Artists Should Start with Cease-and-Desist Letters to Help Stop Unauthorized Use of Their Works

As the Internet allows for lesser-known artists to reach a wider audience, many artists are finding that their works have been transformed into new mediums, without their authorization, to be sold on third-party websites for profit.  Without clear understanding of their rights or access to legal counsel, artists may lose out on profits and have their goodwill unknowingly damaged with consumers. 

New Mediums Do Not Avoid Copyright Infringement Claims

Thanks to the widespread reach of the Internet, artists are struggling with the unauthorized sale of their works more than ever before.  Due to the pervasive nature of the Internet, which allows users to save works they have seen online with a simple point-and-click, artists have found themselves both benefitting and being adversely affected by the web.  

While the Internet does allow artists to reach a larger audience if they choose to upload images of their work to the worldwide web, it also opens these artists up to potential infringement.  Many artists have found their works transformed to other mediums and sold on third-party websites such as Amazon or Amazon’s foreign counterparts in other countries. 

Artist Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to Stop Sales of Unauthorized Work Used in Different Medium

For instance, Christine P. Wyatt, a Florida artist known for her pastel and ocean-themed works, had to send a cease-and-desist letter to a third-party seller that was selling copies of her work that had been transformed, without authorization, to be sold in ceramic tile form.  The owner of the company selling the tiles, Janice Qiu, said she was not aware that Wyatt was the actual artist, and had actually received the tiles from a factory in China.  

While Qiu said that she would remove the pieces per Wyatt’s request, she noted that it was impossible for her to monitor whether the pieces she receives are properly authorized because she gets more than 100 images per year.  And even if Qiu was motivated to do such work, it is often impossible to certify the authenticity or origin of a particular piece through simple searches on the Internet.

Artists Should Monitor for Unauthorized Use of Their Work and Send C&D Letters to Help Mitigate Potential Damages

In addition to simply missing out on profit that would be due to them, artists also run the risk of the unauthorized piece damaging their reputation.  In this case, for instance, Wyatt took issue with the quality of the reprint in ceramic form.  She thought the reprints were badly done as they had lost much detail and were colored entirely differently from their original muted color scheme.   Similarly, if third-party websites end up bilking the consumers or fail to provide proper customer service, that negative interaction may adversely impact the artist that had nothing to do with that sale.  

As such, it would behoove artists to consult experienced legal counsel in order to understand their rights as well as to have proper cease-and-desist letters drafted.  Many artists have noted that properly drafted C&D letters have worked worldwide to have works removed from big sellers such as Amazon and their foreign counterparts in India and other countries.

Key Takeaways Regarding the Importance of Cease-and-Desist Letters for Artists

In the end, it is important to note that the client base in which cease-and-desists letters can be utilized is ever-growing as the Internet allows lesser-known artists to reach larger audiences.  As such, artists are learning that having properly drafted cease-and-desist letters can:

• have their works removed from infringing sites;

• help maintain their rights if challenged in courts;

• be used to challenge multiple different mediums; and

• challenge defenses of fair use.

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