Here are  2 BLATANT ripoffs of Roxy’s graphics tees.  The company that creates Op’s graphics for Walmart is called Iconix Brand Group in New York City. They do a lot of private label designs and direct to retail licensing for Walmart and Kohl’s brands.

The Op ripoff’s are on the left, Roxy’s original designs are on the right. They seriously look like they where traced in some places.

The serial copy king Simon Pithie is in trouble for copying again. And this time he’s been sued for thousands of dollars. The famous Che image which we all know and love is copyrighted and can no longer be copied and re-used like it used to. I guess this is a warning to anyone out there who thinks just because something has been used and ripped to death in the past – doesn’t mean it can still happen or it is legal. The court case took place in Europe, Simon Pithie lost and had to pay thousands of dollars in Euro to the person who owns the copyright to the image. The image was bought in the early nineties and companies had stopped using it once they found it had been copyrighted. Unless ofcourse you’re Simon Pithie. Stupid man!

Sorry the site had been infected with Malware iframes, sorry if anyone got affected. It wasn’t specificly aimed at this site, it took down thousands of others.

All good now, lets get back to our petty bickering….

This one’s from Eagle Printing in Lincoln, NE.  Someone spotted it and sent me a picture:

This in itself isn’t a big deal – it’s not a huge business, and little pilfers like this go on all over the place.  Their website tipped the scales for me, though:

He’s on every page – granted it’s not a huge presence, but still…

I think this image was traced from this photo of one of the customized toys:

I’ve written to the company, but no response so far… that was two days ago.  More as it develops!

King Leonidas of Sparta. 2007

by DiAnne L. Cooper

Bronze sculpture, 20” x  8”

Original sculpture and photos are copyright 2007, 2008, and 2009

I was commissioned to create a sculpture for The Leonidas Expeditions to fund an archeological expedition to Greece 2010. The purpose of the expedition is to find the site of the battlefield of Thermopylae. This sculpture is on permanent display at the Hellenic  Museum, Chicago, Illinois.

The Archeological Institute of America honored the sculpture by purchasing a copy for the Gala to honor Harrison Ford.  Here it is on their website: http://www.archaeological.org/gala/statue.php

The link to Nick Bonovas’s site was sent to me by one of the members of the expedition. The copy has been flopped over. He uses it as his banner on Nikosart.com and as a tattoo design.

Being one of many who grew up obsessed with Calvin and Hobbes, I immediately recognized this image of a bird from a Calvin and Hobbes strip. I rifled through my book collection and found the Sunday comic in “There’s Treasure Everywhere”. There is no mention of Watterson or Calvin and Hobbes on the webpage. The anonymous designer has simply lifted a drawing, rotated it and added an “edgy” spray paint thing. Here’s a close up of the T-Shirt:

and here’s the original Calvin and Hobbes strip:

An ideal situation would be to contact Watterson himself and notify him of this. The last thing I would want to see is the Universal Press Syndicate taking legal action leaving Watterson with nothing. I’m not sure how copyright and licensing works with syndicated comics. Apparently in some cases, the syndication acts like owner of the work and licenses it out for various profiting purposes that have little to do with the artist. I would hope that Watterson ratains the rights to his own work and has it all properly copyrighted.

When I first saw this music video from Oren Lavie it though it was absolutley  gorgeous. !
A real pice of art, and a really cute song. Oren Lavie on youtube

And to my big surprise I saw this advertising video on norwegian television a few weeks later, from a company called Hansen & Dysvik, which sells pillows and similar stuff.  “Hansen&Dysvik” Lavie ripoff

I was amazed, it’s the exact same concept AND a very similar song.
The people behind the video has not yet responded to my e-mails, that being the advertising company Los & Co, Toxic and a guy called Espen Nersveen.

This can’t be legal, can it?

The original:

The “fake” one:

SNEAK TIP THE SNEAKER BASED CLOTHING LINE, Just put out a complete copy of MIGENTE CLOTHING’S  FIGHT THE POWER TEE. ALL PICTURES BELOW ARE SHIRTS FROM MIGENTE CLOTHING. ORIGINATED BY US MIGENTE CLOTHING.

SNEAKTIP’S BULL ISH!! COPY

***YTWWN NOTE: This is an ad. not a post. I have a few people on here trying to send out press releases which won’t happen, but how can I say no to supporting this:

If you are in LA get down to this:

“F%#k Cancer We Love Justin”

Silent art auction to benefit Justin Van Hoy

Friday, June 5th 2009

7:00 – 10:00 PM

Poketo Studio

510 South Hewitt Street, #506 (5th floor) Los Angeles, CA 90013

Poketo studio will be holding a silent art auction titled, “F%#k Cancer We Love Justin” to benefit the recovery of artist Justin Van Hoy, who has been battling cancer for the second time. Over forty renowned Los Angeles artists will be donating their work including artists Shepard Fairey, Saelee Oh, Chris Bettig, Tim Biskup, Caroline Hwang, Travis Millard, Sumi Ink Club, and prints from Mike Giant, Dalek, Saber, Jim Houser, and more.

With a growing number of artists joining the benefit daily, participating patrons will have a rare opportunity to bid amongst a remarkable selection of original pieces. All proceeds made will go directly to support Justin Van Hoy and family. The day of the auction will be part of a joint effort across the nation to honor and encourage Justin, who has been been battling Leukemia. Those unfamiliar with Justin might not be as distant from him as perceived. As the art director for SWINDLE magazine, and contributor of works for artists and brands such as OBEY, Roger Gastman, Cobra Snake and more, Justin’s distinct and captivating art work has been feeding our creative hunger for years. All are welcome to the event to acknowledge Justin and those who have been affected by cancer.

Auction will be from 7-9 PM, winning bidders receive art by 10 PM. Cash or check only. No credit cards will be accepted.

Complimentary food and drink provided by Poketo and Spitz.

List of contributing artists: Shepard Fairey, Saelee Oh, Jeana Sohn, Travis Millard, Mel Kadel, Marco Zamora, Ye Rin Mok, Studio Number One, Sumi Ink Club, Chris Bettig, Sarajo Frieden, Kim Buzzelli, Sheli Ben Ner, Casey Ryder, Saejeen Oh, Skyrocket Studios, Ashkahn, Leah Chun, Bill McRight, Josh Hart, Derek Albeck, Ernesto Yerena, Jesselisa Moretti, Kristian Henson, Zach Gibson, Anne Keehn, Jeremy Baker, Phillip Lumbang, Matt Goldman, Florencio Zavala, Marissa Textor, Jordan Isip, Damion Silver, Josh Cochran, Caroline Hwang, Amanda Visell, David Weidman, Katsuo Design, Jared Purrington, Blake E. Marquis, Michael Coleman, Ryan Callis, Jason Filipow, Tim Biskup… ALSO, goods from Poketo, Obey Clothing, and prints from Mike Giant, Dalek, Saber, Jim Houser, and more.

About Poketo:

Poketo is a designer of limited edition art products, accessories, apparel, and decor. Founded by Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung, Poketo promotes the work of top international artists through beautiful, accessible art objects: wallets, apparel, stationery, housewares, design objects, prints, and more. Through functional, design-driven wares, Poketo takes art off of gallery walls and makes them part of your everyday life.

Titian, you scoundrel, how could you!

Sleeping Venus, Giorgione, c. 1510

Venus of Urbino, Titian, 1538