Fawn ([info]nocandy) wrote,
@ 2006-05-01 01:01:00
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which was hot on the heels of this debacle...
apparently there is a huge corporate clothing chain in spain that has two different spring collections in stores right now based entirely around graphics that are STOLEN FROM MY ART:
UGH.
the funny part is that they could have just ASKED ME about designing a collection or two, instead of hiring some cut rate art student to create a hideous cut and paste job of my work.

if you see these collections around, please note that I DID NOT DESIGN THEM. i can't tell you NOT to buy them without risk of some dastardly corporate lawyer turning around and suing ME for defamation, but i can say that i did not CREATE, LICENSE, GET PAID A DIME FOR, OR APPROVE THESE APPROPRIATIONS OF MY WORK IN ANY WAY.

the culprits:
womensecret.com/

they also released a whole collection recently with graphics stolen from freaklub who actually had a day in court with them about it. i've been waiting to hear back from them before i decide what to do, but no luck yet... it seems like my only real option is to serve them with a cease and desist, even though those things NEVER STOP ANYONE. what to do, what to do?

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[info]ghostswaltz
2006-05-01 09:15 am UTC (link)
Oh man, Fawn, I read both entries and jeez, people are horrible! That "Rock Me Baby" thing is also a total Fawn G/Emily Strange hybrid. Sick. They're SO OBVIOUS about it too, damn. I'm sorry, what is so hard about having a little bit of originality? I can definitely see why people would be inspired by your art, since I'm one of those people, but ripping it off, especially when they're profiting off of it, is just outright stupid. Shoot.

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[info]nocandy
2006-05-05 11:10 pm UTC (link)
also, that cat is from a painting i did of french kitty for fine, they stretched the head a bit vertically and kept the nose and mouth from the original but then replaced the eyes with the eyes from my girls! ew!
the lame part is that if i actually took them to court, it would just depend on the eye of the judge whether or not they changed it enough to make it a 'new artwork' which is sooooo lame and why it's so hard for artists to protect themselves. double ew!~!!!

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[info]freddster
2006-05-01 09:28 am UTC (link)
they look cheap and nasty..

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[info]nocandy
2006-05-05 11:12 pm UTC (link)
i know! that's the worst part!
i'd appreciate if someone is going to rip me off anyway that they at least do something nice with it! or use quality materials! ha!

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[info]red_pumps
2006-05-01 12:23 pm UTC (link)
they do indeed look REALLY cheap. and the woman on that first opening page is creepy looking

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[info]nocandy
2006-05-05 11:13 pm UTC (link)
yeah, i think it's totally disposable fashion, like an even cheaper forever 21, it's probably all that shiny polyester too... ew!

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[info]kittymalicious
2006-05-01 01:48 pm UTC (link)
this is sick and makes me sad. it's one thing to be inspired, and another to trace. i've heard of a certain band copying my band's concept but luckily they can't write good songs... you can't really trace a song, just copy the chords and write bad lyrics. i'm really sorry, i know how it feels sorta.

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[info]nocandy
2006-05-05 11:18 pm UTC (link)
oh no! who is the band? copying chords is totally the music equivalent of tracing! people will totally catch on, then it's public humiliation ahoy and they'll be sorry!

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[info]kittymalicious
2006-05-06 02:58 pm UTC (link)
it's this awful band out of nyc called the flesh. they have ripped off two or three DIFFERENT aliyah songs that i can think of. they are admitted fans of timberland and bone thugs but they try to do this punk/hip hop thing, it doesn't work. it's like dude, she's huge, you're not, she's DEAD, not cool.

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[info]violet_hemlock
2006-05-01 02:18 pm UTC (link)
WHAT TO DO? SUE! I am all about that shit when it comes to artists,...American tradition. I wonder if FINE could sue them...Did the Freaklub case end well????

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[info]violet_hemlock
2006-05-01 02:18 pm UTC (link)
Oh...and of course I got my stuff....the PRETTY THING drawing is lovely. and hanging on a wire over my desk.

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[info]nocandy
2006-05-05 11:22 pm UTC (link)
i still haven't heard back from freaklub and can't find any info about it via google! aargh! i was going to pass it on to fine but have been working with a rival company of theirs and not sure if there's bad blood, i also DESPISE the art director they have now and don't want to deal with her at all! ha! DRAMA! i should let the owners know about the french kitty rip in there though, they'll DEFINITELY sue!

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[info]bethoumyvision
2006-05-01 03:33 pm UTC (link)
how frustrating! have you contacted them?

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[info]nocandy
2006-05-05 11:27 pm UTC (link)
i sent a cease and desist, which was as far as i can tell, totally ignored.
if i wanted to pursue it further, it would come down to flying to barcelona, finding a lawyer there to take the case, taking them to court, and hoping the judge could see where they plagiarized my work, but they took the hair of one girl, the eyes and mouth of another, deleted their noses, etc, so it's sort of a 50/50 chance of winning and not worth the risk. if the ripoffs looked like that superdead crap, i'd be on a plane in a SECOND!

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[info]soopuhstar
2006-05-01 04:09 pm UTC (link)
:[ wow, they totally BUTCHERED them!!! it's one thing to take inspiration from your work (which i can completely understand, you're amazing!) but it's another thing to totally COPY it and tweak it SLIGHTLY and say THIS IS MY DESIGN.

assholes. >[

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[info]nocandy
2006-05-05 11:27 pm UTC (link)
i know! grrr!

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[info]ohmeohmy
2006-05-01 04:47 pm UTC (link)
oh god, those are HIDEOUS renderings of your work. UGH.

BURN THEM.

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[info]pinkjunkfood
2006-05-01 05:30 pm UTC (link)
It's a shame but also you have to remember that you're amazing and they can never, ever have your skills. You just have to remain focused on creating great art, showcasing your work, making a living off it and all the negativeness surrouding it should fade.

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[info]victoriae
2006-05-01 06:18 pm UTC (link)
I hope that you do hear back from the! In my eyes, any fan of your art can easily see that they were not done by you, but they do look similar to your work. If they liked your work, they should have just emailed you, not had some twisted person make something that looks close to it

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[info]arcadeaddict
2006-05-01 07:00 pm UTC (link)
It might be worthwhile to ask your friend in litigation for their distributor info, and send your cease and desists towards the vendors instead. If these are people who specialize in hack jobs, it might be worth it to file a complaint with Australia's version of the pirate police. The problem is they're so bad they might not even look derivative to the random eye. You need someone to help you gaurd your copyrights so you don't have to keep dealing with this shit!

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[info]hideandpeek
2006-05-01 07:00 pm UTC (link)
oh my!! is there anything at all you can do about it? i would be sooooo mad.

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[info]star0074
2006-05-01 07:24 pm UTC (link)
I am so sorry, I guess the legal system is tyour only recourse. Since they are in another country, I am not sure how that works. Is there a gild of independent artists you can go to and get legal help from?

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[info]nubbytwiglet
2006-05-01 07:56 pm UTC (link)
Lame. I can't believe they did that (and did such a terrible job!)I'm sorry you have to deal with such things...

I wish I knew a financial backer that could invest in you starting a wee little shoppe or something. Your post reminds me of something I just read in a Shepard Fairey interview:

He says:

"However, for anybody that is creative who resonates with enough people, their work will be exploited commercially by themselves or by someone else. A major moment for me was in 1999 when I walked into Urban Outfitters and saw an entire display of bootleg OBEY products. It made me think that I need to do this myself, and I need to do it right. I look at t-shirts as just another canvas and I believe in affordability of art. I come from a culture built on D.I.Y. ethics and accessibility, not about the elitism of the upper echelon of fine art. Life is about doing things on your own terms, and as long as you do things ethically, I think it is reasonable to try into make a living from what you've created."

xoxoxoxo
Nubby

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[info]rock_the_lauren
2006-05-01 10:15 pm UTC (link)
>:o

People need to become original for once.

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[info]keen_head
2006-05-01 10:37 pm UTC (link)
Thats just fucking awful. How can people just get away with these things? Jeez.

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[info]lolitard
2006-05-01 11:21 pm UTC (link)
you must have some legal rights... know any law students?

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[info]andyogynousmind
2006-05-02 02:18 am UTC (link)
wow and some of the other stuff looks a lot like Fine, Loop NYC, and probably Paul Frank. Or anything from fred flare. damn. all cheaper imitations too.


I think they're allowed to copy about 90 percent of a brand but not the whole of it. I dunno I once heard that through the grapevine.


from http://www.ige.ch/E/jurinfo/j107.shtm ...

Trademark imitation and piracy
Any product which is produced to look so much like a protected brand-name product that consumers can be easily misled into thinking it is the real thing is considered a copy of the trademark. The imitation need not be illegal or intentional in order for the impression to be created that the goods with the imitation trademark are indeed from the owner of the true trademark. Imitation is, among other things, legal if no trademark rights are infringed. Trademark counterfeiting (illegal copying) or trademark imitation, in contrast, infringes against a registered trademark by illegally reproducing or forging products. The counterfeiter misuses someone else’s trademark to create the impression that the goods are original or produced by the owner of the trademark, whether or not this is true. In other words, products for which trademark rights are owned by a legal producer are intentionally and illegally forged or copied.

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[info]deathbychoco1at
2006-05-02 08:22 am UTC (link)
they have already reached Russia))
i was just yesterday shopping and so them
and thought that i've already seen this faces somewhere


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[info]nocandy
2006-05-05 11:29 pm UTC (link)
NOOOOOO! what store are they at in russia? is it also a womensecret or another chain?

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[info]deathbychoco1at
2006-05-06 09:34 am UTC (link)
womensecret

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[info]girlaxia
2006-05-02 04:47 pm UTC (link)
ughh that's such a bummer.
i hope you can get them in the shit they deserve for stealing from you. ughh sorry girl that totally sucks.

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[info]avacreat
2006-05-03 12:00 pm UTC (link)
That's crazy! Can you do something?
I often go to Spain and Women Secret is very known and popular. We can find a lot of thoses shop in big city like Barcelona but also in little town.... It is like Victoria Secret in USA.

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[info]bluedolleyes
2006-05-11 02:49 pm UTC (link)
You might have to get all Mafia on their uncreative butts.

+ Mel +

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