Someone's Bootlegging My sh*t On eBay!?

This is a shirt I designed. It says in white "Violence Begins At Home" The select and start buttons say "Maim" and "Destroy" and the shape buttons are replaced with buttons that say "K-I-L-L". It's simple but it got the job done.

REEWIIIND to three years ago. I entered one of Karmaloop's first t-shirt design contests. I won "Honorable Mention" but I ended up outselling all of the shirts that were in the same design contest, go figure. I moved on from my brief design career and started writing.

Today, I was searching for the shirt online to show someone what I did, and i found a link to an eBay auction with "violence begins at home" in the title. I clicked on it and i found...this...



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/sega-ps2-wii-v...QQcmdZViewItem

I wasn't outraged or pissed but I was rolling because the design is so radically bad which is what that shop specializes in. I just thought it was crazy that someone would copy my design like that. I emailed him and sh*t so we'll see what happens but this sh*t was insane.

	0 - 0	STRK: 0 in a row	WIN PCT: 0%	#  (0)
Career: | Aug 08: 5-1, Rank #417 *

damn..thats crazy..shoulda got it copyrighted and sued tha sh*t outta him..make a example outta him..

It's not registered but it's still protected under copyright law. If I wanted to sue him, I very well could. But I'm probably going to just hope they stop selling the design.

	0 - 0	STRK: 0 in a row	WIN PCT: 0%	#  (0)
Career: | Aug 08: 5-1, Rank #417 *

if you didnt get a paton on it... then thats on you. ITs a whack shirt.

dangg that iS crazy sorry to hear that but congrads at the same time...i think its a cool shirt id rock it.. id SUE and start sellin and comin up w some ideas for shirts,really

	27 - 14	STRK: 3 w in a row	WIN PCT: 65%	# 80 (-3)
Career: | Aug 09: 56-20, Rank #57 | Aug 08: 134-51, Rank #45 *

i would rock the one you first posted. that's dope.

1. US Copyright law doesn't require me to register for me to sue this person. All I need is proof that this was not only for sale through an online retailer but it was created well before this person sold it and I could sue.

2. It's "patent" not "paton".

3. Get off the library's computer and roll back in the gutter, dunny. Nobody's checking for your critiques. hating ass niggas.

	0 - 0	STRK: 0 in a row	WIN PCT: 0%	#  (0)
Career: | Aug 08: 5-1, Rank #417 *

thanks, i'm propping you.

i'm not a designer and i feel like i'd be saturating the market with more "funny" t-shirts with no design sense. i'd rather just write, but who knows. I may need to pay tuition and have to sell shirts for a bit as a side hustle.

	0 - 0	STRK: 0 in a row	WIN PCT: 0%	#  (0)
Career: | Aug 08: 5-1, Rank #417 *

thanks man, props.

	0 - 0	STRK: 0 in a row	WIN PCT: 0%	#  (0)
Career: | Aug 08: 5-1, Rank #417 *

lol!! They chose a crappy font and baaaaad colours. Let us know if they e-mail back or anything.

*bump*





we need JUSTICE!

	27 - 14	STRK: 3 w in a row	WIN PCT: 65%	# 80 (-3)
Career: | Aug 09: 56-20, Rank #57 | Aug 08: 134-51, Rank #45 *

The shirt look hot and you should sue for that cheap ass imitation that they created. At the end, don't you want to get pay?????

copyright it.

great concept btw.

Bumpin for justice. I'd rock the shirt you designed, it's a fresh concept, original and it has depth. The cheap imitation looks like...well...a cheap imitation You've got some talent, if I were you I'd capitalize on it. God only blesses a few with the chance to be able touch the world...go for it.

Let us know what happens and if those biters email you back.

Oh, and get a copyright RIGHT NOW!

You dumbass its patent.

Last person on bx someone should get legal advice is from you

iThink

exactly

u already gotta few peeps on here who im sure would cop it

	27 - 14	STRK: 3 w in a row	WIN PCT: 65%	# 80 (-3)
Career: | Aug 09: 56-20, Rank #57 | Aug 08: 134-51, Rank #45 *

Congratulations. When you get bootlegged then you KNOW you did some good work. I know it's fu*ked up, but just take it as a compliment to your idea and just move on.

There's no money in sueing a guy who sells tshirts on ebay.

y would someone wanna copy that hideous sh*t

green+orange=

sue him lol

Update!

First off, thanks for the love everybody's giving this shirt. I expected a lot of hate for this shirt due to the quality of shirts everyone in TDC are rocking, so this is a big surprise.

I got a message back from the bloke and must've spit out his blood pudding in horror because he's mad he got caught. Let's break down this pigeon's response, shall we?

"Would be a pleasure as its not selling."

What do you do on eBay? Barter? Fashion Philanthropy? No, you're selling dipsh*t. This broke bi*ch is trying to use his queens engrish to legitimize what he does.

"Interested to know if you have the copyrights of this image?"

Why, you don't? You clearly stole the intellectual property so why is this a matter of what I have? Copyright law is clearly on my side. Despite me giving the rights to Karmaloop as a condition of the contest, I'm pretty sure he'll want to deal with me and not K-Loop on this matter. Unlike myself, they have the lawyers, money and time to put him in deeper than he already is.

"And did you get permission from Sony to use handset image to attack their products?"

Below is an excerpt from an article I found on Fair Use from chillingeffects.com

"Question: What is fair use?

Answer: There are no hard and fast rules for fair use (and anyone who tells you that a set number of words or percentage of a work is "fair" is talking about guidelines, not the law). The Copyright Act sets out four factors for courts to look at (17 U.S.C. § 107):

The purpose and character of the use. Transformative uses are favored over mere copying. Non-commercial uses are also more likely fair.
The nature of the copyrighted work. Is the original factual in nature or fiction? Published or unpublished? Creative and unpublished works get more protection under copyright, while using factual material is more often fair use.
The amount and substantiality of the portion used. Copying nearly all of a work, or copying its "heart" is less likely to be fair.
The effect on the market or potential market. This factor is often held to be the most important in the analysis, and it applies even if the original is given away for free. If you use the copied work in a way that substitutes for the original in the market, it's unlikely to be a fair use; uses that serve a different audience or purpose are more likely fair. Linking to the original may also help to diminish the substitution effect. Note that criticism or parody that has the side effect of reducing a market may be fair because of its transformative character. In other words, if your criticism of a product is so powerful that people stop buying the product, that doesn't count as having an "effect on the market for the work" under copyright law.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[back to notice text]


Question: Do I need permission from the copyright holder to make fair use?

Answer: No. If your use is fair, it is not an infringement of copyright -- even if it is without the authorization of the copyright holder. Indeed, fair use is especially important to protect uses a copyright holder would not approve, such as criticism or parodies. See Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, 510 US 569 (1994). "

This illustrates that I operate within copyright law and I don't need permission from Sony to use their controller as the basis for my design. Furthermore, this is not an attack, but a parody of groups that try to villanize video games and link violence and aggression to video games. Now, when it comes to this broke bi*ch, he didn't parody my parody, nor did he dramatically alter the content. Therefore he is in violation of Fair Use policy.

"Thanks Vandal Designs"

fu*k you too nigga.

He took the designs down, but I'm going to keep looking out for him. If i see it again, i'm reporting him to eBay and I'll be contacting a lawyer and Karmaloop to seek legal action. Because that's how I roll.

	0 - 0	STRK: 0 in a row	WIN PCT: 0%	#  (0)
Career: | Aug 08: 5-1, Rank #417 *