to be pissed off that my "unique" tattoo is showing up all over the place?

[starshaker]

A few years ago I went searching for my perfect tattoo. I spent a lot of time looking for somebody who's drawing style I loved. Turns out the guy was in the USA but we spoke over skype and he came up with a design that I loved. He emailed the image and I found the tattooist I wanted to put it on my skin.

Anyway now, a couple of years on I keep seeing it popping up on the net. AIBU to be pissed that my tattoo is being copied

My friends had exactly the same tattoo on her arm for 10 years. It's a generic tattoo. yabu.

I love watercolour tattoos, and have been considering one for my final tatt. Nice choice OP.

I have a unique tattoo on my back, drawn for me by someone not a tattooist, and incorporating his name (subtley). It was a pain in the arse (and back) to get it turned into a tattoo, and I suspect that the place I did it almost certainly kept the picture, so it's probably not as unique as I would like.

But it doesn't matter. The design was drawn for me by someone that knew me and knew what I liked. It was drawn as a farewell gift and it reminds me of a particular point in my life - it has meaning to me that no-one else has - even if they 'steal' the design.

I assume that your design means something to you - nobody can steal the meaning, no one can copy the 'why'. Concentrate on that.

Sorry to labour the point but the posed image that is on your phone must have been made public by you- it couldn't have got on the Internet any other way.

It's not a quick pick surruptiously taken by a passerby who noticed it.

Did you put it on Facebook or Pinterest or something?

It's only on the Internet because of you so you can't moan if others 'are inspired' by it.

yeah but if you read the links, the OP's artist might have a case for copyright infringement. Hard to enforce type of copyright, though, I bet the lawyers for Fox-TV or George Lucas know how, though.

I am laughing that the OP though "her designer" came up with that image.
No- one has copied "her design". Her American contact copied it from somehwere else.

THe OP has copied this design from others, not the other way around.

That link someone posted has the Op's image from her phone- it's her actual arm!

Bearbehind, the op didn't put it on the internet. Hers isn't on the internet. Except on this thread presumably. She had it done and has subsequently seen other people's pictures on the web.

My cousin had the exact same tattoo done 12 years ago.

grantaire hers is on the Internet- it's the second one in on the Google link up thread.

No thats not my arm on the google page

No it isn't.

Ah- sorry- I've spectacularly missed the point- again.

That second one is identical to yours though so someone has copied someone else somewhere along the way.

the first is mine. The second is not

No thats not my arm on the google page

So, it's not your tattoo. It's somebody else's. It should not detract from how much you love yours.

I agree with what LtEve said: it's the effort and thought and situation that went in to the creation of your tattoo that matters.
Who said 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery'?

That was what I said the first time I saw it but now it seems to be appearing more. What actually pissed me off the most was the video.

It's been on a polish tattoo site for 2 years:
tattoofans.pl/img/1444/tatuaz-na-barku-kwiaty-tattoo-by-florian-karg/

The original artist appears to be a german tattooist called Florian at Vicious Circle tattoos. It's pictured on their FB from over 3 years ago and they claim the original design as theirs.

When did you get yours, OP?

these ones on Pinterest There's 2, but I think they're the same person, do look very similar to yours. Just a few differences.
A bit of a coincidence to come up with that without painstakingly copying your image. That's not been done from memory.

Because it's a design that's been around for well over a decade. It's not "your" design. It's a bog standard tattoo a designer tweaked for you. If you like it just be happy but stop acting like you own the copyright. It was around long before you had it.

it was over 2 years ago. My tattooist is polish

Did the person doing the tattoo take a photo?

Sorry x post. I see what's happened now then.

Sorry OP, I think folks have been unnecessarily scathing on here this evening. I understand that when you have a tattoo commissioned it's a piece of art and there's actually a big problem in the industry with people copying tattoos from designers and neither crediting them nor paying them for this. FWIW I think your tattoo is very nice.

The german dude claims it as his original design, you'd better contact him if you have a problem.