Welcome to BEHIND THE SCENES AT STUART NG BOOKS. New reader? Click on sidebar post "Your Guide.." Stuart does NOT write this blog. All the posts and opinions here are Amy's alone. This is SNB from the POV of the Bride of Bookseller. I'm here to advocate for indie artist creative rights and share resources. Aloha and thanks for visiting!
Here are some highlights... there are 17 panels total on the website...
Real art by real artists. It's important! Your choices help promote authentic work and protect livelihoods that support families and neighborhoods. Here's a photo of Abigail Roscoe from her website.
Art in action. Educating fans. Raising awareness. Everyone who posts their photos and text online has intellectual property rights at risk. Why are personal online posts subject to unauthorized commercial use by others? Or used without credit, consent or compensation to train AI datasets?
Mia's story is a re-imagining of "Alice in Wonderland," with a bit of "Wizard of Oz," and a jolt of "Hunger Games" to raise the stakes. Her brisk writing keeps the compelling story moving forward. While the book is marketed for YA readers, anyone 9 and up will enjoy this magical, coming-of-age adventure. Mia grounds her fable in well-researched elements from West African story telling traditions of the 10th-18th centuries. She weaves a classic "Alice" narrative, and her own lush visuals, through this respected, rich foundation. Her illustrated novel feels both fresh and timeless. The end of the book concludes the character's arc, but maybe sets up a sequel too? All the culture and characters Mia provides throughout her story evolves into a springboard for the readers' imaginations.
This book took 12 years of research and development. Mia recaps this odyssey in the "Acknowledgements" section at the end.
Art and intellectual property have never been more important.
Fans are the front lines protecting these treasures we all depend on.
If you follow an artist's posts and would take them out for coffee or lunch once a month as a "thank you"... consider pledging that amount to their support platform. Buy direct from their website/links. You may depend on frequent posts artists share on social media sites, but remember -- artWORK is never free. It takes time, experience, supplies, research and talent to produce art images. Real art by real people, not prompts.
Links here are excellent reference for these indie art life essentials. At the end of this post there is a gallery of memes and images promoting awareness of the value of artWORK.
Copyright and Trademark
This page from the Graphic Artists Guild website covers the FAQ on Copyright and Trademark, as well as some business basics like contracts and pricing guides: https://graphicartistsguild.org/resources/
Is AI scraping of images "Fair Use" under current copyright laws??
Artists say: "No!" Artists own the images that are being used to build the AI data sets. Artists are testifying before lawmakers and striving to raise awareness at the impact of AI generated images on their livelihoods. They consider what's being done with AI to fall outside the Copyright office's definition of fair use as "... a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances." In general, Fair Use allows using excerpts of copyright protected work for educational use or critical review.
While the courts work out the legal language of all this --what's happening to artists isn't fair. And it's up to art fans to be informed.
Website text from the Copyright Office acknowledges "Fair Use: is a thorny issue: "Fair use is a judge-created doctrine dating back to the nineteenth century and codified in the 1976 Copyright Act. Both the fact patterns and the legal application have evolved over time, and you should seek legal assistance as necessary and appropriate." This Copyright Office link has an excellent primer on Fair Use. https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/index.html
Are AI generated images "transformative works" under copyright law -- is another thorny issue under Fair Use that artists are challenging. Copyright law has long protected derivative works as creative rights that belong to artists and author. Summaries of this recent Supreme Court ruling in the Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith case the courts "recognition and affirmation of the importance of the author’s right to prepare derivative works": http://copyright.nova.edu/derivative-works/#:~:text= and https://www.artforum.com/columns/the-transformative-impact-of-_warhol-v-goldsmith_-252757/ (photo below from the Artforum link)
We need laws that allow artists to "opt out" of image scraping for those who want to retain their creative rights. Why is this so hard to achieve?
This Arthrive.com link is a primer regarding mis-attributed AI generated images we all need to be aware of
Concept Art Association. This industry organization helps promote the role of concept artists. This page on their website explains basics on AI and the advocay role of Concept Art Assocation raising awareness in the industry, the public at large, and lawmakers in Washington and at the Copyright Office:https://www.conceptartassociation.com/advocacy
Karla Ortiz Blog -- In Nov 2022 Karla launched her KOrtiz Blog which she describes as"....is a personal space for Karla to share art, processes, ideas, and all things art. This is also a space that will chronicle all of Karla’s personal thoughts and research on emerging AI technologies, the companies behind it, and all the concerns this new tech brings, from the artist’s perspective." https://www.kortizblog.com/ (Photo below is from the KOrtiz blog)
GLAZE -- background on, and link for the latest version of this free software, developed at University of Chicago, for artists to use to protect their online art images from being "scraped" for AI data sets. https://glaze.cs.uchicago.edu/index.html#whatis
Video from GLAZE creator Ben Zhao at SAND Lab, University of Chicago.
AI may be a tool that some will use, but we need transparancy about that use, and selected opt-ins with credit and compensation for artists who choose to allow use of their images. The standard should be opt-out with artist rights retained and protected. Just because an artist posts and image online that doesn't make the artWORK free to use by others.
Articles and interviews on AI and impact on artists:
Excerpt: “ But the efficacy of these “voluntary” deals with leading AI companies is unclear, as Google, Meta, and OpenAI are each already embroiled in lawsuits over alleged copyright infringement and misuse of user information — and experts in the fields of art and technology are skeptical that they will achieve much. “The ‘voluntary’ nature of these commitments renders them meaningless,” University of Chicago professor Ben Zhao told Hyperallergic, noting that “while the Biden administration has good intentions, they seem to be oblivious to the real risks at stake.” As a computer science educator, Zhao served as the faculty lead for the research project “Glaze,” a system designed to shield artists from AI-style imitation. The technology, which is currently available for free to download, uses stylized masks that apply barely noticeable alterations to artworks in order to misdirect generative models that try to steal an artist’s personal aesthetic.
These are incredibly strong yet poorly defined goals that have been set forth, and many of these commitments involve technical problems that lack solutions or may be completely insolvable,” Zhao said, pointing to the example of “watermarking” content. “There are no robust solutions for watermarking generative content, either text or images, known today,” he explained. “How hard will these AI companies work at ‘voluntarily’ building these difficult systems? What we need is real regulation with well-defined, transparent goals that are backed up with plans for testing, enforcement, and if necessary, penalties. The assumption that big tech will do the ‘right’ thing despite the obvious financial disincentives is naive.” Concept Art Association, an organization that supports concept artists and their work, also explained to Hyperallergic that because creators “are the true creative core at the heart of generative AI,” they must be allowed to have a say in the legislation around it.
