Comments on: What to Do if Someone Steals Your Design

By: Sylvia

Sylvia — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:57:36 +0000

Hi- I am very glad I found this site- I would like to put my 2 cents in about art theft: I googled my name – just for the fun of it and found one of my pieces of art ( I sell on art.com and other sites) on a Chinese website. This site has 400 artits at their disposable and will reproduce a piece of art (masterpieces and the like) and sell to you as an “original” – I saw my art- it was available as an “original” for up to $800. OMG!! Anyway- I thought about how to approach this (because it seemed as though they were a large com. and not in the US.- I was going to se the template you have (thank you) but I did not have to. I carefully worded an email to the company with a few lines that said- this is MY artwork – it is copyright protected- please remove it immediatley. The next day – I was going to use your template to send another email but I did not have to – the art – and my name was removed! I was lucky ! Sylvia P.

By: iso 9001

iso 9001 — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:30:04 +0000

Ich habe überall nach einer guten resorse sah ich danke Ihnen.

By: Zanzi

Zanzi — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:59:19 +0000

I have a question for all you long suffering compadres.

What do I do when most of my work has been stolen, not just off the web ( I don’t have a webpage because of this problem ), but straight off my PC – through hacking – and ( I know about security, but these people get through every time I even buy a new PC reformat, etc etc) and most of my portfolio has been reproduced and copied? I have even had physical thefts from my apartment – I never knew my work was any good, until I saw it reproduced.

In my situation, I am trying to admittedly with this encouragement ( if you can call it that ) get back into the graphic design industry – the question is: How do I present my portfolio when it has been commercially reproduced?

For example one company may be ( without naming names )taking your work for every themed week, – as well as other big names who have used my concept, and even my story concepts for movies.

How do I come across as not being bitter and or boasting, when in fact I have had such a volume of my work stolen – even physically? What type of portfolio do I have left? Where is the money to buy the equipment so they can even keep stealing from me?

Do I mention this in my resume, or do I literally ‘lie’ and say that I have no work, when in fact, my publishing it will look like I am ripping off the people who have stolen it from me.

I do have a tip, and I try to do this even for doodles – take a photograph that is time stamped of your work – that date once taken cannot be altered, there is your proof of the time it was produced.

Your advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 05:23:44 +0000

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By: wenwens

wenwens — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:47:12 +0000

Seriously Thank you for your help, this website has been a great relief from the books,

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By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:36:40 +0000

Found this site researching what I can do to the person copying everything I do. Thanks so much for the advice.

I have my own registered business and now I’ve had to stop posting because my ideas keep getting ripped off by one person. The twist here is that the offender is my EX-HUSBAND’s NEW WIFE!!! I just don’t get it. She’s been reported once for stealing an image & was forced to remove it. Now it’s starting up again. I’ve tried blocking IPs, blocking them on social sites & everything I can and they still seem to find a way to use my wording & imitate images.

Note she has NO graphic design experience, yet she suddenly started a business exactly like mine. I then created a craft blog to share some of my other talents… now she has one, too and has been copying wording, projects, you name it. Her stuff is nowhere NEAR the quality mine is, and I know she won’t be stealing clients. But I just don’t understand why she would want to be ME. I’d just like to live my life.

By: Ren

Ren — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:58:39 +0000

Oy! Found this great article while doing a bit of research, ’cause I just found out one of my former schoolmates from university has a few of my concepts from a corporate project “redone” in his online portfolio. He didn’t sign them, but he didn’t credit me. And even if he redrew a couple of them, I (and the company and the prof I’d say) know where those ideas and initial images came from! I guess I’ll have to go back and redo mine to make his copies look boggy. Never saw it coming. Flattered and put off at once!

By: Jyoti Sudhir

Jyoti Sudhir — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 05:26:25 +0000

Ohhh..I am in a total mess. I hate this gal who I tried to help. She lost her job and came to me for some sort of advice. She took all my jewelry for an exhibition and copied all my designs.
She has made her own site now with most of my deigns and I am hating it. I am not uploading anymore new pieces just because I am too scared that she would steal everything away once again.
I am under a process of having my company registered but it is taking too much time. And this gal is happily doing her business.
Ohh..I never thought one of my classmates would do such a thing.

By: Claire

Claire — Fri, 20 May 2011 17:05:49 +0000

oh and this was a sample I sent to them three years ago and they rejected it!

By: Claire

Claire — Thu, 19 May 2011 18:32:11 +0000

It’s happened to me. This company are making money out of my design but apparently I have no rights. Gutted. Spent nearly two decades trying to get paid for my illustration and that happens.

By: Edwin

Edwin — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 01:17:16 +0000

Blatant theft by an Indian company

Our website http://www.cofamedia.com

Their website http://www.sequere.com/

I don’t think it get’s anymore clearer than that.

By: Confused

Confused — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:10:00 +0000

I really don’t quite get it. I understand if you “steal” something like they did in your explained demonstrations of the two logos, etc. But where do you draw the line on inspiration?
Here is my argument. This may be “old school” technology, but here I go.
You take three items set them in a setting in the middle of room. You can do the same with any object.
You have ten artists come in with their choice of medium draw, paint, sketch, or sculpt those items. I can guarantee you that not one of those will be the same as the other. One might see it in a blocky format or one might use a technique never heard of before like a Picasso. Now you take those items the artist drew, sculpted or etc, and have ten more artists come in and do the same thing to the already designed items. Do you see where I am going here? If someone uses another person’s creation as inspiration to create something on their own, then why would you call that stealing? Are you stealing from nature when you draw her landscapes? Are you stealing from Monet when you take his art work and use the same image only in Photoshop with layers for a logo or created idea? I think you need to be careful where you draw the line on Inspiration and copy right stealing. What if all text that is called Helvetica True text font was copy protected? Every person who uses that text would have to get permission from its owner then. When it comes to Inspiration we need to be careful who we are calling thieves and who we are calling artists. I do agree in Von’s case it was blatant stealing of his artwork. But Von used an eagle, and was inspired somehow to create that eagle. I can tell you for a fact that without ever seeing that eagle or hawk, do you imagine that he have looked at a bird (if eagles never existed) would he say oh let’s put some talons on a bird (like a pigeon), and call it my creation. I will call it eagle and use it only for my use. Then I will upload on a free domain based web system, and hope no one will be inspired by it.
As to the barf image, look at the soldier who drew “Kilroy was here”, sure looks like a good demonstration of that soldier’s idea back in the early war. Look how many variations there are of that image. There was an artist in the 60’s who used that exact type of artwork and eye design for the underground magazine “Truckin in the USA”. Just be careful when you want to throw stones and let’s be careful what we deem as stealing and what we can deem as Inspiration.
I welcome any feedback negative or positive on this retribution.

By: printing

printing — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 11:42:30 +0000

really good advice and i can tell you it certainly does work well. i thinking i would be printing this post before long.

By: printing doncaster

printing doncaster — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 21:19:50 +0000

really nice post and a really informative bit of information about people pinching design.