A Turner Valley, Alta. artist is voicing her concerns after her artistic creations were allegedly ripped off by someone on social media.
Becky Scovill alleges the poster stole her personal photos and claimed her original work as their own. Scovill deals with her clients mostly online, operating a small home-based business, Prairie Rose Custom Leather and Beadwork.
“For someone to come in socially or a personal space, it is a true violation.”
She discovered photos that she says lead her to believe someone attempted to duplicate her original work.
“It was really deflating that somebody had the gall to use a stolen photo and post it on their site for sale — I don’t even have the words for it,” Scovill said.
She said she doesn’t know if the company that posted her picture is actually copying her product and selling a cheaply manufactured version of it, or if the buyer is getting the product at all.
Scovill and her husband Scot reported the company to the sites it appears on. The Etsy page has been taken down but Facebook has told them there hasn’t been any violation.
“It’s my work, it’s my product, it’s my hard work,” Scovill said. “How dare you steal from me? I can’t fathom the lack of morals across this social plane.”
The Scovills said they have reached out to the person posting her images and received concerning responses.
“The reaction wasn’t to take them down and say, ‘Sorry, my bad,’ the reaction was to send threatening comments to us,” Scot Scovill said.
Becky Scovil said the theft of art is a pervasive problem.
“It became more than a watchband. So many people have works that have been stolen and copied and are… too scared to stand up and say something. It’s not fair,” she said.
Comments