Geez, someone seems to be ripping me off!!!

Death as a portal isn't that unique an idea, although THIS one certainly looks too much alike. Maybe she was the one having seen this a while ago and then forgot and now thinks it's her own idea?

Sulis said:

The 2 cards look nothing alike.

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They do look very alike to me, and my partner commented "who stole from who?" when he saw the pics.

Arania said:

They do look very alike to me, and my partner commented "who stole from who?" when he saw the pics.

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Ok, they look alike, but this is an archetype.

You could just as easily say that both of these artists ripped off the DruidCraft deck or the Sacred Circle.

Doesn't almost every Fool card look the same?

With archetypes, everything has been done before (or almost), very little is orignal - that's the whole essence of archetype.

Sulis xx

There's a problem Danubhe.

You have no legal grounds for complaint.

She hasn't broken your copyright. The image is similar only in theme, a theme it is quite possible for two people with interest in Celtic mythos to come to seperately. The idea of gateways between this world and Sid representing death isn't that far off the norm.

It's possible it was a coincidence.

True that, and I'd probably not be much bothered by it if I saw an idea I had copied like that, especially when it's something that's been around before in one form or the other. Yet, I, too, have not seen a portal only pic as death before. So it does makes me wonder.

Arania said:

Death as a portal isn't that unique an idea, although THIS one certainly looks too much alike. Maybe she was the one having seen this a while ago and then forgot and now thinks it's her own idea?

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But she doesn't claim it's her own idea.. She wrote when she presented it that it was inspired by a deck seen on e-bay.
Maybe Danubhes card had also given a little "silent inspiration" since the portal got the center stage and the lights but not once has it been stated that she feels it is "her original idea and copyrighted for noone else".

Let's take a little step back here.

The portal - this is a very old concept and has been used in other decks before this. In many books death has also been described as "the portal to a new existence" or similar and I think we're all familiar with the light at the end of the tunnel that is said to be there at the moment of death.

The raven - an old aquaintance of death and a bird that has been linked to change and rebirth for a long time. I think many of us have gotten in contact with a raven in one or other form during our exploration of tarot and litterature in general.

And that really is where the similarities end.
The style is different. The colors are different. And the feeling I get from the cards are definitely different. They're set in different places it seems, from my point of view atleast. One, somber and misty, the other, fuzzy and a bit of a landscape image.
So I still say leave it be - unless and until it turns out that more of the cards are seemingly "copied".


Many times, I've found myself having ideas and only after clearing them in my head realising that I have examples of my idea all around me in one way or another. In adverts, in TV-shows, worn by people I work with, seen in the shop windows etc.

Yes, the deathcard in the ACT-deck is unique, but not so unique as to prevent anyone else from exploring the concept and using it in their own brainstorms and creations.
And when it comes to tarot - I think many of us agree that it's difficult to come up with something completely brand new never done by anyone before ever, and still stick to the archetypes related to the cards.

I still say that it was MY card that she basically copied. However, I know that I can't sue her over 1 card. I only hope desperately that mine appears 1st, & there is no doubt over which was the inspiration. It is an original idea (not directly taken from any other deck I've ever seen, I own the SC but never saw the DC), & I want mine to stand as the original. That's all.\

Oh: & the "eBay" bit is probably a lie - she REALLY means a deck from that site itself. I'd bet on it.

Danubhe, I hope it doesn't come across as if I've been disputing your work.

I really don't mean to at any rate but only wanted to point out that there may be a chance that she did get the idea on her own and didn't mean to copy your work.

It may even be that she never was aware that she had seen your card and really did think that the first time she got the idea was when she saw the other deck on ebay. The human mind is a strange thing, and as a colleague of mine once said "sometimes you have really good ideas and forget about them".
Something she might well have done.
Maybe she saw your card, liked it but forgot about it, and then when she saw the other one with a portal in the card got a mental image of something that she would like to see - and had seen though not remembering where.

Timestamps on when the card was shown online should be enough to proove which was first at any rate so no need to worry too much about that.
Also, I still feel that the cards are different enough to stand on their own. But then I'm used to seing similarities amongst the different decks I have in my collection so I may be a little numb for them..


Adding;

She may not even be sure of where she saw the card that inspired her.
Perhaps it was ebay, perhaps it was the site itself, perhaps she really can not remember and guesses that it was probably ebay since she often checks tarotdecks there..
We (and she) can really only speculate on that.

Well, I have taken a good look at both Death cards and while there are similarities it is possible for two people to come up with a similar idea. Although it is upsetting Danubhe I just don't think you can assume that she copied your card.

I'm a jeweller and am always coming up with jewellery designs. I sketch every day from my imagination. Where do the images in my imagination come from? I don't always know. But there is nothing absolutely "original" in any form of art. I will often see "my" designs repeated in a similar way somewhere else. There are two designs that I worked on in school that are very similar to pieces of jewellery my boss/mentor has in his shop. If I were to make my designs he would think I had directly copied him, yet I didn't. I can prove this to him with the drawings in my sketchbook (all dated like a journal) but am working on other things anyway. The details of course are not all the same.

I guess my point is that I think she probably did not copy you and there is no such thing as absolutely "original" in any art form. The difference is in the details.

Sorry this had to happen to you but I don't think you should have accused the other person in the manner that you did. You could have started an open dialogue (and heard the truth) instead of jumping to conclusions.

Ruby7

There is also a very similar image on the Strength card ( No. 5 ) of the Ralph Blum Rune Cards.
I would scan it for you but my scaner died.