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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to print an artist's work at home?

296 replies

zatarontoast · 02/10/2020 11:49

Asking as I really don't know if this is appropriate or not. I follow an artist on Instagram who does oil paintings and I really wanted one so enquired about the price. At £500 for a small size it is way beyond my budget or what I could justify in spending. But... I still want one. She doesn't do prints, so I was thinking I could print one off at home for my own use. I don't know much about these things so don't know if this is considering stealing or is just a no-no in general? My rationale is that she isn't losing by me doing this as I wasn't going to buy it anyway.

OP posts:
Lockheart · 02/10/2020 14:42

Unless OP is planning on making money from someone else's work, there is no breach of copyright and absolutely nothing illegal about this.

You can use any images you want in any way you want as long as you're not trying to commercialise them (unless you have a license).

You can paint Disney princesses on your wall as long as you're not doing it to sell your services as a decorator.

You can embroider or sew any quotes you like as long as you're not trying to sell the patterns or finished products unless you have a license.

You can decorate a cake with all kinds of superheroes or cartoon characters as long as you're not selling it without a license (yes, all those ones you see on Facebook are more likely than not illegal).

You can download and print anything you like as long as it's for personal use only.

It is not theft.

Wakeoff · 02/10/2020 14:43

If you had the £500 and were asking, I could pay for it but don't really want to so I might print a copy then you would be unreasonable, because you have the means of buying it, and are depriving the artist of that £500 really. As that's not an option, as long as you aren't profiting from it, having a crap printed copy of it on your wall isn't going to harm anyone, even the artist.

Are you going to be doing any of the below:

Copyright prevents people from

copying your work
distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale
renting or lending copies of your work
performing, showing or playing your work in public
making an adaptation of your work
putting it on the internet

Lockheart · 02/10/2020 14:45

@PopcornPeacock

Artist here. People doing what you are suggesting is the reason many artists struggle to make a living. If you do print off a poor quality print for yourself, it devalues the artist's work as a whole, as other people viewing it will think it is the actual standard of that artists work.

If you did it to a piece of my work and I discovered what you had done, I would take you to court for theft.

It is NOT appropriate, it is a mean, cheap act by a mean. cheap person. Save up your money, buy a piece of art honestly, and enjoy it knowing you have supported an artist.

And you'd have absolutely sod all grounds for a charge of theft and you'd be laughed out of court. If it even got to court.
Nomorepies · 02/10/2020 14:48

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ on the poster's request.

DraughtyWindow · 02/10/2020 14:49

I’m an artist. I only upload images of my own work that are of poor resolution as copyright watermarks can be removed. So if you tried printing any of my work you’d be a tad disappointed. But in a nutshell, what you’re intending to do is a little cheeky. Why don’t you contact her and ask her how much it would cost for a high resolution photo of the work?

Lockheart · 02/10/2020 14:49

[quote Thelnebriati]I dont see why you are having so much trouble understanding copyright law, or why you expect people here who are trying to explain it to you to defend it as if we wrote the law.

Whoever creates the piece owns the copyright.
You aren't breaking copyright by framing something you bought such as a calendar.
You are breaking copyright if you print off the same picture from the internet, unless the artist gave you permission (licence) to do that.

www.gov.uk/copyright

creativecommons.org/licenses/[/quote]
You are not breaking copyright if you use an image, piece of literature, or whatever it may be for your own personal use and you are not looking to commercialise it.

No copyright laws are broken by people printing images off the internet to put up in their bedrooms.

Wakeoff · 02/10/2020 14:50

If you do print off a poor quality print for yourself, it devalues the artist's work as a whole, as other people viewing it will think it is the actual standard of that artists work.

Lmao the level of delusion is quite amusing.

Elsewyre · 02/10/2020 14:51

@zatarontoast

Asking as I really don't know if this is appropriate or not. I follow an artist on Instagram who does oil paintings and I really wanted one so enquired about the price. At £500 for a small size it is way beyond my budget or what I could justify in spending. But... I still want one. She doesn't do prints, so I was thinking I could print one off at home for my own use. I don't know much about these things so don't know if this is considering stealing or is just a no-no in general? My rationale is that she isn't losing by me doing this as I wasn't going to buy it anyway.
No one gives a shit
oakleaffy · 02/10/2020 14:53

@zatarontoast

Why on earth did you ask? ..You could just as easily have quietly copied it at home and printed it off, framed it in a cheap Ikea frame and no one would be any the wiser.

It will look pixellated and nothing like the original.

I love Munning's work, but no way could ever afford one. Ebay sell copies, pale imitations that look like they are downloaded from Auction sales..People are selling these!
I bought a horse print of a good resolution, and it was taken from an Auction site, I'm certain.

So it goes on.
I love this pic too, and considered getting it printed off for own use.

WIBU to print an artist's work at home?
MarshaBradyo · 02/10/2020 14:53

@zatarontoast

But there's no way I like it enough to spend a lot of money on it. She isn't a known artist so I really didn't think it would be so expensive, but appreciate after the replies that it is probably more to do with the time.
It’s not expensive really. It’s at the cheapest end for a painting.

Artworks aren’t generally watermarked on IG

But printing it out isn’t great

NiceGerbil · 02/10/2020 14:54

Theoretically it's a no

In the real world, printing off little image on a home printer and putting it on your windowsill to make you feel happy is not something I can bring myself to get super angry about.

TheExecutionOfAllThings · 02/10/2020 14:56

Theft is the act of appropriating someone else’s property with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of it. It’s not comparable to copyright.

Technically speaking, printing for personal use may be breach of copyright but nobody is going to know and the artist won’t be deprived of anything (as OP is not doing this as a substitute to buying the image - she literally can’t afford to purchase it so won’t).

oakleaffy · 02/10/2020 15:00

£500 isn't a lot of money in the scheme of things though.....
Save up £10 a week, and in as year you can buy it.

The Munnings paintings I love are a few hundred thousand...so out of the question of ordinary saving.

SoupDragon · 02/10/2020 15:01

Save up £10 a week

All well and good if you have £10 a week spare.

Jaxhog · 02/10/2020 15:04

Absolutely not. Not only is it a breach of the artist's copyright, it is also insulting to the artist. The artist will have spent a lot of time creating their art. Making a copy on your printer diminishes this effort.

oakleaffy · 02/10/2020 15:04

@zatarontoast

She isn't a known artist

YET.

Beware!
I saw a small screen print of a policeman smoking a spliff on sale at a little bookshop in Bristol.

£35.
I really liked it...but the price of framing would have bumped it up to £75.

It was there for weeks.

Fast forward 23 years.

That little screen print sold for £28,000.

Banksy.

Lockheart · 02/10/2020 15:10

@Jaxhog

Absolutely not. Not only is it a breach of the artist's copyright, it is also insulting to the artist. The artist will have spent a lot of time creating their art. Making a copy on your printer diminishes this effort.
It is not a breach of copyright to use an image for your own personal use.
oakleaffy · 02/10/2020 15:10

@SoupDragon

Save up £10 a week

All well and good if you have £10 a week spare.

Granted. This is why I didn't buy the Banksy @ £35. Just didn't have any spare cash at the time {driving lessons, mortgage &c}

But so so so wish I had done.

NiceGerbil · 02/10/2020 15:10

£500 isn't a lot of money Hmm

TeachesOfPeaches · 02/10/2020 15:13

You're not reselling it so just print it off OP

SchrodingersImmigrant · 02/10/2020 15:14

Artists should start watermarking their stuff on SM.

JunkCrumpet · 02/10/2020 15:15

That's called stealing. If I stole clothes or makeup using the same logic as you, would you think it's ok? Obviously not. Stealing is wrong. It's shocking how often adults need to be told that on this forum.

SourcePlease · 02/10/2020 15:19

Ignore the ridiculous posters on this thread, print out your low quality print on printer paper that is harming no one, enjoy it, and turn off Mumsnet

Agreed. The artist put the picture online, she chose to make it publicly available. You want to print it out in low quality, small size, to display privately in your own home – that's not going to have any effect on her or her work whatsoever. Just do it.

Lockheart · 02/10/2020 15:20

@JunkCrumpet

That's called stealing. If I stole clothes or makeup using the same logic as you, would you think it's ok? Obviously not. Stealing is wrong. It's shocking how often adults need to be told that on this forum.
It is not stealing.

What's shocking is how few posters actually know what the law is.

Lockheart · 02/10/2020 15:20

@NiceGerbil

£500 isn't a lot of money Hmm
Only if you're very lucky.
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