AI Bots and Infringement Issues

THIS IS A SHORT POST, but it really is a shame that I had to unpublish my blog for the first time since I began it 16 years ago. Why? Because of AI Bots. I am not an artist who is against AI. In fact, I think it's useful for references, color studies, etc. I also am not against artists who use it as long as they disclose it. My art blog doesn't get a lot of traffic, maybe a few hits a week, but I don't keep it going for hits - it's just a journal of my life as an artist. The thing is, there is almost 2 decades of work on it, meaning, there's a lot to consume. I began to notice my blog had almost 200 hits in one day, then 150 the next, then 85, and then 180...and this kept going on for about 2 weeks. And then I noticed the comments section promoting bullshit ass products. Shortly after that, individual art posts were clicked on dozens of times, which has never happened before. 

I think the worst thing about AI is that it's allowed to take your work and use it without your consent. If I did that, it would be illegal. So imagine you create something, and a bot reproduces it without your consent, and it now belongs to them. It's kind of fucked up.

But I guess it's no different than companies like Merch Traffic, a company that contacted Etsy to let them know the below image of Stevie Nicks was an infringement and belongs to them. Etsy's policy is that if a company claims your image is an infringement in good faith, then they remove the image, no questions asked. The only proof they have to provide is that the claim is in good faith. Let's say you built something, and then someone comes along and says it belongs to them, the police take it away and gives it to them just because they made the accusation in good faith. That's what this is akin to. 

The above image was painted almost 6 years ago, is my original creation, and has been in my Etsy store for that period of time. I reached out to Merch Traffic and they've refused to respond. They don't have to. They claimed that image belongs to them just like an AI bot. Etsy will not entertain a counterclaim because in their email response, "you need to work it out with them." So...this image is no longer for sale on Etsy because Merch Traffic claims it's theirs. I think what's concerning about this policy is that anyone can claim an image belongs to them in good faith, and that's all that's needed. An artist's entire body of work can be removed because of this policy. I don't think a lot of artists on Etsy know this; I certainly didn't. 

No, this isn't a slam against Etsy, I think they're a great company but do feel this policy needs to be revisited. For the record, I don't sell a lot of Stevie Nicks prints (maybe 1 or 2 a year) but it's bothersome because I created that image, a representative from Merch Traffic claimed it was theirs with no proof, and Etsy removed it. At this writing, if you do a google image search, the above image shows up only under my name, because I created it. But I guess when you can't create something for yourself, you steal another person's work.  

The original painting was published on this blog in 2015: John Price Art: Stevie Nicks - Pop Art

And then I repainted it using only purple in 2020: John Price Art: Stevie Nicks Print

Merch Traffic wasn't founded until 2016, which means the image they claim is theirs, is older than their company. If after reading this you thought, "damn, wanted to purchase this as a print!" Well, you can. You can purchase it from my website at the following link: https://www.johnpricefineart.com/workszoom/6259323/stevie-nicks