Stealing artwork and putting it on a t-shirt...

[Centurion07]

Z4MCoupe said:

Get a friend to go in and buy one so you can prove he was selling them.

And then...?

[Macneil]

konark said:

If you sell an original artwork to someone aren't you also selling the copyright to it's use?

He hasn't bought it!

[Macneil]

steveo3002 said:

maybe time for your pal to set up selling t shirts , i believe theres a few sites you submit the design and they handle the printing and sales and give you a cut of the sale

Yes she's looking into this now, I think more people buy t shirts than buy prints.

[Derek Smith]

I've had copy reprinted with no payment of second serial rights. I asked a legal friend who said forget it.

I wrote copy for a website and it appeared on around 30 (forget the actual number) of websites within a month. It's a case of not posting online or just accepting piracy is unenforceable for the little guys,

[Grrbang]

An effective cease and desist letter would, among other things, clearly set out the evidence that your friend would rely upon if they went to court, and would convincingly portray them as extremely aggrieved.

If the evidence clearly meets the 'balance of probabilities' test, then the other side's counsel *should* advise them to give up. If the evidence is incomplete, they will probably nitpick to try and test your friend's commitment. As a patent attorney who also deals with design and copyright disputes, that's what I would do if acting for the defense, and is on my mind when acting for the claimant.

A good letter would therefore require a bit of time and research to put together the evidence. Assuming settlement can be reached, your friend should also factor in some subsequent rounds of correspondence/negotiation, particularly on any financial payment demanded. The payment (if any) may only partly cover the costs.

If negotiations fail (not that common if you have a strong case), a small claim could perhaps be launched (assuming low value). The costs aren't astronomical, even for the loser. However, even the winner should expect to end up a bit out of pocket. The reward is generally the injunction.

Stealing their shirts would be shoplifting. Sorry, but your friend has no authority to do that!

[Tlandcruiser]

Jazoli said:

FFS just yawn off, it wasn't funny the first time or the subsequent 35 million times its been posted since, if you can't think of something original then don't bother posting.

How hard was it to clean up after the frozen sausages you had to remove?

[twing]

4rephill said:

I bet the 12 year olds have better grammar though, and can spell the word "probably".

The sausages aren't funny...the parrot still is

[hyphen]

Macneil said:

...But he has started again. What is the best way to stop him? My ideas range from a solicitor's letter to simply walking in and taking every shirt with her work on it and daring him to call the police.

Any suggestions?

File to court. He had his chance.

[Anonymous-poster]

Chris32345 said:

They can't the people that post this sort of stuff tend to have the mind of a 12 year old
Many probally are 12 year olds

So childish, the correct answer is to bum his dog with a can of Red Bull!

[mattyprice4004]

Jazoli said:

FFS just yawn off, it wasn't funny the first time or the subsequent 35 million times its been posted since, if you can't think of something original then don't bother posting.

Who died and made you queen?
If you don’t like a post just scroll past. I’ve got no idea why people get so menstrual about this particular anecdote

[Red9zero]

After Caroline Flack's death, Leigh Francis / Keith Lemon designed and got produced a t-shirt to raise money for the Samaritans. Within days snide copies were on sale. The legal process to stop them was relatively slow, so he used the power of his social media to out the suppliers. I daresay they still made a few quid off the back of him though.

[Decky_Q]

Would it be worth anything to put on her sale info that the designs can be licensed for printing at £x per shirt with prior approval. Then she has made a definable loss?

[dudleybloke]

Trading standards should take an interest in it.

[David-p5d5m]

dudleybloke said:

Trading standards should take an interest in it.

In 2021? Something called 'austerity' happened a while ago.

[LargeRed]

Tesco got done for using a picture of a girl .... without her permission, back in 2012.

"Fashion student, 22, takes on Tesco after they used her face on a children’s jumper without permission"


so it's not just the 'man down the street'

[Boosted LS1]

Do an unflattering drawing of him and say that you'll send those out to all and sundry if he doesn't work alongside you ;-)

[Grrbang]

Decky_Q said:

Would it be worth anything to put on her sale info that the designs can be licensed for printing at £x per shirt with prior approval. Then she has made a definable loss?

I doubt it. Compensation is typically calculated based on the profit you lost or the profit they made.

The cost to license may be relevant in niche situations like loss of a licensing opportunity.

Flagrancy or evasive behaviour might result in a significant uplift, e.g. Justice Hacon awarded £6k on a £300 value case due to flagrancy. That has shaken things up in the IP world because, frankly, many claimants think the other side is flagrant and dishonest and point to this case to justify what they are asking for in settlement.

[martinbiz]

dudleybloke said:

Trading standards should take an interest in it.

And why would that be?

[martinbiz]

The problem with getting involved in litigation for this type of infringement ie copyright, image rights, registered designs etc is the cost and it really would not make any financial sense for a few t shirts, The best thing would be to try and negotiate a one off fee for the continued use of the artwork

[DanL]

konark said:

If you sell an original artwork to someone aren't you also selling the copyright to it's use?

No.