I’m a designer. A real designer.
Meaning, I take pride in coming up with unique and original solutions for my clients.
I am very protective of the work I have created for them and I don’t take kindly to others stealing it for themselves.
There are laws.
This is not the wild west where anything goes.
Why is it, in 2015, people think that they can take whatever they want off the internet, repackage it, and sell it cheaply to another? They don’t believe they’ll get caught?
To go with this question, how is it that people believe that they are getting unique and customized work from a designer that only charges $5?
Meaning, I take pride in coming up with unique and original solutions for my clients.
I am very protective of the work I have created for them and I don’t take kindly to others stealing it for themselves.
There are laws.
This is not the wild west where anything goes.
Why is it, in 2015, people think that they can take whatever they want off the internet, repackage it, and sell it cheaply to another? They don’t believe they’ll get caught?
To go with this question, how is it that people believe that they are getting unique and customized work from a designer that only charges $5?
Many years ago, back in the early 90s, I
designed a logo for a Toronto Comedy Club named “Comedywood”.
Because the most iconic symbol in this city is our tower, we (the client and I) decided that the character behind the logo should feature such.
I sketched and I sketched and I sketched some more, and eventually, I created the final piece that hung large in lights, high above a popular shopping plaza in this city where the club was located. It was well known. If you look closely, you’ll see that the lines in the logo aren’t perfect and there’s a lot of unevenness because I didn’t use computer vector arches and graphics, I freehandedly cartooned this logo using a pen.
What’s mind boggling is that for some strange reason, it is the most ripped off logo that I have ever created.
Thanks to reverse Google image search, I am able to find instances where this logo has been stolen and recycled on an ongoing basis. I’ve even seen it featured in a (foreign) designer’s portfolio. And as I mentioned, believing that this is not a free-for-all, I personally follow up on each and every one of these copyright infractions.
I usually start with a polite note of “you are using my work without permission so please remove it” and only ONE time have I received an apology.
Usually, the answers I receive are “F you”, “WTF?” and my all time favourite which happened to me this week “your problem doesn’t lie with me. It lies with the designer I hired”.
Because the most iconic symbol in this city is our tower, we (the client and I) decided that the character behind the logo should feature such.
I sketched and I sketched and I sketched some more, and eventually, I created the final piece that hung large in lights, high above a popular shopping plaza in this city where the club was located. It was well known. If you look closely, you’ll see that the lines in the logo aren’t perfect and there’s a lot of unevenness because I didn’t use computer vector arches and graphics, I freehandedly cartooned this logo using a pen.
What’s mind boggling is that for some strange reason, it is the most ripped off logo that I have ever created.
Thanks to reverse Google image search, I am able to find instances where this logo has been stolen and recycled on an ongoing basis. I’ve even seen it featured in a (foreign) designer’s portfolio. And as I mentioned, believing that this is not a free-for-all, I personally follow up on each and every one of these copyright infractions.
I usually start with a polite note of “you are using my work without permission so please remove it” and only ONE time have I received an apology.
Usually, the answers I receive are “F you”, “WTF?” and my all time favourite which happened to me this week “your problem doesn’t lie with me. It lies with the designer I hired”.
Actually, legally, my problem DOES lie with you as you are publicly using my work and showcasing it to promote yourself and/or your services.
But, I don’t believe the world is full of intelligence or those that fully understand the rules, so (as a nice guy) I’m willing to let this one slide.
However, my problem right now DOES lie with the designer. He’s the one that tried to pass off my work as his own.
Knowingly.
Deceitfully.
Want a logo for $5? You get what you pay for.
But don’t be surprised if you get a call/letter/email from the designer who actually created it, or even worse, a lawyer stating that you now owe somebody a whole lot more.
