integrity and design

[tZ]

Well i belong to a paintball like team... the sport is called airsoft.

Any how I have gone about creating around seven or so differing designs for non profit. So our team can have a more sucessfull presence/existence (vector logos).

Any how, i log on to our team forum today and find a new thread focusing on selling a team shirt.

On that team shirt i find MY work in combination with some elses of less expertise and education. Basically the person took my iillustration off the interent as a JPEG and photoshoped it to create a modified design/composition of what i had done.

Now this shirt is for non-profit or so i am told. It was just done on a online t-shirt vendor. On where you submit graphics and they present a purchable product with no alteration to the submissions.

The question is should i be as angry as i am- which is very?

please correct me if i am wrong but i feel it to be inapproprate whether for non profit or not to use anyones work in combination with anyone elses unless a pre established arrangement has been made between parties.

I for one do not wish for my work to be in combination with anyone elses regardless of expertise profit or not (nice way of saying total N00b- this kid is 17).

I myself try to mantain the highest level of integrity in all my work whether profit is involved or not is irrelevent. All i ask is others maintain the same level of respect especially in regards to MY work.

Apparently alot of people like this design.

However, i myself as the designer i am find it to be very amatuer and unprofessional ultimatly a reflection upon me and my level of expertise since my illustration is incorperated into the composition.

I made a huge debate over the fact on terms of ethics in design whether profit is involved or not.

Apparently this is what i get in response from one of our team leaders (team as in sports team NOT design team,lol).


Furthermore, unless you copyrighted the design, there really isn't anything you can do, although that's a pretty shitty cop out in this case.


There really isn't anything i can do which is correct. Untill i heard this statement i was going to let them leave it in there with little fuse. After all is is "just" for the team and is non-profit.

However, inmaturtity as exhibited above pisses the hell out of me and i just find it appauling. So should i be upset and force the "dEsIgNeR" to rething the approach without my illustration in the composition?

[defjoe]

yup... I had this happen to me. I worked with a guy that had a band. wanted me to do some logo designs. said it would be a paying gig. Well I did a bunch and he said they didn't liek them. etc. After I had quit I saw a flyer for said band with one of my logos on it. I had sent them low rez versions. they had used that!

you have every right to be mad. it's like the record companies getting mad over downloading.

[Drorain]

u do own the design...completely, and if you were to persue for damages, you could. Now I would also say laugh at them for when you see the tshirts and they come out like shit cause they took your image from the web. When they come to you for help...Tell them GUESS WHAT it just became a paying gig

[CatintheHat1]

Being the vengeful sort.... why don't you pop on over to Cafe Press, or wherever, design a "wicked" t-shirt of your own, and offer people a choice..LOL. When they get upset inform them that if they didn't trademark the team name, there's little they can do and since you own the design...well.....

Cat

[Keyare]

You're not going to win any friends or make any money suing them. But you could. I'd call up whoever is the top person in the charity (or whatever) and jokingly go over how many ways you could sue them. Even if they do have copyright (which they would if you sold it to them) they STILL could not alter or modify your work without your permission.

It's called moral rights. 1) An artist is entitled to have his/her name assiciated with their work. 2) The artistic integrity of the work must be maintained.

Moral rights cannot be sold or traded, but they can be waived by the artist. You didn't waive them did you? Didn't think so.

So if you want to do the NICE thing. Offer to do the graphics properly for a small charge, or stop using your artwork. Because you have a really big gun on your side and it's called the copyright act (in Canada). In the US, moral rights are not part of the copyright act, but are contained in the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990.

Where are you?

[BigNameClient]

I for one do not wish for my work to be in combination with anyone elses regardless of expertise profit or not (nice way of saying total N00b- this kid is 17).


Freakin' teenagers! They take a few GD classes in middle school and then they think know all there is about graphics design. Bah!! A bunch of shiznits if'n you ask me! Comin' in to my place of work asking for jobs! YOU'RE NOT GETTING MY JOB TEENAGERS!!!!

You, my friend, have absolutly every right under the sun to be mad! Hell, make big old stink about it. That'll show em!

[axoi]

Just simply tell them to stop using the design. Contact the website where the tshirt is sold and inform them that the work was copyrighted and you own it. They should drop is quickly! If not have a lawyer draft a nice little letter to give them. Should be $100 or so for that. Better than to have your reputation and work ruined thanks to some punk kid.

- Bill