The Skeeter Daddle Diaries

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The much beloved, right leaning hardware store that anchors the river town of Arlington has been using a local artist’s designs for some of their clothes and sundries. When she confronted the store with proof, they pulled the goods off the shelves but said, well, since she hadn’t bothered to copyright her work, their use of her art was perfectly legitimate. Too bad they didn’t consult an attorney first, one who could explain that us artists’ work belongs to us, no need to file a copyright claim. It’s ours. Period.

When the hardware store did get an attorney, his response was that the issue was basically settled and if the artist didn’t shut up they would hit her with defamation and harassment lawsuits. Whoa ho, Goliath is gonna roar! Who doesn’t love a bully? Well, Ms. Eells didn’t. She called up a few of the companies whose work Arlington Hardware had also borrowed or stolen (?) to let them know theirs, like hers, had been used to sell everything from T-shirts to sweats, folks like Coors and Harley Davidson, Rainier and Marlboro, AC/DC and Tim McGraw, formidable allies.

The irony of this is that Arlington, the city, has reimagined itself as a town that features public artworks from the river to its southern city limits, sculptures and murals, metalworks and fused glass installations. Maybe the hardware store was just embracing this aesthetic collaboration, despite the slogans featured on some of their clothing, fun stuff like the assault rifle with the words ‘Come and Take it’, or ‘If This Flag Offends You I’ll Help You Pack’, maybe not the friendliest or most inclusive.

In full disclosure, I am an artist myself. Or so I like to think. But even if the art isn’t museum-worthy, the art is mine, not some company’s to use to sell their merchandise. And no, I never applied for copyright on any of it. Don’t have to, don’t need to. The law is pretty clear, especially in this state. Common law copyright, look it up. What Arlington Hardware is probably doing right now if they haven’t already.

I can only hope they don’t see this little blog as harassment or defamation of their esteemed character. But hey, if you’re reading this, A. H., contact my sales staff for information on price lists for my designs. Cut you a helluva deal on the train station clock design with ‘Time to Wake Up’ underneath.

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