Hi Mim Golub ~

Without
reading anyone else's reply/opinion I will first write MY opinion and reply to
the question/opinion you put forth on the topic. I think our access to print,
dance, music, images, art, photography, all being a form of art, has
drastically changed in the last 10 years as the growth and sophistication on
the internet has grown, further development of available technologies, apps and
programs....finally, users today are far more competent in it's use more than
10 years ago. With that being said, there is a huge advantage today for an
artist to enjoy and appreciate other artists work, whether it be on You Tube,
Behance or Flickr. We are all artists to one degree or another...our gift
should be shared but it should also be respected and not stolen with a signature
smudged out and replaced by another.

It often goes unspoken in our world that we just don't take someone else’s work

and insinuate/imply that it is our own....I think most artists just don't do it.....I think most artists

try to think about how they would feel is it happened to them , we need to share and we love

to appreciate what others have to offer...so I think most consider this a breach of their fellow

artists, and a  un-written rule and a breach of our own integrity. It's theft....BUT, there are
many occasions where someone has used an image to promote a cause or paste it in a

school assignment collage and it is done innocently.

I still think there are many among us who don't even realize they really could actually be held culpable for using an image in anyway.....I didn't. I own an online business and the web desingner I hired to create the pages of my online business  website actually used a copywrighted image. About 2-3 years later the legal owner of that one image (which I consider graphic-art) had thier attorney send me a cease and desist letter and furthermore demanded $18,000.00. At first I was in shock, thinking wait, I didn't do this, my web designer did.....in the end, I was liable and had to pay, and later I was able to collect the re-imbursemnt of $18,000 from the web design company.  The comapny also admitted to me that they had fired several designers who did not take watermark/copyrighted images seriously and they had other customers with similar compalints.

So, getting back on track with re-using art.....if it's not protected with a copyright, watermark, etc....it is vunerable.....as an artist I think we should respect our own, give credit where credit is due and know for certain if the works we are using are possibly  copywrighted , watermarked or not  should #1 )know how to detmine the fact (photo software) to protect themselves and avoid using the image, #2)  give written credit on any pieces or part of the work if from someone else's time/talent and efforts.

My online experience was shocking because I was nieve in many ways, I put a task in the hands of a highly reccommended web design company they didn't really take image copywriting seriously but what's worse, I put the trust of all that in their hands and I was the one liable and still had to pay.

I could be wrong....but is there any mailart today copyrighted/watermarked ?

thanks for Sharing

Deanna Fountain

dedeanna2001@yahoo.com

http://dedeannasimplepleasures.blogspot.com/

Palm Desert, California, USA

Adoro reciclar, reutilizar, transformar...enfim, arte sustentável...

...Sem culpa nem preconceito...

Abraços a todas e todos...

Visitem meu blog...

http://anamartaustin.blogspot.com.br/

I think it's okay as long as for personal use no exchange for money. As long as original artist is acknowledge it's fine I do a lot of collage and my work consist of paper ephemera so can be difficult to say who the work is from.

There's the complication of rubber stamps and angel policy. Best to check first.