Snapchat Remove a Filter Because it Basically Stole an Artist's Idea

Remember when there were only about 3 different Snapchat filters? That seems like a long time ago, now you need a spotter's guide for them. Some are funny, others are politically motivated, others are just plain disgusting, and now we have another category - plagiarism.

Actually in love with this filter 💕 Snapchat = Roxeterawr 👻 pic.twitter.com/NuzDZMn1yG

— Roxeterawr (@RoxeteraRibbons) 2 May 2016

Recently, Snapchat rolled out a filter which could turn your face into a kind of cubist blend of shapes built up from primary colours. It was very pretty, and a lot of people seemed quite taken with it, as you can see above, but now look at this:

BuzzFeed

That is one of the photographs taken for the 2013 2D or not 2D series by artist Alexander Khoklov and makeup artist Valeriya Kutsan. As you may or may not have noticed, it bears a passing resemblance to the Snapchat filter. Actually, scratch that, it's almost exactly the same. Some of the colours and shapes are a little different, but the basic structure is identical.

Such a glaring similarity was never going to pass by unnoticed, and soon enough scores of people were calling Snapchat out on it, with some people even claiming that it was actually their work that was being ripped off, not Khoklov and Kutsan's. BuzzFeed contacted Khoklov directly about the filter, and he said he'd had no contact from them, of any kind. Whether or not he'll actually pursue legal action against them is unclear, but it'd be hard to blame him.

S/O to snapchat for taking our art and making changes to it then using the filter like we ain't going to notice. LOL pic.twitter.com/Pb1NF2SRXd

— HAKIM (@eyeHAKIM) 4 May 2016

Snapchat have since acknowledged that "this lens is similar to other artists’ creations", and have promptly taken it down. They wisely relented from directly referencing Khoklov, or saying anything to suggest that this was anything other than an implausibly massive coincidence. I kind of get the impression that somebody got fired over this.

Callum Davies

Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @Songbird_Callum

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