A WARNING TO CREATIVES
07.04.09
I just read something of a horror story for any designer or artist-type. Designer Jon Engle is being sued by a stock art company for use of his own imagery. Apparently someone ripped off his work and sold it to a stock company, now they’re suing him for the arbitrary sum of $18,000.00. To make matters worse, they’ve hired a law firm specializing in copyright infringement, and are contacting his clients in some kind of effort to slander his name and business. Granted, I don’t know Jon outside of this story, but a simple glance at his level of design work compared to that of the stock firm in question is telling. Read all about it HERE.
This seems like a great opportunity to inform young artists and designers, NEVER work with these companies. Selling your work to a stock art company may seem like a quick way to make a buck, but trust me, you only help to devalue the blood, sweat and tears of other artists in the process. I see too many people out there that have no idea what a creative’s time is worth, and even more uneducated artists out there to oblige them. A deep understanding of artist’s rights and responsibilities are absolutely essential to being a professional creative, so if you’re foggy on these subjects please educate yourself. Some good places to start:
GRAPHIC ARTIST’S GUILD
AIGA: Standards of Professional Practice
Tags: AIGA, copyright, Graphic Artists Guild, Jon Engle
Category: Art
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Yeah, read about this yesterday. Can’t quite determine what to believe just yet. Crazy…
April 7, 1:42 pm Todd BergerYeah pretty stupid stuff. Hopefully the mess can be used for good and better educate other artists. I’m not worried for Jon, sounds like he’s got a nice counter lawsuit on his hands.
April 7, 1:49 pm Josh Hollandseems like the only way to combat this is to get print-outs of everything you do notorized on the day you finish them.
April 7, 2:42 pm willMight not be as simple as it seems, haven’t made up my mind as to who’s at fault here, but the comparisons of the work make it clear, somebody got jacked.
Protect ya neck!
April 7, 3:11 pm HYPPoop.
April 7, 3:33 pm Lifter BaronWTF?!… good to know, thanks!
April 7, 4:47 pm SamHere’s some more news on this issue via our buddy Stevesy, I think there’s a lot more than meets the eye here… http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo_blog/index.php/stock-logos-copyright-twitter/ – I’m not makin’ any certain claims but dude’s shit looked ripped to me right from the gun… We’ll see.
April 9, 10:24 am Todd BHm. This whole thing is a mess. Those are the first comparisons I’ve seen out of a ton of press. Looks like someone’s got a hell of a defamation lawsuit on their hands. Whoever that is…
April 9, 11:09 am Josh Holland