General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums
Kamala Harris Surprises Young Artist by Putting His Painting on the Second Family's Holiday Card
☃️ 🎄
Berko is a tenth grader at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., just down the road from the Naval Observatory where Harris and Emhoff live. Earlier this year, Berko's visual arts teacher provided him photos of the vice president's official residence and asked him to reimagine it in a wintry setting, leaving out important context about the purpose of the assignment.
Unaware at the time, Berko was entering a secret design contest — his painting would be judged against other D.C. students' submissions, and the winner would have their design printed on the second family's 2022 holiday card.
https://people.com/politics/kamala-harris-selects-student-art-2022-holiday-card/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
SheilaAnn
(10,744 posts)
3auld6phart
(1,683 posts)it’s like magic tho have this talent in fingers and mind paint or draw. This is a beautiful painting.
My daughter is blessed with this talent, not from me for sure. 
and
malaise
(296,823 posts)😀
BlueWaveNeverEnd
(14,472 posts)Nittersing
(8,421 posts)I love this idea so much!!
Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)Imagine it being Melania's secret holiday card design contest. Would you have the same reaction about the child's artwork being used on a card sent out with Trump and Melania's signature without the child's consent?
Wounded Bear
(64,425 posts)Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)but that doesn't address the secret nature of the contest. The article says the instructor did not tell them how their works would be used when the assignment was made, and the emphasis seems to be on surprise and secret. That's not acceptable - again - imagine how you would feel if your artwork had been submitted to a contest run by Melania Trump.
Whatthe_Firetruck
(610 posts)... The artist didn't give consent after the contest was revealed, or wasn't compensated for their work?
What you're suggesting is something I might suspect of Melania, but not of Kamala Harris.
Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)It is the right of the artist to control reproductions of their work - and on a teacher apparently entering a student's work in a contest without their knowledge or consent.
The emphasis in the article was on secrecy and surprise. From the article:
Unaware at the time, Berko was entering a secret design contest — his painting would be judged against other D.C. students' submissions, and the winner would have their design printed on the second family's 2022 holiday card.
If the article is accurate, he was not told his work would be entered into a contest. That is unethical, at best - and copyright infringement at worst unless the instructor sent the original painting in (reproduction of a work of authorship - i.e. taking a photo of it - is an infringement of copyrights absent the author's permission).
And compensation is not the issue: It is respect for the rights of the copyright holder (the child) to control reproduction of his work. Would it be OK if Melania used the work of an artist over their objections - as long as she paid for it? (The answer (legally) is no.)
There may be things which are not in the article - I can only go by what is. As a former high school teacher - certified since 1978, I can assure you it is inappropriate for a teacher to submit a student's work to a competition without their consent. As an attorney who practiced coyright law for 13 years, it is infringing to use the work without the consent of the copyright holder, regardless of whether the person using the work throws money at you.
If this was not truly a secret contest, or if the teacher obtained permission to submit the students work to the contest, the article should state it. But no one should be celebrating the process the article describes.
DENVERPOPS
(13,003 posts)Thank you......
Someone I know, years ago made up an ad for a company, with the background being some picture he got somewhere.
The next week the owner of the company got a thousand dollar bill for the one time use of a guys photograph....
LOL, the guy who did it had an MBA, but was clueless of the real world business stuff.....
(The owner paid the bill lightning fast and said: Good thing he didn't bill us for ten grand, we would have had to pay that amount....
Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)Copyright law is probably the most misunderstood law. Artists have their stuff grabbed and used all the time. It's hard to find, and most companies don't react like your friend's did. And when they don't, it costs way more to sue than it is worth - so most just give up and eat the loss.
We just don't value creative work the same way we do physical labor. Virtually everyone recognizes taking a physical thing which someone else made as theft - and those same people think nothing of ripping a CD, or grabbing an image from a website to use in their ad.
DENVERPOPS
(13,003 posts)Didn't Melania steal parts of Michelle Obama's speech and present it as her original work when she gave it in a speech??????
Trump used different musical group's music in his campaign all the time and gets away with it....he is known not to ever pay for anything!
Do you know if BMI and ASCAP still exist???????? They used to sue anyone using their clients music without paying their fees for use....
Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)And yes - Melania stole parts of Michelle Obama's speech. Trump's use of music is not as clear-cut. Most large venues which use music for events license the music from one of the three licensing entities and anyone renting the venues is sublicensing and is permitted to use the music (generally even over the artists' objections). I doubt all of the venues Trump used had a site license, but most of them would have.
So unhappy artists could make noise, and ask Trump to stop using their music - but they wouldn't be completely able to prohibit it as long as they license through BMI/ASCAP/SESAC. It's an artist's trade-off. The licensing entities make it a lot easier for artists to make money when their music is used (since the artists don't have to enter into individual contracts with every single person who wants to play their songs. They also don't have to chase people with lawsuits. But in eschange, they forfeit some artistic control - like choosing who gets to use their music.
I haven't been involved with copyright litigation since 2013 - but I defended a few clients hit with lawsuits back in the day. Defended - loosely speaking. Those cases primarily involved settling. The cases were cut and dried - ASCAP/BMI/SESAC were able to track the unlicensed downloads to an IP address - typically a parents' IP address who was unaware their children were downloading music. Another prime target were students at college. As technology changed and people were able to do more anonymously online (including downloading music) the litigation got harder for the licensing entities to sue. I haven't heard of much litigation recently - but it's harder (i.e. more costly) for them.
DENVERPOPS
(13,003 posts)thx for sharing this info.
I heard that no-one can use the Happy Birthday song without paying, as it is copyrighted........Imagine that!!!!! LOL
Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)But until then it was protected by copyright.
Beaverhausen
(24,701 posts)do you see how sexist that is?
Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)The point isn't the gender of the person you want to think did the right thing. It is the party affiliation, and our tendency to forgive things those on our side do but to be outraged when the other side does the exact same thing. When we think something is outrageous if the other guy does it, but fantastic if our guy (or gal) does it, that is a major problem.
The reason I used Melania for comparison is that she is the only one I am aware of in the last administration who involved in similar holiday preparations. It is a lot easier, as a thought exercise, if you avoid the kneejerk, "he wouldn't even be involved in that" reaction by starting with someone who was involved in that kind of activity in the past administration.
demmiblue
(39,816 posts)
MerryBlooms
(12,325 posts)Is Spectacular! Congratulations to Alex Berko! This young man is amazing. ❤❤❤
FakeNoose
(41,926 posts)How nice that Kamala (and family) decided to do this!
demigoddess
(6,675 posts)Just A Box Of Rain
(5,104 posts)
brer cat
(27,617 posts)for they young man. I hope he has a very successful career in art.
republianmushroom
(22,425 posts)
paleotn
(22,386 posts)Interesting that I'm on Kamala Harris's Christmas card list. Not sure how that happened. 
littlemissmartypants
(34,006 posts)She and her husband are just lovely. What a wonderful surprise and great honor for this talented young man! ❤️
Diamond_Dog
(40,759 posts)littlemissmartypants
(34,006 posts)
CrispyQ
(41,011 posts)I've tried drawing perspective &it's harder than it looks. How cool that she did that! 
Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)- At least as the story is reported here.
Unaware at the time, Berko was entering a secret design contest — his painting would be judged against other D.C. students' submissions, and the winner would have their design printed on the second family's 2022 holiday card.
The moment your Berko's work was recorded in a form capable of reproduction, he owned the exclusive copyrights to the work (including the right to decide about the reproduction of his work. The work should not have been reproduced on the card without an express or implied license from Berko. Since there was a contest, the entry form usually grants at least an implied, if not express, license. But Berko apparently did not know his work was being entered, so the teacher who apparently entered on his behalf had no right to grant that right.
Can you imagine your reaction if your work was secretly entered into a contest for the Trump White House card - and you learned about it only after the cards were printed and sent out?
Wounded Bear
(64,425 posts)Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)It doesn't excuse a secret contest into which artists' works are submitted without their consent.
There may well be details the article omits. But as a former copyright attorney, this perpetuates the lack of knowledge copyright in one of the main communities intended to be protected by it.
flying rabbit
(4,979 posts)Sorry you cant see it that way.
Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)Would you feel the same way if this had happened during the prior administration? Do you remember how much outrage there has been when Republicans have used the music of popular musicians in their rallies - even when they have paid BMI, ASCAP, etc.?
Artists, as a general rule, have a right to control the use of their work. Artists face an uphill battle to protect their copyright interests, since most people don't see the harm in grabbing photos off of the internet, ripping CDs of their favorite songs, etc. The individual cost of enforcing copyright is high enough that (aside from music licensing when BMI/ASCAP are involved) most artists just give up. I have had to sit with artists and tell them, "You could go to court to enforce your rights. You could chase infringers from website to website to have your work taken down. But the cost to that in money (in the first instance) and time (in the second) is far more than you will ever sell your artwork for.
No one should be entering someone else's artwork into a contest without their permission - regardless of the outcome. Our administration should be modeling behavior that respects artists' rights, not modeling do-it-wrong-first, beg forgiveness (or throw money) the fact - or even all's-well-that-ends-well behavior (regardless of how we got here).
getagrip_already
(17,802 posts)Not accept the award and retain full rights and confidentiality.
There is nothing here hinting at theft of the artwork or unauthorized disclosure of the artist.
This is nothing but a plus to the artist. They can use it in a portfolio for school or a job with the provenance attached to it. The exposure for an artist is invaluable.
And as long as they were given the option to say no thanks and remain anonymous, no harm no foul.
For all we know, someone did that and they went on to the next artist.
I just don't get the problem. I see the risks for exploitation, but I don't see what they did as exploiting.
Response to Ms. Toad (Reply #19)
Post removed
Ms. Toad
(38,713 posts)First - I didn't say he didn't find out until after they were sent out.
Second - the copyright infringement occurred the moment someone copied his painting (whether that was the teacher taking a photo to send it in, or printing it on cards), even if that copy goes nowhere. There have been copyright infringement cases won even when the person copying made the copy for their own personal use and it never went anywhere but their drawyer.
If you get outraged when a Republican does it, but think it is wonderful when a Democrat does the same thing, you are being a hypocrite. Think all of the outrage posted here about Trump using the music of popular bands - even when many of the venues had paid licensing fees so he had every legal right to do it; the musicians just didn't like him using their music. As reported, this is a similar act by a Democrat (the contest was described as secret and it was implied, if not outright stated, that the child did not know his painting was being submitted by the teacher to a contest he didn't even know about - let alone give his permission to enter). Most people are praising it.
I'm asking people to check their confirmation bias. It has nothing to do with suggesting both parties are the same - it has to do with judging the actions of both sides by the same standard. If it is bad (and copyright infringement is bad), it is bad regardless of who does it. We should be modeling good behavior - and holding our politicians to the same standard.
Ferrets are Cool
(23,002 posts)Good intentions here, but I completely agree with your post.
majdrfrtim
(340 posts)I thought not.
Skittles
(172,125 posts)that is one ugly fucking couple 
Deuxcents
(27,230 posts)The idea of getting kids involved and them not even knowing the reason. A wonderful project. I hope we hear from Alex again.
iluvtennis
(21,509 posts)
aggiesal
(10,843 posts)
Bluethroughu
(7,215 posts)
liberalla
(11,148 posts)
niyad
(133,016 posts)back of the card with his bio.
It is a beautiful card.
Alpeduez21
(2,062 posts)I am continually amazed at what people can do when given a blank piece of paper.
