Griffin

I always wondered how it was that mythical beasts came to pass and how so many people groups littered around the world seemed to have their version of a similar creature. Perhaps it is because we are all human and can indeed have similar thoughts?

The other day the big stone monster in the room was the discussion about collage and the use of copyrighted materials. This is always a heated debate and many feelings inevitably are hurt in the process. In our business model we have made a decision on the executive level not to use stock photos or any other "for purchase" work that isn't our own. We, in essence, shoot our own B roll whenever we are out and about and harvest images to use on projects specifically for our clients. The problem has arisen in many firms the question of where ownership lies when photos are used from the public domain especially when things like logo and letterhead is involved. As a creative, be it in art, music, or writing, you need to ask yourself the hard questions and do what is right for you and what falls in line with your core values and mission statement. It is always a very difficult thing, after the fact, to find out that something you made using what seemed to be an innocent rendition, is indeed depriving an artist, a fellow creative, their ability to earn a livelihood following their passion and using their talents. As a manufacturer or someone purchasing art, music, written copy, you need to ask where the source was and where the rights to the said work lay. The worst thing you can do is create an entire marketing plan, class, body of work or campaign around something that isn't yours.