed in to Darlene’s Printing and Promotions and tell them they better pay me for my design. Just then I heard Kayla’s mom and brother, Julie and Justin, walking in through the garage… I was still screaming at this point. After explaining to Julie what happened, she explained to me that if I went in there in my blind rage I would look as unprofessional as they are. I knew she was right, but that little girl inside me thought:

I wanted to throw down! I wanted to tell them exactly what I thought of their business practices and obvious lack of work ethic! But I knew she was right so I spent the next several hours calming myself down… and restraining myself from driving into Darlene’s. After leaving Kayla’s house I went to Kathy’s house; she always knows what to do and keeps a level head about everything. She gave me fabulous advice and I spent the rest of the evening preparing for yesterday, the day I would confront the owner about what I hoped was a simple misunderstanding.

Let me tell you what I thought would happen. I thought they would say something to the effect of “Oh golly! We didn’t know that was someone else’s design! We thought our typesetter created it! Oh jeez we’ll never do that again, we’re so sorry! Blah blah blah please don’t tell everyone that we suck!” That would have made me happy and I probably would have continued to do business there.

This story was full of surprises for me: the owner told me that they wouldn’t be able to stay in business if they didn’t do that. If someone brings in a graduation announcement that doesn’t have a watermark on it, OF COURSE they’ll copy it as close as they can! You have to “make a sale!” Yes, they said that to me. Not only did they not pay me for my design, they told me they do that all the time. The owner proceeded to guarantee me that I would not stay in business as long as I refused to adopt such a business principle [i.e., being willing to copy others' designs to make money]. Please let me clarify. There is a difference between inspiration and using someone else’s design entirely.

I’m sure you can guess what I think this is:

[The faces & last names are blurred out because I want to make sure the people in these designs knew that I have nothing against them AT ALL, IN ANY CAPACITY. I understand readers may and/or probably know who they are, but their identity is not the point. It is not their fault this happened and I want to make that clear. The point is that the designs are so strikingly similar. Okay, just so we're clear on that. Do you like how I even cited Darlene's for making the announcement on the right even though I believe it's my design?]

I asked the owner about copyright issues. She proceeded to explain that only people who register their designs have copyright protection. I thought I was defeated but I tried not to let her know that. I took my copy of Logan’s announcement from them and left the place. This morning, not convinced that I didn’t have the copyright on my own designs, I checked out a bit of trivia Kayla’s brother Justin had given me: since I published them on my website, I owned the copyright.

The United States Copyright Office’s website proves that to be correct HERE. YAAAAY FOR JUSTIN!!! I highlighted my favorite point from that link in this screen shot from the United States Copyright Office’s website:

I feel like some justice should be served; this is metaphorically how the little girl in my heart feels now:

And here is what I actually think of plagiarism in general:

Anyway, that is my story of how plagiarism blackened my soul for a spell. I am still quite disgusted about all this but I don’t think I’m going to do anything about it.

As far as Darlene’s is concerned, I cannot do business or work in an environment where this is considered to be normal business practice. I would not and do not like to have my designs stolen, so I don’t ever want to steal anyone else’s. Ever. If you think this is okay, by all means go there to do your business. I’m not saying, “Don’t go to Darlene’s! They suck! They might steal your designs!” Those are the things I am NOT saying. If you read this and are still okay with what happened then by all means, go to Darlene’s! Of course, they did not do this specifically to me to hurt me, and they say they did not know it was my design. What I AM saying, however, is that I believe they used my designs without my permission, refuse to pay me or give me any sort of credit or a LEGITIMATE apology, and I am not happy about it…. at all.

Here is what is most important out of all this and why I posted this in the first place:

What I have learned from this experience:

  • Citing sources is very, very important. People care about their work.
  • “If you want to be treated like a professional you have to act like one.”
  • Publishing my work online gives me the copyright to them whether others believe that or not. I have proof.
  • Sticking to your principles feels better than caving to shady business practices.
  • There is a difference between a “typesetter” and a “designer & artist.” I consider myself the latter.
  • Kathy Wilkins and Julie Allison probably saved me from feeling and looking like a big dumb idiot.
  • I will never compromise my integrity or the integrity of my business in order to “make a sale.” If you come to me and want me to copy someone else’s work exactly or even mostly, I will have to decline. HOWEVER, I pride myself on being creative enough that I won’t ever have to do that and you will love my other designs!

The point of this is not to bash Darlene’s. I just wanted to tell my story to explain that I take unauthorized use of my designs VERY seriously. Thank you and I hope you check out Hyperbole and a Half, too, because she’s hilarious.

xoxoxoxo

Jurra

P.S. – You see that there are a few subtle changes? Allow me to direct you to another screen shot that says it is still my design. For the actual link, click here.

No, Darlene’s is not claiming copyright on my design. But they are claiming the design they created is theirs because they changed it from mine. According to this, however. . . . .

[Updated: When I came in to confront the owner of Darlene's, she told me that they paid me to do the exact same thing that they did to me. This, in a sense, is true. They handed me images of a design and asked me to duplicate it. When I agreed, however, I asked a fellow employee if we were allowed to do this. When she replied that she believed we could, I thought nothing more of it; why shouldn't I believe her? I actually believe she did not know we were NOT allowed to do that. A second reason I believed her: I thought it was another form of stock art that companies were allowed to use. You see, some companies make their money by creating art that is specifically FOR others' use; quite often they are vector images that come in a book or on a CD and are for anyone's use. I thought these designs I was recreating were like those. Just so we're clear on that part of the story, too.]

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