Steve Adams
Elite Cafe Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2007
- Messages
- 320
A post I just read made a light go off in my head, not specifically about the following subject but close enough to make me ask this question. What do you do if you find out someone else is creating work then signing your name on it? It is not unusual for people to copy work, that is a subject unto itself filled with many strong emotions, however, two things have happened this past year that were totally unexpected and thus the post. I knew eventually some of my work would begin to be resold, but I never expected it to be copied or imitated and sold as my own. Case one is where a buyer has a nickel in his collection that I did not do yet it has my initials, and no, it isn't Sam's work. I used to sign SA until I realized Sam Alfano and I have the same initials. Is there another SA out there? Case two is still a mystery. Someone offered four hobo nickels for sale to a client of mine who then asked that they be verified. He called me asking to do so and I told him to send photos and I would say if the work was mine or not. The client told the seller through a middle man that he knew me personally and that I was more than happy to confirm. That seller was never heard from again, and having to go through a third and fourth party made it easy for the holder of the coins to drop out of sight. I can only assume the coins were not legit, or were sold to someone else. Although the thought of someone cashing in on another's reputation is bothersome, I'm not sure I can do much about it because I am clueless as to how to find out where the stuff is coming from.