YIKES.

I won't rant too terribly long about it, but I wanted to point out some ways that you can have an impact on this issue.

My artwork was stolen and is for sale on Temu, Shein and other online sellers.

With every advancement in tech, there will inevitably be some downsides.
AI can do absolutely amazing things! In fact as I write this email, there is a box I can click that says "Edit with AI" which would help improve my text with suggested phrases and most likely better grammar. If spell check wasn't a thing, It would probably look like a third grader wrote this.

So, I appreciate these advancements, but as an artist there's much to be concerned about.

However, nothing will stop the wave of AI using art from HI (Human intelligence). It's just the way of the future. We kinda have to embrace the fact that it is never going away but as artists we can keep using our unique, creative imaginations to make art from the soul.

That's one thing AI will never have. A soul. A heart. Memories. Nostalgia. Relationships. Friendships. Love. Bowel movements.

But I digress. The real issue here is that people from the other side of the world saw my art online, and copied it. They most likely used AI within programs like photoshop to duplicate the art and remove the background from my product photos so that they can have a clean image to print. And boy have they sold A LOT of it too.

Over 10,000 copies to be exact. Ouch.

All I can do is use their procedures to report the copyright infringement through their websites. I also used this customer service chat and the representative, Dana White, assured me the issue would be escalated to the appropriate team. Pretty sure Dana is AI. 

Anyway, here is something COOL I learned. And yes, I realize the irony that this tool is a tech advancement that is most likely AI...

If you are looking to purchase an item online, be it art, furniture, clothing or whatever, you can see if it is available elsewhere online by using "google lens" within the Google Chrome Browser. Here's how:

1. Find the item you like and want and NEED.
2. Right click on the image and select "Search with Google Lens"
4. A side bar will pop up with links to places online where the image is found. You can attempt to find the original creator this way!

For example here is what I see when I right click on my Dog Sympathy Card image:


Generally speaking, if the art is on TEMU and also an Etsy shop, the art was probably created by that Etsy seller and not by TEMU.

You can click on the Etsy seller's listing and look around in their shop.

Etsy recently started requiring sellers to be transparent about where their items are made and if they make them themselves, or if they purchase the items elsewhere and resell them. I LOVE THIS.

In my shop you can see here that I make the item with help from my local printer:




Hopefully soon, the listings will be taken down, but in the meantime I wanted to spread news of this issue. It's hard to know if something you like is stolen art so by using some research skills you can avoid supporting people who are.... jerks. 

Thanks for reading and for supporting my art!

I have so many new cards coming soon. Stay tuned friends!

Hugs,
Anna Fox
 

P.S. - I am adding the below image to my listings on Etsy.
What do you think?? Someday I will have professional photos taken...