We’ve posted a couple of times about copyrights and trademarks because of the ongoing unauthorized use of Mary Engelbreit artwork online and on actual products being sold. As owners of these copyrights and trademarks, it is our responsibility to manage and protect them – for our purposes as well as for the protection of each of you to ensure you get authentic Mary Engelbreit artwork and products. In order to ensure this level of protection, we want to introduce a new facet to all of Mary’s artwork being featured on our site and other online outlets like Facebook and Pinterest. We will now be protecting our artwork with a brand new watermark!
This watermark will be used on all of our artwork to prevent someone from copying and pasting the image off our site and using it in an unauthorized manner. The watermark, comprised of a faded back image of Mary’s signature, was designed to be unobtrusive enough that you can still enjoy her art (you may have noticed the use of the watermark recently on the new original drawing that Mary did for the first giveaway on the site).
We will be featuring the watermark throughout the site on all of our artwork. But don’t worry, if you buy a piece of Mary’s art from us, rest assured that it will NOT have this watermark on it.
You can help us manage and maintain our copyrights and trademarks as well. If you think you found someone selling unauthorized Mary Engelbreit artwork, or have any additional comments or questions about our copyrights and trademarks, please let us know by emailing contactus@maryengelbreit.com.
Mary – you’re the best – always have loved your great joyful creative style … keep up the beautiful work you do. It blesses me and all who are fortunate enough to see it! Watermark is great idea!
L. Diann Green
The only time I posted a ME on Facebook was the “Babies Rule” and clearly told everyone it was a Mary Engelbreit from the calendar. I fail to see why that is unauthorized. In fact, I would love to buy gift enclosures featuring Babies Rule which I would then give away free to customers buying a baby gift.
And that is fine, Linda— I appreciate that you credited me. And I wish we still had the baby enclosures so you could give them away with everybody’s purchase! The problem would come in if you PRINTED enclosure cards using that drawing, which of course I know you wouldn’t– I’m just using that as an example. But sadly, plenty of people do make cards, magnets, etc., from art they download from the Internet, in spite of our copyright and trademark information printed clearly on our website and every drawing I do. But if you BUY a product of mine, like fabric, feel free to do with it what you will!
I am glad to see this conversation regarding your copyright and trademark. I, too make cards. I love the little calendar pictures and (from the calendars I PURCHASE), I have cut out the picture, sometimes used the quote and created my own card. Am I able to sell them ?
Thanks.
Penny,
We address this question in our “Copyrights and Trademarks” section of the website (http://www.maryengelbreit.com/copyrights-and-trademark.html), but let me answer your question here. Based on a direction we took a few months back, if you purchase an item bearing our artwork, and use that artwork to make another product, whereby the artwork is not manipulated or copied, you are within your rights to make other products and retail them. But there are some caveats with this as well:
- You CANNOT reproduce any of the images used on the new products. Your ability to make and sell these items is only legitimate if you purchase the product bearing the original artwork. You cannot make photocopies of any of the images and use them for the new products.
- You CANNOT use the words “MARY ENGELBREIT” in the name of the product. You can, however, say the new items are made using artwork created by Mary Engelbreit; but not “Mary Engelbreit ________.”
- You MUST include our copyright information on each item created to identify us as the owner of the copyright. You cannot give the impression to the consumer that these are in any way a product of MES, or approved by MES.
If you follow these “rules,” you should be OK. But please feel free to give me a call if I can answer any additional questions (314-361-0433, x106).
I can fully understand this move. I have been to craft shows where people have used pictures from online to make magnets to sell.
Usually, this happens at Christmas time when the cutest Santas start appearing.
I love your art and just enjoy it on my screen saver or whatever that was that I downloaded.
I commend you for doing this. I hate to see any theft of intellectual property, and am considering unliking one of my favorite Facebook groups because the owner of the page is constantly posting pictures without crediting whose photographs they are…as soon as I can figure out the best way to let her know just why I’m ending my “like” of her page.
I think this is the smart thing to do. I know a couple of other artists that I follow do the same thing. It doesn’t take away from me enjoying their work, but it does protect the work. Great idea!
I think this is a great idea. It allows Mary to protect her work.