Ever discover a website or magazine has reproduced one of your images without your permission?

Websites and magazines frequently infringe upon photographers rights and too often they get away with it. For most pro and semi-pro photographers and illustrators finding all of the unlicensed reproductions of your images in print and online is a daunting task – not to mention an unpleasant one. Modern web based search tools are making it much easier to search the millions of images online and in print in an instant, enabling you to catch infringers red handed.

ONLINE: TinEye.com is a reverse image search. In other words, it does for images what Google does for text. Now photographers, illustrators, and fine artists of all kinds can search through over a billion images in an instant. Below is a video explaining more.

IN PRINT: Other valuable search tools for photography agencies is PixID. This automated image monitoring service uses advanced image identification algorithms to identify where your images are being used in print publications. Using such a service enables photography agencies to discover unauthorized reproductions of their images.

WHAT NOW?
If you find an unlicensed reproduction of your work take a screen capture and save it in a safe place – this could prove to be critical evidence should you decide to enforce your rights. Contact an attorney with experience in intellectual property right away to discuss your options. I can be reached at ian@ianhgibson.com and may be able to help.

Rutgers master’s degree candidates, Tom Engelhardt and Shaun Ellis, tapped into Billboard’s record sales database of over 4,200 popular songs and examined compositional data points of these hits (including: tempo, key, loudness, and danceability, among others) in search of correlations between this compositional elements and record sales performance. The scholars’ purpose: to derive the formula of a hit song. In fact, the results appear to mirror the sounds of many popular radio stations here in the Los Angeles area. For example, their findings indicate hits songs are usually Continue Reading…

One of the cases I am currently working on has been getting some great press recently. I thought I would provide you with a few links:

1) http://cocoperez.com/2011-01-05-horrorpops-patricia-day-sues-mattel-and-hard-rock-cafe-over-rockabilly-barbie

Perez included a nice little shout to our law firm, One LLP.

2) http://www.examiner.com/rockabilly-psychobilly-in-los-angeles/patricia-day-of-horropops-files-suit-against-mattel-inc-over-rockabilly-barbie

Great coverage penned by a doctoral candidate in ethnomusicology specializing in psychobilly and nostalgia in popular music.

3) http://barbiefest.com/news/danish-rockband-horrorpops-suing-barbie

4) http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/28/32910.htm

DIY Musician’s recent article on “6 Simple Ways to Give Back to Your Fans” includes excellent creative ideas on how to feed and care for your most valuable asset – your fans.

I have always been a big proponent of the pay it back mantra when it comes to fans. The ideas proffered in this article take that paradigm to the next level with individualized, one-on-one contact that is sure to delight fans and perhaps transition them from a casual concert goers to diehard, never-miss-a-show super fans.

Saying “thank you” to those that support you has never been more important [or easier] than in this hyper-transparent, internet culture we are all navigating. Speaking of which, thank you for reading this post. It truly means the world to me.

Photo under Creative Commons’ license by Libertinus (http://www.flickr.com/photos/libertinus/3474692586/)

I have mixed feelings about a brutal piece recently written by Mat Gleason for the HuffPo entitled Ten Most Overrated Los Angeles Art World Stars.  What bothered me most was that Gleason took his critical tongue beyond the art and directs his attacks on a personal level.  Being overrated (or underrated, for that matter) is not within the control of the artist.  Their level of success and presence in the public space is often shaped by the words of critics like Gleason.

Ultimately, though, I am pleased to see that the art at issue is causing a conversation – albeit a scathing one-sided bashing.  To me, creating a thought provoking debate is as great of a success as any artist could hope for.  That being said, I would much rather see an article covering the 10 Most Underrated Artists in Los Angeles.