getting ripped off

[blue_fusion]

i'm posting this here since i think this is very relevant to artists who post their tarot artworks in this section of the forums. (but mods, if you think otherwise, kindly remove it)

i caught someone using my artwork and selling them off ebay. WITHOUT ME AUTHORIZING IT. it's this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Classic-art-cig...hZ003QQcategoryZ38039QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem this is the DA page of my work: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17472767/ he even had the gall to put a copyright watermark on the image. someone was kind enough to inform me about it, and even gave me a link to ebay's report form on stuff like that. (on that account, can anyone help me out with it? i've read you have to fax them the report form, and i have no access to a fax machine at the moment...)

ok, so as a person who appreciates art i am guilty of saving images off the net - at least the ones that appeal to me, and i do make fan art of anime - but that's as far as it goes. it's just my form of appreciating the works. i don't go around selling them as my own.

that's one of the disadvantages of posting images of your works online. people can just do that. so guys, be very careful when posting your works online - make sure the resolution isn't too high, put a copyright on it, and do whatever other means could be exhausted to protect your work. i didn't habitually do that before (adding my name to the work), and i guess that's one of my mistakes. i'm sure as artists, it would feel really bad for you to know that unauthorized people are using your creations - stuff you really worked hard on, and making money off them. and this would me multiplied to infinity if you post high-resolution versions of your entire deck, and then it got stolen... which is not to say that you should pull out your works from the internet. it does give one publicity, after all. just really, be careful.

-Ly

 

[blackroseivy]

Absolutely. I had an idea stolen once, not from here, from somewhere else - that's a lot harder to prove, but I can certainly empathize.

I have my serious doubts as to the wisdom of even sharing MY images at all - much as I'd like the input, I do worry. I think that the best thing to do is to line up a site of one's own with "right-click protect" enabled. How does that sound? It's what I was going to go with...

 

[Junia]

Hi BF,

First of all your situation really sucks.

As far as eBay is concerned, I reported someone copying The Aquarian Tarot Deck and making mini-decks and selling them. I notified U.S. Games (since they still own the copyright) and eBay. I used a button (on eBay) that hopefully is still on their screen to report abuse and they took all of his items off not just the deck. Hit the "contact us" button and it should have a list of options. There also should be a telephone number. I would do both. If you have the original sketches/drafts, I think you could prove your case. The problem with most of these a$$h@les is that they are very hard (and expensive) to prosecute depending on the jurisdiction.

Good luck!

Love,

Junia

 

[blue_fusion]

my friend says you can still click on the "save website" function, and it will save the whole page. including the image.

yeah ideas are harder to prove. i went to this copyright conference before, and the speaker (who was a lawyer) said, it's mostly fair game on that account. ugh.

 

[blue_fusion]

Hi BF,

First of all your situation really sucks.

As far as eBay is concerned, I reported someone copying The Aquarian Tarot Deck and making a mini-decks and selling them. I notified U.S. Games (since they still own the copyright) and eBay. I used a button (on eBay) that hopefully is still on their screen to report abuse and they took all of his items off not just the deck. Hit the "contact us" button and it should have a list of options. There also should be a telephone number. I would do both. If you have the original sketches/drafts, I think you could prove your case. The problem with most of these a$$h@les is that they are very hard (and expensive) to prosecute depending on the jurisdiction.

Good luck!

Love,

Junia

thanks for the info. the person who helped me out said i have to fax it. i'll look for the button you mentioned...

 

[Junia]

thanks for the info. the person who helped me out said i have to fax it. i'll look for the button you mentioned...

I think (since it was just a few months ago) that what I did was click on that person's i.d. and it came up with report this to eBay with a little email box that goes to them. I don't know if this procedure has changed, but I wouldn't think that the only way to contact someone there is by fax alone.

Let us all know if that has changed and also how this gets resolved for you. RX The Tower for the jerk who ripped you off!

 

[AJ]

at the bottom of the page is a report link.
on the next page chose in step one
counterfeit and copyright violations
in step two choose
infringes your intellectual property rights
in step three choose
contact Ebay's Vero program

and follow the instructions on the next page
http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/vero-rights-owner.html

You can also get a listing pulled by using step one above
in step two choose bootlegs/counterfeit
in step three choose something from that list.

This is a way of life for many in the problem countries, Sony/MGM/UA etc can't stop them so you probably can't stop them either. But you may get the listing pulled if there is enough time left for Ebay to react.

The other option is not to display your work anywhere. People will use it, there is a prevalent attitude of "I saw it on the web so it's free game."

You can also contact the seller through the link in the listings and ask them to take it down and stop using your work, or you can send a bill for the use.
Best of luck.

 

[SphinYote]

my friend says you can still click on the "save website" function, and it will save the whole page. including the image...

This is true.

Yes, guilty. I had a test to study for, the image on the study list was not in the book, and it was the only decent copy I could find. And you can bet that I wasn't going to waste printer ink by printing out the entire webpage, which included several pages worth of images.

 

[lunakasha]

That is really disgusting.

I noticed that he/she is also claiming rights to images of The Nightmare Before Christmas and I am pretty sure that Disney owns those rights.....so by reporting this loser, you are actually doing him/her a favor, before Disney takes action.

Thanks for posting here and reminding people to take precautions.

Please give us an update once you have heard back from ebay, I hope this will be resolved quickly.

Luna

 

[Durant Hapke]

B & S,

Bang a big bad blender -- totally Jack bird horrifying.

Awful.

Durant "must not destroy" Hapke