Famous paintings provide copyrights for embroidery

Famous painter Xie Shiqiang has agreed to add around 50 of his paintings to the copyright platform founded by the Zhenhu area in Suzhou of Jiangsu province.

Embroidery is an art form based on paintings and photos, so copyrights play an important role. In 2011, a copyright trading platform of embroidery works was founded in the Zhenhu area, which is well-known for Suzhou-style embroidery.

Now there are more than 2,000 works on the platform.

The Zhenhu area is the birthplace of Suzhou-style embroidery. The art form has a history of over 2,000 years. More than 8,000 people of the 20,000 residents make a living on embroidery. An embroidery industrial cluster has been formed with an annual output value of 1.3 billion yuan ($214.8 million).

Copyright disputes occurred from time to time in recent years, limiting the development of the art and the industry.

The Zhenhu branch of the Suzhou Intellectual Property Association was founded and has invited experts to give lectures and forums to enhance the awareness of embroidery artists.

Jin Haixing, an official in the Zhenhu area, said they have reached agreements with many painters, calligraphers, photographers and professors at art colleges to get copyrights of their work.