Is Your Art Safe?

Marc Morgenstern
Dec 18, 2025
3 min read

The Illusion of Safety

Every time a creator uploads a piece of art, there’s a moment of pride, followed quickly by a flicker of risk. We post, share, and publish to be seen. But in the digital age, visibility and vulnerability often come as a pair.For years, creators assumed that copyright laws, platform policies, and social accountability would protect them. But in 2025, the truth is impossible to ignore: your art isn’t safe online.

The Data That Should Scare Everyone (But Especially Artist)

Creative theft isn’t a fringe issue; it’s an epidemic hiding in plain sight.

A 2023 Adobe survey found that 70% of creators have seen their work reposted, resold, or reused without permission.

A 2024 Society of Authors report revealed that 26% of illustrators and 36% of translators have already lost income to AI-generated content.And a 2023 SpringerLink study confirmed that AI image generators scrape millions of online images, often without attribution or consent.It’s not about if your art will be stolen - it’s about when.

Case Study 1: The Tattoo Artist vs. the Machine

When tattoo artist Jordan Leigh opened Instagram one morning, his inbox was flooded.Dozens of fans were tagging him in a new AI tattoo generator app. One of his followers let Jordan know that there were dozens of copies of his style of art work being created with a prompt - and if you thought I was going to give you that prompt - you have the wrong writer!

Jordan hadn’t collaborated with them.He hadn’t licensed anything.Yet Jordan’s hand-drawn designs had been scraped from his portfolio and turned into an algorithmic pattern library.“They didn’t steal one design,” he said. “They stole how I draw.”Within weeks, the app had been downloaded 200,000 times. Jordan’s clients numbers dropped and were replaced by AI imitators.

Similar stories can be found in this article: The New Yorker – Is AI Art Stealing from Artists?

Why the System is Failing Creators

Today’s platforms move at machine speed. An image can be downloaded, reposted, and monetized thousands of times before a single DMCA notice is processed. Even if a creator wins, the work has already been cloned, shared, or used to train the next dataset.

AI developers claim, “fair use.” Marketplaces claim, “third-party responsibility.”Meanwhile, creators are left chasing ghosts.

Case Study 2: The Photographer in the Billboard

Professional photographer Lana Zhou sold landscape prints online. These photos were small batch, numbered, and watermarked.

Until one morning, she drove past a highway billboard for a tourism campaign and saw her photo — blown up 30 feet high.

No license. No credit. No payment.

When she contacted the agency, they apologized and blamed a “junior designer who found it online.” They offered her $500 to “settle it quietly.”

“That shot took me two years to get,” she said. “They took my work, erased my name, and called it a misunderstanding.”

📎 Real precedent: PetaPixel – Photographer Finds Work Used in Ad Campaign Without Permission

Why It Keeps Happening

Because the system rewards the wrong people.

Platforms value engagement over authenticity.
Marketplaces reward volume over verification.
AI companies thrive on scraping data without consent.

In this ecosystem, the fastest uploader wins — not the original creator.

The Turning Point

But there’s a new question emerging in creative circles:What if art could be safe?

That’s not a fantasy. It’s what we’re building.

The Artist Armor Waitlist

Artist Armor exists because creators deserve better.We’re building technology that verifies authorship, tracks artwork across the web, and helps artists get paid; fairly and with transparency.

“Your art deserves armor - not walls.”

Join the Waitlist: ArtistArmor.com/WaitlistBe among the first to access creator-protection tools when we launch.

Closing Reflection

Your art is your identity, your income, and your legacy.Don’t leave it unguarded.

Protect your art. Claim your proof. Own your power.

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