Artists and lawyers

I hired a law firm a month ago. I wrote about it here and here.

On Monday, I spent two hours at a notary public office authenticating another bunch of screenshots of websites where my design was sold illegally. It will be used in court.

I thought it was unusual to sue someone over the use of your art. Before I talked with a lawyer in December, I hadn’t even been sure if my art was protected by law. Now I am much more informed about my rights.

And it looks like other artists are too! This past month I talked with others and it turns out that some of them have attorneys too. There’s greater awareness among artists now. Some have considered hiring lawyers, but are afraid of costs, and I understand that. I was worried too, at first. But my lawyer is excellent, and thanks to her negotiation skills, some of the sellers have already paid the compensation, so my legal fees are completely covered.

I talk about it with any artist who wants to know because it’s my hope that more and more artists will consider protecting their art through legal means.

One thing that surprised me after I hired a lawyer and we contacted the illegal sellers and asked them to pay the compensation — is that so many of them think that they did nothing wrong. In their minds stealing art is not a crime, some claim that it’s barely a minor offense. I wonder what their possible defense will be in court.