Todd Goldman is still an Art "Thief"*.

Cross-posted to legos

"Oh, what a cool picture!"


"I think I will draw the exact same one and put my name on it!"


For an explanation, go here, and for vast amounts of other meme-sheep art, check out the links here. Hmm, people may think the term "Meme-sheep" is insulting. How about "Meme-slut" instead? ;-)

*Why did I put the word "thief" in quotes, you ask? Simple: I don't believe that so-called "intellectual property" has the same moral status that real property does. "But artists deserve to be paid for their work!" you say? You're right, they do, but so do cab driver, and no one would claim that a customer who cheated a cabbie out of his fare was "stealing" a ride the same way that a shoplifter steals physical goods. Both are equally wrong and damaging to the victim, both deserve equal punishment, but they are _not_ the same.

Personally, I think we would be much better off thinking of art, software, etc. as "Intellectual services" instead. Much less cognitive dissonance involved.