Winnipeg artist finds inventive way to fight back when her work is swiped online

Be true to who you are by Kal Barteski (Kal Barteski)

"It's not approved, not allowed, and it's not awesome".  - artist and blogger Kal Barteski.

Kal Barteski knows firsthand that the internet can work for her, and against her. "The internet is big for me, it's huge. I make my money posting things on the web". Kal is an artist and an award winning graphic designer. She makes a living selling her work online, and keeps her creative juices flowing with her popular blog, love life.  

But two weeks ago one of her blog fans spotted a  text-painting of Kal's being sold as a print in a Vancouver shop, without the artist's permission. Kal was getting ripped off.  With a little digging she found out that Be true to who you are has been reproduced on tote bags, necklaces, coffee mugs, and it was even spotted in a porn video.  It has been posted on Tumblr over one and a half million times.  And she hasn't seeing a cent in return.  "It's not approved, not allowed, and it's not awesome", and with that, Kal got to work. 

Instead of turning to a copyright lawyer, Kal has taken it into her own hands.  She's using a large dose of her "love life" philosophy and the same tool that was used to exploit her art in the first place: The internet.

Linkwithlove.org is a neighborhood watch group set up to get the word out about the right way to treat intellectual property online.  And she's hoping it will go viral. If you spot a piece of artwork online that doesn't have a credit, Kal wants you to post the piece via linkwithlove.org and through posting and 're-sharing' the owner of the work will eventually found.

You can check out the details on her site for more information.

Listen to Kal Barteski in conversation with Terry MacLeod, Information Radio. (aired Monday June 13, 6:45 a.m.)