Plagiarize Much!

[Sterling84]

http://www.itech.com/itechframe.asp?page=mainmenu_e

CLick on "Design a Mask" contest. Last months winner look familiar??!?

Live in Manitoba maybe??!

Jesus Fr^&Kn ChriS%T$%

And I-Tech didn't even notice? You can't do that.........right?

thief.........THIEF I say...

It looks like they went off the logo AND the entry of SSUR a little........cause the antlers were different back then......I pray to God it's not anyone from this board.......and I don't say that as a threat at all.....or an accusation. Really, cause those of you I trust, I trust implicitly.

But I can't just let this crap happen. I may have to consider posting less......or smaller or .........something.

thoughts? AM I over reacting?

[Joshawaggie]

no you arent overreacting, THIS SUCKS!

dont post less, your stuff is awesome.

[GMac]

sterling as much as I love you man (and i mean that in a manly, designer sort of way)... i think you are over-reacting... while there are certain shape similarities to your original moose on ssur.org its still a moose... and im guessing he did a quick version of the real Manitoba Moose one you did... and he is from manitoba... not much for pro hockey there he probably just copied that as best he could...not saying its right but really he could have done the same with the bruins bear and probably still would have won...

[Waffles]

I agree with you completely, Sterling.

I know I'd probably feel some combination of flattery and outrage. Floutrage?

Please don't let one jerk stop you from doing and sharing your logo magic.

[winters in buffalo]

Is that one of your earlier designs? To me it looks significantly watered-down from your final work, but I never looked at your drafts.

Have you contacted Itech? If it were me, I'd be all over them.

[Sterling84]

i think you are over-reacting

I know..........but therein lies the problem. The contest says original artwork only.......which any ACTUAL artist without his head up his ass....would take as a challenge to go nuts.........depict a scene, a design, godzilla, a sea serpent, a fireball. An abstract pattern like potvin..........whatever! Only losers have nothing but a team logo on their gear.

How is that winning a design competition........"Well, I liked the Moose logo.....so I stuck it on each side 'der and ...........yup.....dat was it."

What a little wuss. AND, he loses all notion of mercy points by naming the team "ELKS".........

why? Cause if he's such a fan, of the team and my work.....he mans up and calls it Moose....and risks being called a copier.

And cause the PLURAL OF ELK>..............IS ELK!!!!

Top of my plop list...........1) Michel "Candy ass" David of Manitoba.......I'm coming for you Sunshine.

[Phil]

The angle the pictures are taken from make it hard for me to tell to what extent he used your stuff, but it certainly looks very suspicious.

I can see you'd be outraged. I'd suggest telling itech. They need to know. The guy won a contest with work that wasn't his own. Thankfully it wasn't something major requiring legal wrangling.

Hate to play the sympathetic homer, but lots of people mistakenly think that they can take stuff off the internet, and as long as they modify it a wee bit, they can call it their own. I even did it at first (anybody remember the Winnipeg Winterhawks? You won't find them on my site anymore.) At least I didn't use that stuff in any contests.

Hope this gets cleared up for you Sterling.

[zoneranger]

Looks like a rip off to me. Maybe you could drop a watermark over your stuff in Photoshop to keep this from happening again.

[Sterling84]

Is that one of your earlier designs? To me it looks significantly watered-down from your final work, but I never looked at your drafts.

Have you contacted Itech? If it were me, I'd be all over them.

It is watered down (crappily done) but there are several tell-tale spots....specially for me.....its like my kid. Convex curve of upper lip.........patch of very light over the eye, mouth, point to which neck terminates......and the antlers are very much off my initial concept that Pantone has.

I have contacted Itech and am awaiting reply...

Sy- I know people think they can do anything ........Joe Citizen is clueless to the rights of intellectual property........but it doesn't have to stop in my back yard. I'll make a stink so that at least one lousy "tracer" knows the rules.

[Phil]

Sy- I know people think they can do anything ........Joe Citizen is clueless to the rights of intellectual property........but it doesn't have to stop in my back yard. I'll make a stink so that at least one lousy "tracer" knows the rules.

More power to you!

A jihad on the tracers!

[GMac]

speaking of elk and moose... there is a team by my home town called the elks... yes they pluralized a plural... anyhoo... they took the original smiling moose and they changed the antlers... its quite funny

ps for the record sterling i understand why you are pissed but at the same time like sy pointed out people do it without thinking... hell i bet the guys like 14...lol

[tajmccall]

OK this is most definately a big deal, beyond the morality issue.

Hes passing it off as his original artwork, and HES COLLECTING A REWARD!!

That is, for all intents and purposes, Sterlings prize, as it is HIS artwork.

When you create something for hours, you begin to hold a dear attachment with it, and you certainly dont want someone else taking it as your own, its creative kidnapping, and whoring.

Not to draw any lines in the sand, but its just truth, any of you who dont understand, probably havent invested yourself into a project to the point where youd be outraged, not flattered, if someone took it.

Sterling, i think your underreacting! I was looking for his address online, and its not even my deal.

BTW, no luck

[slapshot]

I'm sure this stuff is rampant out there. The person who won the contest knew it wasn't his original artwork, and he ran the risk of the creator spotting it. I don't blame ITech, it's not their responsibility to check every submission for plagiarism. Where I work, if a customer submits artwork to us that they don't have the right to use, we are not responsible for legal action incurred by the unlawful use of it. We pass the lawsuit back to the customer. We have to assume the customer has rights to the artwork, and we make them sign waivers stating that for fact. This info is probably in the fine print of ITech's contest forms, clearing them from legal action. But the winner should definitely be up plop's creek when someone gets a hold of him.

[Sterling84]

OK this is most definately a big deal, beyond the morality issue.

Hes passing it off as his original artwork, and HES COLLECTING A REWARD!!

That is, for all intents and purposes, Sterlings prize, as it is HIS artwork.

When you create something for hours, you begin to hold a dear attachment with it, and you certainly dont want someone else taking it as your own, its creative kidnapping, and whoring.

Not to draw any lines in the sand, but its just truth, any of you who dont understand, probably havent invested yourself into a project to the point where youd be outraged, not flattered, if someone took it.

Sterling, i think your underreacting! I was looking for his address online, and its not even my deal.

BTW, no luck 

Thanks Tajm,

I mean, heck. I'm human. I know that this probably IS a 14 year old and he lives in Manitoba and probably loves the new moose logo. He's probably a fan. How would I have reacted had the Packers sued me when I made my own helmet?

But I think you've touched on the REAL point. Nobody would say a word if he hired someone to paint my moose on his club team helmet. THAT is flattering.

This is different. Dude "changed" the name and entered it as his own. And he won a brand new helmet.......something I cant afford (not the married me anyway).

He may not understand, but ignorance of the law is not an excuse, and its about to be his or Itechs problem. Seriously, if Itech doesn't pull that image and make things right.....I'll guess I should get the team involved. You can't let people diminish your brand like that. Pretty soon, a hundred more people see that, and assume the Moose use a clipart image they've seen "everywhere". Can't happen. Not at such a tender level of public knowledge where the average viewer is unaware of the Moose' new look. If he ripped off the Yankees, well.......it's no more right, but at least nobody would be fooled. This could actually be damaging. Argh.

[Stampman]

I'd let them know too--it is rather similar, of course you could submit the moose in the future put "Mooses" on the back, and see if you get accused of copying!

But I'd check with them...

And on the topic of large antlered animals-thanks again for the Caribou logo for my Madden team--it looks great, and you're getting all the credit.

(BTW --originally I did call the team the Caribous--knowing caribou is also the plural, but decided to go with the Caribou, sans "S"--Elks actually works though...)

[rozilla74]

You may be overreacting but you have every right to, Sterling. You have a legitimate beef in my opinion. The similarities are evident and I feel your pain as a fellow designer.

I've made the decision to scale back due to concerns I have as of late, not necesarily plagiarism. I ranted about it in one of the poll threads. I hope you can get to the bottom of this and settle things in a civilized manner. Though I know you'd love to pummel the tracer like a stampede of 'elks"

Good luck, man. Keep me posted.

[CJR]

Not that many people haven't said this already, but you've definately got a right to complain about this. If ITech doesn't do anything about it, I'd get the team involved.

[stimpy]

i knew that logo looked familiar....im entering that contest...i got a couple of ideas...hope i win...

[yh]

I don't blame ITech, it's not their responsibility to check every submission for plagiarism. Where I work, if a customer submits artwork to us that they don't have the right to use, we are not responsible for legal action incurred by the unlawful use of it. We pass the lawsuit back to the customer. We have to assume the customer has rights to the artwork, and we make them sign waivers stating that for fact. This info is probably in the fine print of ITech's contest forms, clearing them from legal action. But the winner should definitely be up plop's creek when someone gets a hold of him.

Actually, Itech can and should be blamed. It is their responsibility to check for plagiarism or misappropriation when they publish a work that has been plagiarized by another. Anyone who publishes intellectual property, whether their own or that of contributors, can be pursued for plaigiarism or misappropriation. The contract term of which you speak is a "hold harmless" or indemnification clause which simply means if your employer gets sued, the plagiarist has a contractual obligation to either pay the damages direct to the injured party or to repay your employer for any and all losses and expenses incurred if they get sued. The contract is not signed by the party who was actually plagiarized so their rights are not affected and can absolutely proceed against the publisher to enforce their rights.

Any company that wants to publish anything that is solicited from others should make reasonably certain that what they are publishing is truly an original work. Those who cannot afford IP lawyers, research dept's or the time to do the research themselves simply "self-insure" themselves by using these "hold harmless" agreements, essentially stating to the "artist" that they are taking his word that the work is original, but if it turns out not to be and they get sued for it, he acknowledges that he's going to either have to take care of it himself or reimburse the publisher for whatever they get sued for plus their costs.

Sterling, don't be afraid to get tough with Itech. My guess is they will take care of you or at least pull the mask off their site.

[GMac]

before i look like a man on an island...lol... i best explain myself better... i missed the "original" artwork claim and for that im sorry... but my statement about over reacting stems on sterlings thoughts of posting less... i guess i am worried that the more popular this place becomes the more paranoid we will get about posting our images and concepts.... i just dont want to see that happen...

like i said most likely the guy didnt get the image here but at the Manitoba moose site... if it was something like Nitro's Comets design that has had limited viewing then i would be a bit more skeptical that it wasnt a lurker on the site... i dunno thats just my 2 cents on why i think he "over reacted" but i understand thats hes pissed... and with good reason mind you