Lindex.com Alleged to Have Ripped off Sleepy King’s “Liam the Fox”
ATTORNEYSCOTT COMMENTARY:
Sleepy King's absolutely adorable Liam the Fox character may not be the most complex artistic creation, but it is certainly creative enough to be covered by copyright protection (at least here in the US, I do not profess to be an expert in Swedish intellectual property law). A large Scandinavian company apparently has brought to market a series of products that bears a very familiar and adorable fox character. Is something rotten at this smorgasbord?
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Dear YTWWN:
Some of you know by now that the large Swedish corporation – Lindex has stolen one of my most beloved designs that I created in 2009. I found out about this by one of my loyal fans in Norway. She recognized the design as a Sleepy King original and instantly felt disgusted and angry. If she wouldn't have emailed me about this I may have never found out.
I am heart broken to say the least. I work so hard, and take great pride in my designs. I have many fans who know and love my work for it’s originality. It is painful to have my work ripped away from me behind my back by a giant corporation. Who knows how many of these they have sold already? Hundreds? Thousands? While I sit here in my tiny two bedroom rental, working as hard as I possibly can to make ends meet, Lindex is cashing in on my designs.
Liam the Sleepy Woodland fox was created by me in my home in 2009. Since then he has been one of my top sellers. It’s no wonder Lindex stole my designs without asking .. they saw great potential in this little fox and knew they could make lots of money off of him.
The real Sleepy King Liam: here
The stolen Lindex design: here & here (click on the pink onesie option to see the fox design) They also took GREAT inspiration from my older bunny design: here
I am tired of these big corporations stealing from independent designers and small businesses on Etsy, Big Cartel and the like. You would think that with all of the billions they have, they could afford to hire real designers with original ideas. Corporate design theft must end for the sake of the handmade community. We should feel safe when we copyright our designs and put them out there on the internet for people to see and purchase.
Lindex has emailed me saying they are "looking into the matter" and they will get back to me soon. I am calling a lawyer tomorrow.
********UPDATE******* 10/10/2012
My story went viral on 9/9/2012. I stayed up until 4am answering emails and doing interviews with news companies in Norway and Sweden. You can read more about my story by clicking on the following links:
http://nyheter24.se/nyheter/inrikes/728061-lindex-stal-min-design
http://minmote.no/index.php/2012/10/lindex-trekker-babyplagg-etter-plagiat-anklager/
http://storify.com/linuskendall/major-swedish-retailer-blatantly-steals-independen
Hundreds of people complained on the Lindex facebook page.
Today Lindex admitted to taking great inspiration from my designs and we have agreed on a settlement. Lindex will continue to sell the merchandise with my designs until they're completely gone. They will not continue production on these products.
A Johnny Come Lately?
ATTORNEYSCOTT COMMENTARY:
Unbeknownst to many, there is a big difference between trademark and copyright law. While copyright law protects the artist, and allows her to exclusively exploit her original work, trademark law is is in place to protect the consumer. For example, if you buy a hat with a Nike swoosh across it, you need to be able to trust that the hat is authorized and was created by Nike at one of its factories, and not by AttorneyScott in his garage. In other words, trademark law ensures that consumers can purchase goods from companies they trust. If someone else attempts to brand their goods with a mark that might confuse the consumer as to who created the good, trademark infringement is the claim.
Below, you will find a logo that appears to be very similar to that of a prior user. Would seeing this on a shirt or a hat or a bag confuse the consumer into believing it was a Johnny Cupcake product, or affiliated with Johnny Cupcake?
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Dear YTWWN:
I was browsing a sticker site where I am getting a few stickers made and came across this:
This is the Mindless Tees logo who have said they started up in 2011.
This is the Johnny cupcakes logo. Johnny cupcakes goes back to at least 2000.
I generally don't really chase down things like this but I really felt compelled to put this obvious logo theft take place.
Keep buying Johnny, he's the original.
Infamous & Tilly’s Knocks Off a Non Profit Organization
AttorneyScott Commentary:
The below example illustrates what lawyers and judges refer to as the "idea-expression" dichotomy. Basically, it is perfectly legal to be inspired by the idea or ideas behind another author's work, but it is illegal (a violation of the Copyright Act) to take the original expression from the work of another. Where does the line get drawn? That's up to the Judge, but this case appears to me to be one where the expression has been lifted. Agree?
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Infamous Apparel (owned by department store Tilly's) stole a design I did for the Salvation Army's Wardrobe Apparel. It is currently on their store racks.
100% of the proceeds generated from TSA's clothing is donated to people in dire need, world wide. People holding onto their lives depend on this kind of support. For shame, Tilly's, taking money away from those in need. Have you no heart?
My original design:
Their design (notice they didn’t even bother changing much):
Mikoto’s Geisha Grooves Stolen By Tempo Australia and their Models Prefer Hair Straightener
My Brother rang me from Brisbane, Australia to say he found a hair straighter in "Best and Less" with my Mikoto character designed called Geisha Grooves on the side.
I rang the distributor Tempo Australia and after one phone call they have decided to try and get away with it. No response to emails and no returning of phone calls.
Very disappointing, and they we wouldn't notice!!
The Tempo Australia, Models Prefer Hair Straightener with mikoto design on it
Evidence that it was designed by mikoto in 2007
Mikoto's Geisha Grooves
Michael Creatz T-shirt Rips Shojono Tomo Art
T-shirt brand Michael Creatz is selling a t-shirt using Shojono Tomo artwork and name without permission. The purpose of this post is to warn buyers who may mistake this item for an authentic design.
Michael Creatz rip:
Shojono Tomo original:
As of September 14th, Michael Creatz acknowledges use and sale of the design without permission, and claims: "I’m not stealing anything. I gave credit to Shojono Tomo for the design and to Nicki Minaj as well... I know what the law is, that is why I gave full credit…" - via Facebook.
The illegal t-shirt is currently on sale for $58.00 at Michael Creatz's Facebook, without permission by Shojono Tomo.
Click here for authentic artwork and information about Shojono Tomo in English.
Brandon Day/Invocation
This post originally appeared on Fuck You Ripper
Hey guys. This is the first post on FYR and boy do we have a doozy right out of the gate. Meet Brandon Day. Brandon is a "graphic designer" from Kentucky who owns and operates a clothing company called Invocation.
Brandon's body count includes tracing artwork, stealing entire designs, and even stealing code from competitor's websites.
It should be noted that it would be hard to find any remaining evidence against Brandon because once he knew the art community was on to him, he dumped everything and shut down his store. Luckily we were able to get facebook to shutdown his page and get screen shots of everything before it was deleted. Lets take a look!
Matthew Skiff did this design for Ruckus Apparel. Brandon Day live traced the skull and deleted the pupil and spade.
Potential ripoff of Rocket Dog shoes logo
I am sorry to say that I believe my friendly neighborhood cafe ripped off their logo (right) from the Rocket Dog shoe logo (left). Can't say for sure since I don't know how long the shoe logo has been in use, but Rocket Dog predates the cafe as an entity by about 10 years.
What do you think? It's clearly not just a cut-and-paste job but it's so, so similar I can't believe it's just a coincidence.
Eddie Bauer snags University of Florida Sustainability logo
Eddie Bauer thought that it would be good enough to flip the Sustainable UF logo and no one would notice! Well not so fast...
(An Eddie Bauer sleeping bag tag)
First spotted in an outdoor outfitter store, this little icon started popping up on Eddie Bauer sleeping bags in 2010. It's been hard to track online because it doesn't appear on the Eddie Bauer website. There are however multiple examples on Amazon posted by Eddie Bauer: Exhibit A, Exhibit B
There is no doubt that this is not an exact copy of the icon, because it is inverted horizontally... but COME ON! Maybe they thought it was a new icon up for grabs, but they definitely didn't check into it first!
I did a little flipping and reversing to clear up any doubt.
For the sake of full disclosure, I have to admit that this hit a little close to home, because I was a part of the team that designed the original Sustainable UF logo. It was designed in 2008 by a group of design students at the University of Florida in the Mint program (a student-run graphic design studio). See the Sustainable UF logo in these porfolios:
Lindsey Cull
Stephen Rockwood
Mike McVicar (That's me)
Morgan Slavens
Villa De Copyright Infringement
First posted by Logo Design Love (thought they wouldn't notice)
Moon Brand's 1996 identity for the Royal Parks
Villa dos Inglezes not so subtle homage to her Majesties' mark.
