[littl3chocobo]

what is stealing?

this is easy, taking something that isn't yours


so why is it that people get so confused and dismissive/hostile when stealing is applied to art? it seems that by virtue of it being art the very plain and direct rules of what is and is not stealing become muddled and complicated

what is stealing?

it isn't stealing, because....


without any changes to the question or the action behind the question the answer has not only changed but it is now an argument or at the very least an excuse

if you steal a candybar you stole it

if you steal art you haven't stolen anything, at the very most you 'referenced' the original creator

it does not matter if it is an identical or near-identical work
it does not matter if the original work was copyrighted
it does not matter if the original creator explicitly said 'no you may not use this for any derivative works of any nature'
it does not matter if you put the original art right up to your blank paper/screen and copied it/traced it/eyeballed it/put your name on it over the creator's and uploaded it directly



this seems wrong and stupid to me and though there /are/ laws against the theft of art, intellectual property, and other concepts pertaining to actual existing work most people retaliate with the ever-worn 'well you can't own xxx' despite the designs and patents act which passed into affect in 1988 saying you very much can


so, having read this jumbled mess what do you guys think of theft and how it pertains to art? and before this becomes a poo-flinging contest though let me add this to clarify my point and reduce some of the replies;

no disney can't copyright cartoon mice, no it cannot copyright shorts, not it can't copyright somersaults, and not it can't copyright ugly cartoon shoes but /yes/ it can copyright a cartoon mouse named mickey in shorts and shoes doing somersaults and if you draw a cartoon mouse in shorts and shoes doing somersaults and it looks like that mickymouse image with the colors changed and the name changed to fred /even/ if you 'drew it yourself' you have in fact broken copyright law and taken something that is legally owned by disney

oh, /now/ what are your guys' thoughts?