A couple of weeks ago—January 19th, to be exact—I logged into my blog analytics website to check on a traffic spike that I had noticed on this blog.  While I don’t check my stats daily, I do try to take a look at least once a week to see what sites have been driving traffic to mine and whether there has been any unusual activity. The extra traffic ended up coming from a Polish blog that had linked to one of my posts and is completely unrelated to the rest of this tale.  But while I was investigating my extra traffic, I discovered something else.

I noticed a link leading to my site that was unfamiliar to me.  I decided to check it out and discovered that it was a hootsuite link originating from someone’s timeline.

Since I always love finding new bloggers to read, I clicked over to see what this person’s blog was about and that was when I entered the Twilight Zone.

On first glance, this individual’s blog wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.  She runs a Book Review blog and clearly has a sizable following, but the topic (YA novels) isn’t one that particularly holds my interest.  I surfed her site a bit longer and was about to “X” out when a link on her menu caught my attention.  “Building a Better Blog” it said.  That made me giggle at first, because, as many of you know, my good blogging buddy Vahni has a similarly named “Build a Better Blog” page on her blog.  “What a funny coincidence,” I thought, and opened the page.

That was the last time I laughed.

Right away, four blog posts jumped off the page at me.  They sounded just like posts written by myself and a few friends.  Still, despite the similarity in the titles, I thought “oh, that has to be some sort of a strange coincidence. I am sure the content is completely different.”

I was wrong. WAY wrong.

Wait. What?!  She Stole Your Content?

Yup. That is exactly what she did.  And not just mine.  Vahni of Grit and Glamour, Fajr of Stylish Thought and Jamillah of Made to Travel were all impacted by this, though Jamillah doesn’t even know yet (we got your back, friend!).

This post covers the first half of the story… it addresses how the plagiarized posts were discovered and how Vahni, Fajr and I were able to prove our content was stolen using screencaps and IP address information.  It will also address why access to applications that measure and analyze blog traffic are a must-have for every blogger.

And for the nitty-gritty on how we approached this fight—and won—please read Vahni’s post, B*tch stole my content! Plagiarism: How to Deal with a Thief.  She also provides tips and resources on how to deal with this situation if it ever happens to you.

[Please note: the screencaps below have been censored to protect the identity of this blogger.  Although I would love to out her to the world for the thief she is, we came to a resolution that includes protecting her privacy.]

So, what exactly happened?

Let me walk you through what I discovered.

First up, we have the original posts:

• Exhibit A: Klout—What it is and Why It Matters.  Publish date:  March 9, 2011 on grit and glamour
• Exhibit B: Guest Post: How to Not be a Savage Blogger—“Follow Back” Alternatives for New Bloggers. Publish date: June 8, 2011 on this site.
• Exhibit C: 10 Things about your Blog That Drive Me Crazy. Publish date: April 8, 2011 on this site.
• Exhibit D: 10 Popular Blogging Myths Debunked. Publish date: October 5, 2011 on this site.
• Exhibit E: Introduction: So You Want to Leave Blogger for WordPress? Publish date: November 8, 2010 on this site.
• Exhibit F: 10 Things I Wish I Had Known About Blogging,  Publish date: April 6, 2011 on Stylish Thought.

And here we have the plagiarized versions, each of which was published at a later date than the originals listed above (links to the full size images are provided below each preview):

Remarkable similarities, no?

I couldn’t believe what I had discovered.  Could this blogger actually have plagiarized our content?  I didn’t want to believe it.  It couldn’t be true.

This woman is a respected part of the blogging community.  She is a Book Blogger, of all things, so she knows all about plagiarism and even wrote a post discussing the topic on her own site.

Surely she wouldn’t intentionally steal the hard work of others and pass it off as her own?

I didn’t want to believe it, yet the evidence was staring back at me from my computer monitor.

“I think we’ve been plagiarized…. sort of”

I knew I had to contact Vahni and share my discovery with her immediately.  She had a right to know and I still needed confirmation from someone that I wasn’t imagining the whole thing.

“… I SWEAR this woman is copying our content and passing off a slightly-tweaked version as her own.  That does NOT make me happy.  Am I over-reacting?  Do you see the similarities as well?

I know it isn’t a copy/paste job but it IS a form of plagiarism, isn’t it?”

V’s response confirmed what I had known all along.  This blogger had stolen our content, re-worked it ever-so-slightly, and passed it off as her own.

Here is just one sampling of what she had done:

Detective Mode: Collecting the Evidence

So, what should you do when you discover someone has plagiarised your content in this way?

Before you confront them, you should gather as much evidence as possible to support your case.

• Screencap, screencap, screencap!  As you can see from this post, and from V’s counterpart on her site, screencaps are a must if you want to prove the posts existed.
• Gather IP evidence!  Hands-down, the best way to prove a blogger stole your authentic content and passed it off as their own is by proving they visited your website.  They can claim ignorance all they want, but if you have proof they were on your site they are caught red-handed.

So… the question becomes, how do you prove someone visited your website?

Blog Analytics Explained

At the start of this post, I shared I discovered this blogger’s website because I came across an unknown link on my analytics software program.  In all honesty, making the discovery was a complete fluke.  Had I waited a day or two, I likely never would have seen the incoming link, so I never would have found her site. However, when it comes to investigating possible cases of plagiarism, application that measure and analyze your blog traffic are the absolute key to proving your case.

What exactly are Blog Analytics?

• Web-based tracking: Google Analytics, Statcounter and performancing metrics (pmetrics) are just three of the countless website applications that can track visits to your blog.   Though wordpress and blogger each have built-in versions, the data they provide is limited.  I highly recommend using an outside application like the ones I mentioned. Each has its positives and negatives: I recommend you try multiple sites until you find the one that fits your needs best.  For me, pmetrics is the surefire winner!
• How do I set this up? Set-up is generally straightforward: sign-up for an account, add the tracking code to your blog, and let the web-based software do the work.
• What type of information can I see?  The data collected by a good tracking website goes beyond simple visitor numbers. You can also see:
• Average time a visitor spends on your blog
• Bounce rate
• Incoming links (where a visit originated)
• Which sites are driving the most traffic to your site
• Outbound links (where the visitor exited your page)
• Actions (how many pages/links a visitor interacted with)
• Total time spent on your blog
• Search terms that led people to your site
• Which of your pages are getting the most traffic
• Who is currently-right this second-visiting your site/what they are looking at
• Where your visitors are from

How does that translate to catching a content thief?

1. Identify the thief:  Find out as much as you can about the owner of the blog in question.  I did a Google search on the bloggers first name and Blog Name, and that led me to her LinkedIn page with her full name and location.

2. Identify the most recent known visit to your blog:  I knew Ms. Thief had visited my site via the hootsuite link mentioned above.  Using that information, along with the knowledge of her location, I was able to isolate her IP address in pmetrics.  If you don’t know the most recent visit date, you can use their location as a starting point instead to try to discover their visits.  It may take some time, but it is worth the effort.

3. Isolate the IP address and identify ALL visits to your blog:  Once I had isolated the IP address, the next step was to identify how many times she had visited my blog. Turns out Ms. Thief visited this site 29 times, with the first visit dating back to September 23, 2011.

4. Identify specific visits to the plagiarized posts: Start drilling-down into the visits you discover to see if you can find any correlation between the dates of visits and the dates any plagiarized posts were published.

        In this case, the above screencap clearly shows that:

• Ms. Thief visited my “10 Things About Your Blog That Drive me Crazy” post (published by me on April 8, 2011), on both November 11th and November 12th, 2011
• These dates correlate with the date the plagiarized post, “10 Things I Dislike About Your Blog Post”, was published on THE THIEF’s BLOG (November 12, 2011)

5. Gather all of the evidence, screencap everything, and document your proof!  Once everything is documented, the Thief can’t deny visiting your blog.  Well, that isn’t true. They can try to deny it.  And, in our case, Ms. Thief did deny it. Repeatedly. But you have the proof that they are lying.  And that can’t be denied.

How We Fought a Plagiarist—And Won

This is the point where I turn over the rest of the story to Vahni.  She will tell you exactly what we did to find a resolution to this problem.  She’ll share all of the drama—the lies, the denials, the contradictions—and all of our frustrations.

The ending to this story is a happy one—and that wouldn’t have been possible without Vahni and Fajr.  And quite a few glasses of wine.

As for Ms. Thief, her last words to me were:

“I apologize for my actions and for the disruption I have caused all of you. This has been a very eye-opening experience for me. I assure you… You, nor anyone else, will never need to contact me regarding this issue ever again.”

I hope that is true. I really do.

And to anyone thinking about stealing someone else’s content and passing it off as your own work: think twice before you go through with it.  Not only are you cheating the person you are stealing from, you are cheating yourself.

UPDATE #5, February 1, 2011 A few minutes ago I saw the tweet below by @thecoveted. It looks like everything has been resolved! I am thrilled it all worked out for Jennine, and want to thank everyone for banding to together and showing their support. If anything, this unfortunate blog war showed that fashion bloggers – as a community – stick together and support one another. When a fashion blogger says “I got your back”, they undeniably mean it!

UPDATE #3, January 27, 2011: Please, please read Jennine Jacob’s own post and response to this ongoing blog war on her site, the REAL The Coveted, in her post entitled “Response from TheCoveted [dot] com : Don’t talk about us or we’ll sue.“

UPDATE #4, January 27, 2011: Please consider showing your support for the-coveted.com by signing this petition which was sponsored by Rachel of The Greyest Ghost and Poochie of Shoe Daydreams. Click the link or sign it using the widget to the right.

How many of you have seen the 1992 film Single White Female?  The premise is fairly simple: Allie and Hedy become roommates.  As their friendship grows, Hedy begins to act more and more like Allie.  Eventually, Hedy decides she wants to be Allie and the craziness commences.

We have all heard the saying “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, right?  In some instances it certainly can be, while in others, as illustrated above, it is quite the opposite.

In human relationships this is extreme behavior is categorized as a personality disorder and is often referred to as “SWF Syndrome.”   In the world of blogging, however, I call this type of behavior COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.

There is no arguing that copyright infringement and SWF Personality Syndrome are two different things.  I am not trying to say they are the same.  What I am trying to say is that there are parallels that can be made between the two:

• In the case of SWF Syndrome, an individual’s identity is stolen.
• In certain instances of copyright/trademark infringement, a brand or blogger identity is stolen.

Still not convinced?

Exhibit A:

The Coveted, founded by Jennine Jacob in 2007:

Exhibit B:

The Coveted*, founded by Erin Kleinberg and Stephanie Mark in 2011:

(*note: I will refer to them as The UN-Coveted for the duration of this post for easy differentiation.  And because Jennine’s The Coveted is the only real The Coveted in my opinion):

Obviously,  The UN-Coveted has not copied Jennine’s content, so no copyright infringement in the typical sense has occurred.  However, as a fashion-focused blog, they have stolen Jennine Jacob’s Brand.   The Coveted is undeniably her creation.  It is her brand and her online identity, plain and simple.  And The UN-Coveted has stolen that brand and identity.

UPDATED January 25, 2011: Read the Jennine’s personal statement about this issue on The Racked – Blog Wars: The-coveted.com vs. Thecoveted.com Naming Controversy.

Jennine has spent the last few years not only establishing The Coveted, but also carving out a name for herself as one of the most-respected and influential fashion bloggers in the world.   Shortly after establishing The Coveted, she launched Independent Fashion Bloggers (IFB).  This online community was the first of its kind (to my knowledge) and is undoubtedly one of the most valuable resources available to fashion bloggers today.  The first IFB Evolving Influence Conference, which focused on the future of fashion blogging, was held in February 2010.  The tremendous success of the conference resulted to a second being held in September 2010, and now a third to be held in February 2011.  Most recently she launched a second personal blog entitled eat, sleep, denim.   All of this began with The Coveted.

It is clear, in my mind, that the individuals behind The UN-Coveted are exploiting Jennine’s brand.  By using the name “The Coveted” they are undeniably receiving visitors meant for Jennine’s site.  How do I know this?  Because that is exactly how I came across them.   Although The Coveted is a site I follow by RSS, I manually typed in “www.thecoveted.com” in my browser window last night and BAM., there I was… looking at the wrong site.  This is what happened next:

Me, talking to myself (don’t judge, you know you do it to!):

• Wow, Jennine totally revamped her site again.  Looks really different.
  
• After exploring the home page some more: Hmmm… not sure how I feel about this new approach.
  
• I don’t get it, this doesn’t seem like her content. Click on About Page.
• WHAT?!?!  How can these people be using her Brand?  Isn’t that stealing her identity?!
  

So… there you have it.  The UN-Coveted is clearly gaining traffic and exposure at the expense of Jennine’s brand.   Instead of hitching a ride on the wave of her success, they should re-brand themselves.

No one respects a thief, and in my mind this is certainly a form of stealing.  It is a form of trademark infringement.  The issue isn’t the URL they are using – it goes deeper than that.  The issue is the brand that Jennine Jacob established in 2007.

What do you think?  Infringement or no?  What words of advice would you offer to Jennine, if any?

UPDATE #2, January 25, 2011: In response to this situation, Signature9 wrote a great piece entitled Eminent Domain: What to Do When Your Brand is Coveted. Check it out for info on the legal side of this mess.

**********

Disclaimer: The opinions stated above are my own and based on the fact that the existence of this new site diverted my personal visit meant for Jennine’s site to their own. I don’t know for a fact that the individuals behind the UN-Coveted were aware of Jennine’s site (no one will really ever know) when they created their own, but I have a very difficult time believing that anyone with any interest in or affiliation to the fashion industry has not heard of The Coveted.  I was aware of its existence long before I became a blogger as it is one of the most well-known fashion blogs in existence. Further, it would be poor business sense to launch a professional blog like this without doing some research on the name they chose. I did some quick online research and came across this recent Refinery29 article which focuses on the new site and dubs them the Selby of closets.  Without a doubt, news of Jennine’s site has reached them by now based on the reader response to this article.  The question now really is – will they address this issue?

Street Style by Polka Dot vs. Elle Spain Copyright Infringement

I just wanted to thank everyone who either read this post here or this one on Jill’s blog and supported her.  As of last night, ELLE Spain finally did take down the blog post in which 4 of Jill’s photos had been used without her permission.  However, Jill has yet to receive an apology from ELLE Spain or the blogger, Carmen Bejerano, who had used the photos.  Keep showing your support and hopefully a much-deserved apology will be forthcoming.

March 11 – 13, 2011: Style Nation Blogger Meetup in Las Vegas!

If you are subscribed to the blog via an RSS Reader or service like Bloglovin‘, you may not have seen the new Badge on the right side of the site home page.  Here’s the dish:  Beverly of Style Underdog and Vahni of Grit and Glamour are coordinating a Blogger Meetup in the exciting city of “what happens there, stays there” Vegas!  There is a good chance that even I may forego my anonymity (at least partially) and attend this one!  Click below for more details:

Image via grit and glamour

Assuming I go (which I am assuming), I’d love to see you there!

Buy a Little Woolf and Help Sister Wolf

I wasn’t familiar with blogger Sister Wolf until I read about this fundraiser on Wendy Brandes’ blog yesterday.   I spent some time reading Sisiter Wolf’s blog yesterday and found myself inspired by her strength and resilience.  This remarkable woman endured a devastating loss earlier this year, and is now struggling with a roof that is on its last legs.

Wendy, together with Queens Marie and Michelle of Kingdom of Style and Kate of Make Do Style are all working together to try and raise some funds for Sister Wolf.  Wendy has offered the proceeds of sales of her Little Woolf necklace in silver.  For every Woolf sold for $50, $35 will go to Sister Wolf.

During this season of giving, think about purchasing one for yourself or as a gift!  Click below to be taken directly to the product page.

Click to buy a Little Woolf (Image via Wendy Brandes)

Nick Knight honors Alexander McQueen with Haunting Video

This beautiful video was filmed by famed photographer and videographer Nick Knight.  The clip was presented during the British Fashion Awards, where Alexander McQueen was honored with a posthumous award for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design.  According to The Cut: “the clip is set to a soundtrack by Björk and features McQueen’s most iconic pieces, styled by Edward Enninful and worn by black models only.”

The video allowed the pieces to be modeled one last time before they are moved to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in preparation for a Spring exhibition of Alexander McQueen’s work.

What do you think?

The New Face of Chanel Handbags: Blake Lively

Does Chanel normally have a “face” specifically for their handbag campaigns?  Is it wrong that I didn’t realize that?  I mean, ask me who the latest face of Chanel Fragrances is and I can tell you with no problem.  I somehow missed this one.  According to E! Online, however, it looks like Blake Lively has landed this coveted gig for the new year.  A source tells Marc Malkin that:

“The Gossip Girl beauty will star in a new ad campaign for Chanel. I’m told she was just in Paris shooting for the French fashion house’s handbag collection. The ads should launch early next year…”

What do you think of Lively representing Chanel?  She certainly seems to have won the heart of Anna Wintour (and has 1, 2, 3 Vogue covers to prove it), so why not Karl Lagerfeld as well?

Chanel Pre-Fall 2011 Paris-Byzance Collection Preview

Chanel’s Pre-Fall Métiers d’Art Collection, Paris-Byzance, is inspired by the Byzantine Empire.  It is full of muted colors, rich ornamentation and striking silhouettes.  The designs are stunning and decidedly regal, but they also have just a touch of edginess to them.  I think it’s one of my favorite Chanel collections in some time.  You can check out images from the showing here, but I personally adore these preview shots which were shot by Karl Lagerfeld himself.

Image via Vogue Paris

Image via Vogue Paris

Image via Vogue Paris

Image via Vogue Paris

What do you think of the collection?  Any other Pre-Fall lines catch your attention?

Harper’s Bazaar UK: Emily Blunt in Tom Ford

I know what you are thinking.  Tom Ford.  Again.   I can’t help it.  I shared these images on twitter and facebook a week or so ago, but I had to make sure you had all seen them.  Check out this beautiful blue dress that Emily Blunt is wearing on the cover of the January 2011 Harper’s Bazaar UK.

Image via celebitchy

Karen Elson wore it in the December issue of US Vogue, but here you can see the detail of the dress even better.  Tell that that color isn’t one of the most striking blues you’ve ever seen.  Tell me the dress isn’t perfection.  Kill me now.

Image via celebitchy

To check out the rest of the Tom Ford goodies in the issue, click here.

Photography I Love:

Finally, I’ve been so busy talking about Tom Ford this and Tom Ford that lately that I neglected to mention these absolutely beautiful images.  These are from various photoshoots that caught my attention.  Click on the image to view more of each.

Alison Arboux for Kurv Magazine. Photographer: Jonathan Segade (Image via Zombie and Candy)

Alexandra Carl in Creature. Photographer: Damon Baker (Image via Zombie and Candy)

Maryna Linchuk for Vogue Turkey December 2010. Photographer: Ellen von Unwerth (Image via Zombie and Candy)

Kirsten Dunst for F/W 2010 Lula Magazine. Photographer: Autumn de Wilde. Rodarte's Laura and Kate Mulleavy guest-edited the issue. (Image via fashionologie)

Have any editorials caught your eye lately?

What else is on your mind this Whatever Wednesday?

December 14th, 2010 – Update: The post on Spanish ELLE’s blog, “El Equipo E.” has now been removed again, but the problem is not yet over.  Please check out the comments below for an update from Jill herself.

December 11th, 2010 – Update: The post on Spanish ELLE’s blog, “El Equipo E.” has been updated and now credits Jill as the source and Carmen indicates that she spoke to and straightened everything out with Jill. However, from what I understand, this is simply not true. She never reached out to Jill and all is not OK. The story isn’t over yet. Please continue to show your support of Jill and let ELLE Spain know you are behind her!

Copyright infringement is a serious topic, and something that was just recently covered in Friend Friday. I said it then, and in the case of blogger Jill Carin Adams of Street Style: Pics by Polka Dot, it certainly applies: copying isn’t a form of flattery – it is stealing.

Image via Sigma I = Life

A writer for Spanish ELLE’s blog, “El Equipo E.” posted a new article on December 3rd that contains 4 of Jill’s photos (note: as of 12/14 the article has been pulled, but the issue is still not settled). The author, Carmen Bejerano, never contacted Jill about the photos and did not credit her as the source. Further, the likeness of these ladies was posted by Spanish Elle without their permission and one of them is a minor!

According to a post of Jill’s from earlier today:

“To be told that the author of ‘Bye Bye Madrid’ was playing with the theme of these English girls looking cold.. and for someone to be allowed to comment (when I wasn’t!) on said blog, that Roz – who had just come out of hospital for major back surgery, who was taking her daily walk on a cold November day (Bonfire Night, to be precise) as per the doctor’s orders, as part of her recovery.. legally underage Roz, who posed for photos with her mother and her father watching, WHO DID NOT ASK TO BE CRITIQUED by a group of strangers on Spanish Elle.. to hear people say that her face looked ‘cold’ – and to know that I could not take those comments down: all I can say is, Carmen B, and your employer, Spanish Elle Magazine: you have chosen the wrong person to mess with.”

They haven’t just chosen the wrong person to mess with – they now have a whole slew of bloggers and readers to deal with that are backing up Jill.

Jill has commented on Carmen’s post only to have it stuck in “moderation” mode. She has emailed ELLE Spain, left messages with the publisher of US ELLE Magazine, and spoken to someone in the London ELLE office. She has turned to twitter to see if someone will respond to her. Her readers, myself included, have commented on Carmen’s blog, asking that this copyright infringement be remedied. All to no avail.

Bloggers are passionate about what we do. What we write. What we photograph. Our blogs are more than a hobby – they are an extension of ourselves. They are our “babies”, and we are more than a little protective of them.

That is why you should never mess with a blogger. Not only are we passionate about our own work – we can also be fiercely protective of one another.

Think about it for a second.

How do you think you’d feel if you learned that someone else, someone who works for a mainstream fashion publication, had used your photography without your permission? How would you feel if you were neither credited nor mentioned? If your comments inquiring about the images were censored? If your numerous queries were left unanswered?

Not a pleasant thought, right?

Now, imagine that these “stolen” images were photos of your friends. Individuals who had granted you permission to use their likeness on your blog. Individuals you respect. Individuals you care for. How would you feel if you learned that these very images – photos of your friends – were being critiqued by the guilty blogger. Used as examples of what “not” to wear. Ridiculed.

Would you feel violated? Small? Powerless?

This is exactly what happened to Jill, and now she is asking for our help:

“This is so not the post I want to be doing. There’s so much I’d rather be focusing on. And I can’t bear to fight with anyone. But I’m going to ask all of you to please read this and please comment and tweet and just generally spread the word around. I’m doing it for me, but I’m also doing it for you, because when it happens to you, you’re probably going to feel like I do now: a bit fragile, a bit violated.”

Here are a few things you can do to help:

• Please take some time to read Jill’s post.
• Comment on Jill’s blog and let Elle Spain know that you won’t stand for this type of copyright infringement.
• Tweet about what happened.
• Do what you can to encourage Elle Spain to remedy this.
• Get the word out however you can!

ModlyChic’s Friend Friday series is quickly becoming an invaluable source of information for both new and seasoned fashion bloggers. Each week the posts contain valuable – and often varied – opinions and thoughts on important subjects.  The past few weeks a number of the posts written by contributors have even made it into IFB’s Links à la Mode.

This week’s subject is one of significant importance – copyright. We’ve discussed copying in the fashion industry, but this post deals with copyright infringement in the blogging world. Katy came up with the topic for a number of different reasons, including photoshoots clearly inspired by other bloggers, and a DIY recipe reprinted by another blogger with few changes.  This led to the question of what is – and is not – acceptable “copying” in the blogosphere. When is it “fair use,” and when does it become copyright infringement?

This topic reminded me of something I had recently read about.  Fashion Gone Rogue is one of those websites that every fashion blogger is aware of. Even if it isn’t a daily read, at some point in time something has likely drawn you to its pages. It is evident that the site’s curator, Joanna Gillespie, receives her content directly from industry insiders because she is generally the first to post editorial images from any given publication.  If anyone has it, chances are it is her.  She attributes her images and always, without fail, links back to the appropriate source.  And she doesn’t just reprint editorial images.  Each post includes some type of commentary on the shoot.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that she had received a cease and desist email from Trunk Archive earlier this year due to one of the images she was using on her site. One of the original photographers had taken issue with an image of Lily Donaldson being using in the header of the site and a representative of the company sent her this message:

“I was very disheartened to see the Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin photograph of Lily Donaldson incorporated into the design of your website. Clearly you never asked for permission nor received permission to use this image from either the artists, their agent or their licensing agency…It surprises me that a site that purports to support and admire fashion photography would engage in such blatant copyright infringement. How do you expect this industry to survive if sites such as yours do not respect the basic premise of artist copyright?

We ask that you remove this image from your website immediately. In addition, we require payment of a $2,000 copyright infringement fee. Please remit payment today to Trunk Archive, at the address below. If the image remains as part of your logo by this time tomorrow, and if we have not received a check from you by July 6th, 2010, our lawyers will be in immediate contact.”

Joanna immediately removed the image and put the site on hiatus while she dealt with the issue at hand. According to this blog post on the fashionista.com, she happily removed the image – it was the request for $2,000 that left her baffled.  Ultimately the situation was resolved, but, in my opinion, if this could happen to Joanna, it could happen to anyone.

It could easily have happened to me when I first began blogging. My original site header incorporated images of Daria Werbowy along with some of my own nature photography. It was striking, and I loved the way it looked.  The last thing on my mind at the time was copyright infringement.  It never even crossed my mind that Mario Testino could, if he wanted, sue me for incorporating his work into the design of my site.  But he could have done exactly that had he desired.

I think this was also the main issue that Fashion Gone Rogue had to deal with – the fact that she was posting editorials wasn’t what caught the attention of the photographer in question.  It was the fact that a particular image was incorporated into the design of her site. According to copyright law, that is not fair use.  And the same thing could have happened to me.  Look at your site.  Have you incorporated any copyrighted images into your design?  If so, you may want to rethink that.  Stat.

This was a very long introduction into this week’s Friend Friday questions, but let’s get to it!

1. What are the ‘unwritten rules’ about copying content that we bloggers should all abide by? Unwritten? How about written? Most bloggers have some sort of copyright or creative commons license indicated on their blog (and if they don’t, they should).  First, abide by the requirements of that license.  Second, even if no copyright is indicated, the work of that blogger is still covered by copyright law.

It’s simple really:

• Don’t copy content (be it written or photographic) and claim it as your own. End of story. No one likes that. Ever.
• If you refer to someone’s work, credit and link back to them. Not only will it give you more credibility,you will also gain the respect of that other blogger.
• If something you do was inspired by another blogger, be it an outfit post, a new blog series, or a recipe, credit that person for the inspiration. V from Grit and Glamour did this just recently in one of her outfit posts. She was wearing something that was inspired by Kristy Eléna from Vogue Gone Rogue.Would V have worn that outfit even if she had never set eyes on Kristy Eléna’s blog? Maybe. Probably. But the fact of the matter is the outfit reminded HER of Kristy Eléna, so she was respectful enough to indicate that.  Respect, people. That is what this is all about – respecting the other blogger.

Image via Vogue Gone Rogue

Image via grit and glamour

2. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. But when it a post imitation and when is it copying? A post is copying when it is a replica of the original post. If you can’t contribute any original content to the post and if you can’t add your own voice to the post it is copying. If you claim it as your own, but it is clearly imitation, that is copying.

In the United States, “fair use” is an exemption of copyright law that allows people to provide commentary on, parody, satire, report on, etc. something without getting permission from the author. If you are doing any of these things, and attributing your original source, you are providing some type of original content, and fair use dictates you can legally use that content.

This is why I am able to post images of editorials I love – I am protected by the fair use clause. I don’t claim any of the images as my own, they aren’t incorporated into the design of my site, and I don’t profit from them.

In my opinion, imitation = inspiration. Anything more than that and you are copying.

3. Taking another blogger’s idea (perhaps for an outfit, or DIY tutorial) is pretty common in the blogging world. Do you think it is necessary to credit the original source? Absolutely. See answers 1 and 2 above.

4. How have you improved your blog by comparing it to other bloggers? Have you made changes due to something you have seen others doing? Others bloggers certainly influence my own blog.

• I am using the Thesis theme on WordPress because numerous blogs I frequent use it. Do I use it because I want to be just like The Coveted or Grit and Glamour? No. I use it because it fits my needs. Their blogs just introduced me to it.

• I take note of elements on other blogs that are aesthetically pleasing to me (white space, social networking buttons, etc.) and apply them to my own blog.  Yet my blog is MY blog. It doesn’t look like anyone else’s.

• I love it when bloggers recognize one another.  Christina of Profresh Style has her “Reader Appreciation” posts, V of Grit and Glamour has her “Sunday Coffee” series, and Casee Marie of  The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower has her “Weekend Reads.”   Tanvi of The Fabulous Life of the Not-So-Rich Infamous inspired me to start my own Guest Post series.  I receive email requests from random individuals asking if they can do guest posts on this site, but I have chosen to focus the series on bloggers I have relationships with. It is my way of recognizing bloggers I respect.

Image via Profresh Style

Image via grit and glamour

Image via The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower

Image via Fabulous Life of the Not-So-Rich Infamous

Those are just a few of the ways other bloggers have influenced me.  There is nothing wrong with getting an idea from another blogger, be it for an outfit post, editorial post, photographic settings, blog series, etc.  But don’t just copy what they do. Run with it and make it your own.

5. Have you ever had one of your posts copied by another blogger or publication? How did you handle the situation? Not as far as I know. If that did happen I would start by contacting the blogger/publication and go from there.

What I have had done to me involves my personal photography. Specifically my concert photography. I have had images I posted in a member-only forum stolen and sold for profit on EBAY. Learning that was devastating to me. All I can do now is monitor ebay and, if I catch someone, report the incident so that the images are removed. I can’t do anything about the images that have already been sold because I don’t have the resources I’d need to do that.

Respect everyone’s content – be it written, visual, or auditory.  Flat out copying is just a form of stealing.

What about you – has anyone ever copied your content?  If so, what did you do?

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Independent Fashion Bloggers has some great resources on this topic:

• For information on Fair Use, check out this great post.
• For information on the types of photography you can use with no copyright concerns, click here.

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To see what other bloggers are saying about this topic, click here;

For more info on ModlyChic’s Friend Friday series, click here.

This week’s Friend Friday topic is “Copying in the Fashion Industry.” The topic is especially timely because their is currently a Bill, entitled the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act, for consideration before Congress.  And the rumor is – the bill will likely pass.

“by the early Depression years it had gone so far that no exclusive model was sure to remain exclusive for 24 hours; a dress exhibited in the morning at $60 would be duplicated at $25 before sunset and at lower prices later in the week. Sketching services made a business of it; delivery boys were bribed on their way to retailers.” 

• In April 1936, a Guild investigator visiting Philadephia’s Strawbridge & Clothier Department Store came upon a dress she determined was a copy. She demanded that it immediately be removed from the floor and that she be told the name of the manufacturer. Store managers disagreed; they did not feel the dress was a copy, and therefore refused her request.  Per Time Magazine, “two days later all Guild manufacturers received a small pink card informing them that the department store had been guilty of DEFINITE REFUSAL TO COOPERATE. As penalty, Strawbridge & Clothier’s orders were no longer to be filled.”
  

• The article goes on to say that “Within a few days much the same thing had happened at Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan and at R. H. White Co. in Boston, which is owned by Filene’s. All three stores are members of Associated Merchandising Corp., which was founded by Lincoln Filene in 1916 to give leading department stores throughout the country a Manhattan centre for style and market information, later engaged in co-operative buying. By the middle of last month all but four of the 20 members of Associated Merchandising Corp. had been “red-carded” by the Guild.” 
  

  Lincoln Filene

• This finally culminated with Wm. Filene’s Sons Co., the grandfather of Filene’s Basement, suing the Guild for conspiracy in restraint of trade in March 1936. “Filene’s complained that the Guild was seriously interfering with its spring showings by prohibiting manufacturers from shipping orders made even before the store had been red-carded. General charge was that Guild members had “conspired” to monopolize the dress industry and to maintain their monopoly by blacklisting recalcitrant retailers and laying heavy penalties on manufacturers who broke the rules.” 

Nevertheless, the subject of fashion copyright and intellectual property laws continues to come up again and again.

Johanna Blakely’s Copyright Flow-Chart

In 2006, a bill called The Design Piracy Prohibition Act was brought before Congress. It did not pass.  In 2007 a modified version was again brought before Congress.  It too did not pass.  A new version of the Act was introduced in 2009, with several designers, including Narciso Rodriguez, Thakoon Panichgul, Jason Wu, and Maria Cornejo, lobbying in support of the bill.  It too did not pass.  (Click here for an interesting read on the potential negative effects that could have occurred if the bill had passed in its original format.)

“In the case of fashion design, a design shall not be deemed to have been copied from a protected design if that design is not substantially identical in overall visual appearance to and as to the original elements of a protected design; or is the result of an independent creation.”

Keeping that in mind, let’s look at today’s Friend Friday questions:

I think that we are talking about two different types of consumers here: the people who can afford designer pieces, and the people who can not.  My belief is that, ultimately, a designer will lose little – if any – business due to copycat designs.

Most of the individuals who shop for designer-inspired pieces at the H&M, Forever21 and Zara’s of the world could not afford to purchase the “real” thing. They can afford the low-end mass market pieces, not designer pieces.  Therefore, a designer would never see a profit from them.

Every person – whether they are a musician, actor, entrepreneur, artist, author, or plain old stay-at-home-mom, is inspired by something.  Designer’s are no different.  Their inspiration might be in the form of a vintage magazine, an old museum or newspaper archive, classic films, vintage patterns, or the current runway collection.  It might be in the form of grandma’s old dress.  But the great designers take that inspiration and create something completely new from it.  

What if the person who invented, for example, stiletto heels, leggings, the pinstripe suit, the first pair of jeans, the brassiere, or the tank top had copyrighted their ideas?  What if no one had ever been allowed to reinvent those?

Possibly. It depends on the item.  I would never buy it if it was a counterfeit reproduction.  But if it was a well-made, “inspired-by” design, why not?  ABS dresses fit this category.  So do dresses by Faviana.  

However, I am more inclined to buy a piece that is inspired by a runway garment than one that is a blatant copy. Like, say Forever 21 pieces.  They tend to be really, really is guilty of a lot of UNinspired copying.

Then, of course, occasionally the opposite happens, and an A-list designer copies someone lesser know:

“The interesting effect of copying is to generate more demand for new designs, since the old designs—the ones that have been copied—are no longer special. The overall result is greater sales of apparel. We call this surprising effect the “piracy paradox.”

Most recently, a European Union funded study out of the UK suggests that even counterfeit reproductions are *gasp* harmless to the industry!  If we are not taking into consideration that other ramifications of producing and/or purchasing counterfeit items (child labor, funding terrorism, etc.), then it appears the negative impact is negligible.  Unfortunately, in the case of counterfeit items, the additional ramifications I listed above are extremely serious.

Note: Raustiala and Sprigman are both opposed to the new Bill.

I have two.  A Louis Vuitton Monogram Audra bag and a unknown PRADA knock-off.  And you know what? They both suck.  I bought them when I was a poor college student visiting New York.  

I was so excited that they took me into the “secret” back room that I bought 2 bags because I felt like I was in some special club.  Too bad I can tell the difference between the bags I bought and the real thing – after that trip, they never left my closet.  But I still think getting invited to the “secret room” was exciting.

Hey – at least it didn’t come from the secret knockoff garbage bag!