What to do if the plagiarism strikes?
Of all the projects I've been involved in since my design and branding career began around 20 years ago, there are few that I'm as close to as the studio channel Cinema Ident. I remember the day we got the job. The onslaught of excitement broke through the fear of creating a sequence that would run for years before the movies.
And I remember walking the red carpet to the premiere of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy at the BFI in London to see the identity turn out for the first time. None of the glitterati in the auditorium could understand why a bunch of geeky-looking designers in the back stood up and cheered before the movie really started.
Even now, years later, when I'm at home on the sofa watching a movie with my kids, I still feel proud when I hear the first few brilliant notes of Alexandre Desplat's score. I see the flicker of light breaking through glass. and I realize that this has to be a studio channel film.
Maybe you can understand why my heart stopped when I saw the new Amazon opener last month.
It's not the first time something I've done has been ripped off. But usually it's from a student who hasn't yet aligned his moral compass. Or a backwater television station in a distant land that hopes you'll never see the evidence of their theft.
That was something else. One of the largest companies in the world, whose coffers were deep enough to employ any number of creatives, designers and technicians on the A-list, had commissioned a piece of work that even the most generous observer would have to thank for our studio channel – ident in concept and execution.
I spoke to Grant Gilbert from DBLG, my colleague, the creative director of the project. We agreed that we had to inform our customers at Studiocanal first. It wasn't easy, however, as many of the people we had originally worked with had already moved on.
While we waited for the slow wheels of the corporate and legal machine to turn, I decided to write to the design agency. I have to say it was a lot of fun writing this letter. But when the first exciting onslaught of "You were blown up" subsided, I realized that there was something about the snappy tone that wasn't quite right for me, and so the letter didn't stay sent.
Instead, I started thinking about the issue of originality and the theft of ideas.
As creatives and designers, we all know that there is no virgin birth with an idea. The inspiration comes from two parents: our lived experience and the rich cultural soup we drink every day. If those of us who worked on the Studiocanal opener hadn't seen Cornelia Parker's exploded shed (aka Cold Dark Matter), we might not have thought of fragmenting light with an installation of panes of glass.
As creatives and designers, we all know that there is no virgin birth with an idea
Maybe it all has to do with how far the original work has progressed. Nick Cave addresses the question in the context of music in his brilliant blog The Red Hand Files:
“Theft is the engine of progress and should be encouraged or even celebrated, provided the stolen idea has been promoted in some way. Promoting an idea means stealing something from someone and making it so cool and desirable that someone will steal it from you. In this way, modern music evolves, collects ideas and mutates and transforms itself in the process. But a word of caution, if you steal an idea and belittle or downgrade it, you are committing a terrible crime for which you will pay a terrible price – whatever talent you have, in time, will leave you. If you steal, you have to honor the action, promote the idea, or be damned. "
A resounding warning of creative break-in from Mr Cave, but it doesn't make us clearer how those of us who feel betrayed should best respond. Coincidentally, at the time of the "Amazon raid," I noticed this tweet from James Watt, one of the founders of the up-and-coming beer company Brewdog:
I wonder what Aldi would call Elvis Juice. ???? https://t.co/JQRcX9zAzO
– James Watt (@BrewDogJames) August 19, 2020
The discount supermarket chain Aldi had created a beer that looked remarkably similar in taste, profile, design and packaging to the Brewdog bestseller Punk IPA. But just a day later, Watt posted again on Twitter:
Inspired by ALDI's takeover of Punk IPA yesterday, we're making a new beer.
YALDI IPA is coming soon!
Maybe our friends @AldiUK even sell it in their stores? pic.twitter.com/lV5bANS5L3
– James Watt (@BrewDogJames) August 20, 2020
Amazingly, Aldi responded with a sound creative note:
We would have gone with ALD IPA, would have sent us a box and we will talk? https://t.co/seFaTVmRlv
– Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) August 20, 2020
And then, after a quick behind-the-scenes discussion, Watt made this post:
The plot intensifies: Yesterday we designed this new beer in response to ALDI's takeover of our flagship Punk IPA. @AldiUK contacted you today to discuss the listing of our new IPA.
@Tesco now wants to list ALD IPA in its branches as well. pic.twitter.com/GeL5XktVli
– James Watt (@BrewDogJames) August 21, 2020
And very soon, ALD IPA will be on the shelves of your local supermarket.
I really admire Brewdog: their dedication to being carbon negative, their ability to move skillfully and quickly to produce one-of-a-kind items like the brilliant Barnard Castle Eye test after the Dominic Cummings debacle, and of course their delicious range of IPAs.
But this ingenious move that has something about Aikido – using the energy of your attacker's blow for your own purposes – was brilliant. Instead of engaging in a bitter, discriminatory, and expensive legal battle, they rolled with the blow and created something new, positive, and probably very tasty.
The choice is yours – either maintaining the negative energy or just absorbing the blow and considering if this could be a creative opportunity in disguise
An act of deliberate plagiarism is negative. The plagiarism is reduced by his decision to copy. The opportunity to do something special and expand the pool of original ideas has been missed. However, if you are the one whose work has been stolen, I believe you have a choice – either to maintain the negative energy by measuring yourself against your copycat and engaging in a costly fight in which success is uncertain, or simply that Absorb the blow and consider whether the transgression could be a creative opportunity in disguise.
Where am i today I know that Studiocanal is considering your legal position, but I am no longer interested in the outcome of the process. For me and the rest of the team, knowing that there is a replacement facsimile of our original identity doesn't diminish our pride in the project, nor does it obscure the memory of that special evening in London. All that remains is pour a cold glass of ALD IPA, move on to the next letter and let the karma do its thing.
Richard Holman is a freelance creative director who runs courses in creativity and ideas. This article originally appeared on Richard Holman's blog richardholman.com/blog