Lately I've been asked if I'm not worried about someone stealing my work now that it's online. I guess every artist faces that fear at one point or another. When I was younger I was so paranoid about someone profiting from my creativity that I ended up not showing my creations at all. No, not very smart indeed.In reality there will always be people in this world trying to take advantage of someone else's work. Whether it is identity theft, pyramid scams, piracy, etc. That doesn't mean that we are without protection, nor should we stop living our lives and doing the things we enjoy. I take the time to actually copyright my work regardless of the law stating that everything is copyrighted once you create it. I’d rather put my trust on paper and have it archived in the Library of Congress. Still, I put a little "Beware of Dog" sign on my blog (see right column) as a reminder to the morally elastic.
Besides, if someone steals my work, all that’s going to happen is we go to court, where I'll bury them in evidence (aside from the copyright), i.e. concept art, original scripts, breakdowns, character concepts, original files, etc. In return for my trouble, I get money in damages, free publicity for the book and an insider’s view of court procedures that I can use as reference for future projects. Not too shabby.
Like the S.A.S. (Special Air Services) motto says: "Who Dares Wins." There is nothing worse than to live life in fear. I'll see you in the page.
Oddman Out
