There's an App for that!

On a whim I decided to enter "henna" in the app market on my Android phone. There are a couple apps for it and one is free. It's a gallery of different designs, which then open into slideshows, some of which are pretty rough and some are quite lovely. It's called "Mehndi" and the galleries are-
Hand design
Arabic design (some of which weren't but whatever)
Bridal design
Glitter design
Foot design
Misc/Other design

There wasn't one for face paint though. lol

I just thought it was amusing and if ya'll have other app enabled phones, maybe you'd find something too!

Unfortunately, this is not a good thing, they have stolen the photos without the artist or photographers permission and apparently no recognition for the artist and are making money off of it. It is causing a HUGE ripple in the community right now as those who have not watermarked thier work have been getting ripped off. One piece of the thread for what they are getting ready to do is as follows:

1) They are using a .com domain name - their domain can be seized for linking to copyrighted material as have 84,000 others. Contact the Dept of Homeland Security to enquire how to register a DCMA complaint. If the big music companies can do it, the small businessperson should be able to also.
2) Demand sales figures from iTunes. Put it as a case of unpaid royalties rather than a straight cease-and-desist. If there are 250 images, a royalty fee of 0.5% per image would have a nice effect :-)
Check with a copyright lawyer - it might be possible to have itunes withhold payment to the app "developers" pending a copyright investigation.

Most people don't care, but when others are making $$ just by collecting work that is not thiers, that can be seen as an ethical issue.

I cannot honestly say that I'm that upset if it were me, but I watermark everything so I'm rarely a target. Most of the people that snag stuff are a bit lazy so they really only take stuff they can just click and use. I know Riffat from the UK has been stolen from for years but only recently started watermarking. Her stuff is now almost to the point where it is public domain. Everyone sees the one she used for her front page in hundreds of places. It would be a full time job to track down every person that has taken it. Henna Lounge is another person who has a beef with good reason.

Is the app a bad thing? I feel for the other artists, but I can't say I'm on the warpath or anything. I feel kind of bad that maybe I don't care so much???? Hmmm.... anyway, the point may be moot, I just got wind that the iphone app may have already been pulled due to copyright theft issues. I wonder if that is the same thing? I'm a dummy when it comes to this stuff. My phone just makes calls. That's it....Just a phone! LOL

Ummmm...I actually don't know what one you are talking about. The one I mentioned doesn't claim ownership. Not to mention that it's free (like I mentioned) so there is no money being made off of it at all, so it really isn't a bad thing. There isn't even a link to a website or promotion.

I do know we're not talking about the same thing. My phone's an Android and the apps for that are different. Each phone/company has different apps and even different app processes. My friends iPhone apps don't run on my Android, for example.

The thing with "rip offs" is that it's been around long before this, and in every art form. I always say watermark the image and use the frustration to make better stuff. In performing we get stuff ripped off all the time, and it's a compliment to what we do and a catalyst to do something bigger and better and stay one step ahead. Doing so is far more productive than complaining. Besides, there are so many artists who claim ownership of traditional designs that can't be owned that I think it's ridiculous. Sometimes, as long as money isn't involved, I think this is a good thing, to be honest. I am sick to death of the egos that surround all forms of body art, and fighting over whose is whose (I've known people to fight over an image only to find out- they did pretty much the same design as someone else and it was the 3rd persons image!) isn't a bad way to step them back. I view it as the fault of the artist for not watermarking. It's much harder to steal well- protected "print" (computer- you get the idea) things than it is performance material. Like I said, that's as long as someone isn't selling the images or use of them. When money comes in, so does a special hell.

Ahahaha. "Just a phone!" I have to admit, I had one of those too up until a few months ago when my hub *insisted* I get this because I travel so much. I thought "FINE! It'll make him happy but what will I do with it?" However, and I hate admitting this to him , I LOVE my "phone". It's a portable mini-computer and I'm quite impressed with all that it does. Sad but true. I'm a tech-convert. I feel like I need a 12-step program. *hangs head in shame*