Copyright infringement is often framed as something that happens on the murky edges of the internet — anonymous accounts, overseas print-on-demand shops, faceless content farms. So it can come as a shock when the infringer turns out to be a respected institution: an art school.
Recently, a well-known art school used both mine and Pandora Sellars’s work without permission in its social media posts and on its website to promote a botanical illustration course. When the issue was raised, the school quickly removed the images.
This story matters because it punctures a common assumption: that reputable organizations, especially ones in the business of teaching art, understand and respect the rights of the artists whose work they use. They don’t always. Marketing teams, course coordinators, and social media managers are often disconnected from any formal process for licensing images, and a beautiful botanical illustration found via a search engine or another artist’s Instagram post can look, to them, like “content” rather than someone’s protected work and livelihood.
For botanical artists — who frequently share detailed, high-resolution images of their work online to build a following, attract students, or sell prints — this is a real and ongoing risk. Fortunately, there are practical steps you can take to reduce it.
- Watermark strategically. A subtle but visible watermark on images you post publicly won’t stop a determined infringer, but it deters casual “right-click and use” behavior and makes ownership obvious at a glance.
- Limit resolution online. Post images large enough to appreciate the detail in your work, but not so large that they can be printed or used in professional marketing materials without visible quality loss.
- Embed metadata. Add your name and copyright information into the image file’s metadata (EXIF/IPTC data). It’s not foolproof, but it travels with the file and can support a claim later.
- Register your copyright where possible. In many countries, copyright exists automatically on creation, but formal registration (where available) strengthens your legal position and can affect the damages you’re entitled to.
- Monitor your work’s use. Reverse image search tools like Google Images or TinEye can help you spot unauthorized use of your work across the web.
- Know your escalation path. A polite email is a reasonable first step, but know what comes next: a formal cease-and-desist letter, a DMCA takedown notice (for US-hosted content), or, for repeated or commercial infringement, legal advice.
- Don’t accept “we removed it” as full resolution. Removal stops ongoing harm, but it doesn’t address the fact that your work was used commercially without permission or payment. In some circumstances it may be reasonable to ask for acknowledgement, a licensing fee, or a donation to a cause you support.
Art schools, galleries, and publishers are not exempt from copyright law simply because they operate in the art world. If anything, their visibility means infringements can spread further, faster. Botanical artists — like all creators — deserve to have their rights taken seriously, not treated as an inconvenience to be quietly tidied away.