Standing in the cashier's line at one of Paris' most famous grand magasins, Printemps, I watched five Chinese people in front of me making curious purchases - one candlestick, one cup and saucer, one plate, etc. As they discussed each item among themselves and handed it to the cashier, two of them took notes, writing down prices and item descriptions. The cashier became rather agitated, informing they they couldn't buy just one candlestick; they must purchase a pair. Clearly, the customers were buying one of each item so as to take them back to China and reproduce them using cheap materials, then sell them for low prices, locally and to their burgeoning export market.
Visit almost any flea market or antique fair in Paris and the stall owners will forbid you to take photos - that is, if you look Asian. Because these dealers tell numerous stories about both Chinese and Japanese buyers taking photos of old original items, then flooding the marketplace with cheap knockoffs. On the flip side of the coin, some French store owners now pay Chinese craftsmen to produce products for the French market, using quality materials so that it is hard to determine their origin.
My friend Gabrielle noticed at a recent brocante at Bastille that two identical gilt mirrors purported to be mid-19th century were, well too identical - right down to the "age" marks. They were splendid copies; only a trained eye would have detected the difference between the fake and the real thing. The problem was the dealer was representing the copies to be original and selling them at the price of an original mirror. Gabrielle said the dealer would have had better luck displaying only one mirror at a time; perhaps then prospective buyers would be fooled.
Recently I've observed theft of another kind - probably unintended, but theft nevertheless. Through various links, I've discovered that some bloggers have been using photos - mine and other bloggers' - in their own posts, without providing credit to the original source. One blog has a habit of "borrowing" another's photo, but not identifying it or crediting it to the photographer. The only way a reader would know the photo originated elsewhere was by clicking the photo, which would then lead to the initial source. But the post is presented in such a way that the reader would be unlikely to click the photo.
Intellectual property and copyright information can be obtained at several excellent websites, including Creative Commons and The Electronic Frontier Foundation. The latter has put together a helpful "Legal Guide for Bloggers," available online.
On a brighter note, today I had lunch with my husband at a Greek restaurant in Passy, then went to an art store for supplies - including papyrus - for crafts projects I'm planning. On the way home, I noticed a set of small books in the window of an antique shop. When I went in to inquire about the books, I was delighted to learn they were 18th-century from Belgium. So they came home with me. In accordance with the "whatever comes in, something goes out" rule, seven books will be leaving my apartment within the next two days. I'm planning to place them at various locations around Paris, to be discovered and hopefully enjoyed by others.
In my mailbox, this delightful hand-painted tin, accented by sequins and beads, as well as Alexandra Stoddard's book You Are Your Choices...
...and a surprise gift from my daughter's friend who spent Christmas with us: pecan pralines! I am mad about pralines and haven't had any since I last visited New Orleans. These are from River Street Sweets in Savannah, Ga. Such an unexpected treat!
Today is Groundhog's Day in the United States and it's my brother David's birthday. Happy birthday, David!
I recently experienced this; one way to find out if someone is doing this is to look at the site meter - it is no doubt the person logged on for 8 hours and going from page to page. (grrrrrr unimaginative image thieves) I have also heard of hot-linking; but I don't know how this works.
Posted by: AscenderRisesAbove | 05 February 2007 at 16:52
Argh!! My comment exploded along with my browser. I will check out those links, but you know I have yet to do something about the people who took the pics off of my blog and did really bad things with them on their own websites. My attorney has insisted I keep my mouth shut for now. But considering my child is in the pictures - it has been really hard. But their day will come.
Posted by: holli | 03 February 2007 at 18:10
Oh - so much to think of as ever in this post, Tara! Happy birthday to your brother and I hope you enjoy your pralines :D x
Posted by: bb | 03 February 2007 at 14:29
As unknowledgeable as I am about real antiques, I wouldn't even venture to try and buy them at a market.
But I would buy a sac of pralines in an instant :)
Posted by: meredith | 03 February 2007 at 13:27
Hi Tara,
I felt like I was along for the enjoyable excursion. I know relatively nothing about antiques, so your posts are a delight.
Beautiful photography and finds.
(Sadly, theft of photos on the internet has long occurred. It's why I need to destroy the aesthetic look of my artwork and photography on my blog by embedding copyright info right across it. Art is my business and the time it takes to track down theft is difficult, although I do so, if necessary.)
Posted by: GeL(Emerald Eyes) | 03 February 2007 at 09:21
Tara,
Happy Birthday to your brother David. He is lucky enough to share it with my Grandmother Rose, who is no longer with us, but she was a wonderful lady!
Posted by: robin | 03 February 2007 at 05:01
The Chinese thing made me laugh...it's funny, how some people make their living!
"In accordance with the "whatever comes in, something goes out" rule, seven books will be leaving my apartment within the next two days. I'm planning to place them at various locations around Paris, to be discovered and hopefully enjoyed by others."
You are soooo Cooooooool. I still have to release at least one of "my own".
Posted by: [a} | 03 February 2007 at 03:08
How incredibly blatant...and what audacity. I can't believe someone would try to pass off a replica as the real deal - and charge for it. And the Asian customers buying bits to reproduce. The problem is there is a real market for knock offs - people buy so they create demand. In many cases unless you have that trained eye a person wouldn't know if told it was the real deal. I admit to buying knockoffs of the leather Balenciaga Motorcycle Bag 2 years ago - admittedly for the price. That doesn't make it right. In LA they are really starting to crackdown as in the Fashion district area is Santee Alley and it's FULL of them from Tiffany to Chanel.
Anyway, I love the idea of leaving books around Paris...how fortunate for someone to find one and think "my day has been made".
and that tin is so lovely!
Love and hugs,
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa(0ceandreamer) | 03 February 2007 at 01:16
I had the problem w/ someone stealing my photos before and directlinked the image so was also eating up my bandwidth. Luckily my husband is a programmer and worked his magic so if anyone directlinked again, they'd get my copywrite statement and blocked imaged. It really bothers me that people do this because my photos mean a lot to me.
I can't stand that certain people from a specific ethnic group make it harder on the rest of us in the same ethnic group. I know there's that stereotype and I've come across it many, many times. It really bothers me when I see it because I cannot understand that mentality whatsoever. And being the photo junkie that I am, I know I would hesitate to take photos b/c I wouldn't want anyone making the assumption that I was like that. Boo on the greedy!
Posted by: Willow Grace | 03 February 2007 at 00:16
Lots of food for thought here. Wish I had one of those pralines-- would make thinking so much easier!
Posted by: ally bean | 03 February 2007 at 00:12
I wonder if bloggers who lift photos really understand implicit copyright. I wanted to reproduce a poem of a living poet, and wrote her publishers. They took it seriously, and asked her! I see lots of photos from other, commercial sources too. I wonder if this is good advertising, or would these too want permission asked?
Posted by: tut-tut | 02 February 2007 at 23:05
Oh - and I meant to tell you what a wonderful idea I think that is - to leave the books for others to find. What a treat! I've been seeing some posts of artists that are leaving their art in public places for others to find, too - another great idea. It makes the world a little more magical, I think - thanks for spreading the magic!
Posted by: tinker | 02 February 2007 at 22:39
I agree with your earlier commenters that it's a shame they aren't putting that energy into developing their OWN designs (or art/photos in the case of bloggers) - I would think that would ultimately be even more profitable - and satisfying, to them (not to mention, better for their karma).
That beaded box is so lovely! Greek food and pralines - yum! I'm so glad you're having a good day. Enjoy!
xo
Posted by: tinker | 02 February 2007 at 22:35
I'm always very cautious about taking photos at the flea market exactly because of this.
I love Printemps! In fact, husbando is going to be in Paris for business (sob, sob for me)in early March and I have my list of items to bring back, which includes a stop at Printemps for Petit Bateau. (=
Posted by: kristen | 02 February 2007 at 21:59
Thanks for the info about the blogging rights stuff. I have found my writing several places on the web, with no indication that it is mine and not the thief bloggers. Grrr... And Kory hates me putting up pictures of the kids, because he fears perverts adding the images to their collections. (he's probably right about that. I try to be careful about what they look like. Too bad, because I have the cutest pic of Georgie's little tushie I wish i could post!)It sort of ruins things for us all. :(
:)
Posted by: Amber | 02 February 2007 at 20:37
Hey, I have those exact same placemats, sent to me by a relative in London...they came from Harrods. Did yours?
As to the Chinese buying things up and copying them...wow...never thought of that one.
Tara responds:
It's a tablecloth, not placemats, purchased in Seville, Spain but made in India.
Posted by: J | 02 February 2007 at 19:58
What I really find saddest is that the Chinese don't keep on developing their own real art instead of copying the European.
What kind of artwork will you be doing?
Posted by: Britt-Arnhild | 02 February 2007 at 19:45
Two things stand out for me: One that these people would openly and brazenly be taking notes and buying single items; and two, that bloggers openly and brazenly use others' photos without credit. Either they are stupid, or they think we are... Shame on them, anyway!
Oh, pralines! I always loaded up on them each time I went to New Orleans.
Posted by: Colette | 02 February 2007 at 19:39
I love the idea of books coming in and putting some out there for others to "find" ;) I was picturing you surrounded by books in your home carefully having to navigate from room to room. LOL
Having house guests does have a few perks :)
Me cookie monster!
XXOO
Posted by: Tammy | 02 February 2007 at 19:02
I've wondered how all these knock-off happen. Such a simple action to create such a complex problem. And me not having a criminal turn of mind, well, it just never occurred to me.
The aqua blue box is lovely and the pralines . . . well, 'nuff said about that. Love them. Just thinking about them gives me a toothache.
Posted by: annieelf | 02 February 2007 at 18:18
Hi! go on over to my blog. I've tagged you to list 5 things that made you smile this week :) BTW, you have the same last name as my maiden name :))
Posted by: Jane | 02 February 2007 at 17:51
They were running a story about counterfeiting in China on CNN the other day, some of the things they were copying, like a brand of car wax, seemed kind of strange to me. Teaching English there is always a big problem with plagarism and students who lift huge chuncks of writing from the Internet without attributing it. There seems to be a very different cultural understanding about copying, which is really hard for me to get my head around. Students seem to genuinely not understand plagarism in the way that a western mind does. Anyway, it's a tricky issue.
As for bloggers using other people's photos, there is no excuse really as it is so easy to let people know where images you use originate from. But I guess it's like any form of "cheating", all you really do is harm yourself by denying yourself the opportunity to test out your skills as a photographer or whatever and learn something new.
Posted by: Kamsin | 02 February 2007 at 17:49
Tara,
I've heard about that practice of leaving books around in public places for others to find and enjoy. In fact I think sometimes they put their address and or web page inside etc. so as to get feedback from the finder.
I use alot of images and clip art, from the google image search, on my blog. If noted I give credit to the originator. I don't think I've used pics from another's blog, but if I was so inclined, I would ask permission first. I'm more likely to use my camera to obtain a necessary image.
The faux antique business is enough to make one wary. You really do need an expert to accompany you.
Pralines.....yum yum!
rel
Posted by: rel | 02 February 2007 at 17:12