SHARING MY ART WITH TEACHERS AROUND THE WORLD
Over the years, I have been deeply honored to receive numerous requests from art teachers in both public and private schools all around the world, who have reached out to ask for my permission to create lesson plans around the styles of my artwork to share with their students. (If you scroll to the bottom of this article, you'll see just a few of the photos sent to me by teachers, showcasing their students’ works created in the Michel Keck style.) In every single one of these instances, I have wholeheartedly granted these educators permission to use my artwork, share my techniques, and develop lesson plans that allow their students to create their own pieces inspired by the style I have cultivated.
There is a stark and significant distinction between an art teacher, operating within a legitimate educational institution, reaching out to seek my explicit permission to teach students about my artwork, and a commercial art studio creating and selling a product derived from my work for their own financial gain, without obtaining my authorization for the use of either my copyrighted artwork or my registered trademark. The former is an educational endeavor, conducted in good faith for non-commercial purposes and with my express consent, while the latter is an unauthorized commercial exploitation of my intellectual property, conducted solely for profit and in direct violation of my rights as the owner of said copyrights and trademark. This unauthorized use of my work not only undermines the integrity of my intellectual property but constitutes a clear infringement of my rights, as it is done without my consent, for commercial gain, and with no regard for the legal protections afforded to my creative works and my registered trademark.
It was exceedingly simple for all of those teachers to not only contact me, but to receive a prompt response from me as well. My phone number and email addresses are readily accessible on my websites, and a single search of my name will immediately direct one to those sites, providing clear instructions on how to reach me. However, Ms. Kenneally, in contrast, never made any attempt to contact me to request permission to use my trademarked name or my copyrighted images. Had she sought my authorization to use my trademark and copyrighted images in the manner she desired, I would have unequivocally denied her request.
As the legal owner of both my trademarks and copyrights, it is my legal right, especially in the capacity of a trademark owner, to deny the misuse and unauthorized exploitation of my name and intellectual property in such a manner.
the artworks below are by Sackville School Students in the UK creating artwork based on the styles of Michel Keck dog art collages
the photo below was sent to me by Trudy Taylor a teacher who had reached out to me for permission to share my artwork with her students to inspire them to create dog art collages in Michel Keck style
the photos below are artworks created by Mr. Vic Hazeldine (UK) from lesson plan to teach collage style of Michel Keck
the artworks below were created by Bronwyn Lewis (australia) students creations based on their interpretations of the Michel Keck collage style
I do not and will not give any art studio owner or artist permission to use my copyrighted images and my registered trademark to create any product to be sold for profit, on websites, at farmer's markets, fairs, etc.
