Art Thief!

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Someone brought to my attention this art thief.

https://www.deviantart.com/missangela89/art/Untitled-932453895

There’s at least two four images of mine, both all of them poorly cropped off to remove my copyright stamp.

A big THANK YOU to those who already posted on that thief’s site, asking him/her if permission was given (which wasn’t) and a HUGE thank you to the follower who brought it to my attention.

I could ask you to flood the thief’s comment section with nasty notes until my art is taken down, but I’m not that kind of guy…

ADDENDUM

I tried to report it as copyright infringement to DeviantArt.

Well, what do you know, DA is a “fraud” in itself. They have this new policy where you have to fill out a form, showing the proof that you are the owner of the copyright by sending the real image. That is good. But they also asks for all your contact information, full name, address and phone number. That could also be good. But then you have to accept this contact information may be given to the one you’re fighting the copyright over…

Yeah, right, I will give all my personal contact information to a crook…

Way to go, DeviantArt! Protect the criminals!

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10 thoughts on “Art Thief!

  1. Their method is too bad! There was a better way! For example, they can ask you to record a video of creative art and send it to them! I believe this thief has no such ability!

    1. They ask for a source file and/or a link where the art was originally posted. I’m totally okay with that. Just that should be enough, especially when the “thief” removes the copyright stamp by cropping it off or camouflages it with photoshop.
      Why do they need the complete private contact information of the original creator is beyond me, and why would they share said information with the crook makes no sense to me.

      I mean “Hey, this guy is a crook, but just to prove that you own that art, give us your full name, complete address and phone number, and we’ll share that information with him.” Yeah… want my social security number and my driver’s license with that? And, oh, why not, in case there’s any fee, here’s my credit card number and bank account information… DA is as a crooked as the crooks who post stolen stuff.

  2. Can you input “N/A” for the contact info fields?
    See if they process the complaint without that information…

    1. Thanks for the idea, marp, however I can’t, as the form is prescribed by the law, and thus all information must be there and valid (so nothing phoney).

      The problem is that I have to click that little square box stating “I understand that Deviant Art may send a copy of this complaint to the individual against whom I am claiming infringement” I don’t want an unscrupulous piece of cockroach dunk getting my personal contact info.

      Anyhoo, this “missAngela89” states in the profile that the pronouns are “They/Them”, I thus suspect a multiple personality disorder, and I don’t want to start arguing with someone who might argue with itself, and who’s head is too crowded.

      “they/them” are not making any money out of it, and I’m not losing any. And since I added my website to all of my images on her site, I may very well get more followers who prefers the original artwork with the story.

      Pierre.

      1. Does DA need a “law” to process a complaint on their platform?
        …as long as they remove the stolen art…

        I’m not an English native speaker – but isn’t “they/them” was is used if someone does not want to disclose their gender?

        I hope this crap doesn’t happen to you too often anymore – for of course not entirely unselfish reasons… I do so very much enjoy your stories and accompanying art… 😉

        1. No, DA doesn’t have an “internal process”. I tend to think that most websites had an internal process until that law was passed. They go by the form prescribed by the law, meaning they follow the law. Using some internal process would open the door for disputes because, well, not the law.

          they/them: I’m not sure but I think it’s of someone who doesn’t “identifies” as M nor F. I’m old fashion. Not wanting to disclose gender, I would put “N/D”. I was being sarcastic about it in my previous reply.

          I’m sure, without a doubt, that my art is used somewhere else. All I wish for is that whoever used my art, kept the original stamp and put a reference to my website, (link site) and most and foremost, doesn’t make money out of it.

          I’m not searching for it. I don’t have time for that. But if “too many” sites comes up, I might add a section for “people using my art without permission” list.

      2. I regret to say that the requirement to send a copy of a claim of infringement to the potential perpetrator is a standard requirement for the US DMCA process – you will not find a US-based organisation properly adhering to the US DMCA process that does not specify this may be the case.

        HOWEVER, the important word in the statement you quote is this:

        “Deviant Art MAY send a copy of this complaint ” (Note the use of the the word “may”,
        rather than “will”.)

        This is because the process works as follows:

        1) You submit a complaint detailing the infringement and providing proof that you are the actual originator, and so hold copyright, together with your personal information.

        2) Deviant Art use this information to order a Take Down notice to the infringer and remove the infringing content from their site. This Take Down notice does *not* contain any of your personal information.

        In cases where the infringer knows they have been “caught”, that’s generally it. The content is removed, end of story.

        The *only* time your personal information is sent, is if the person accused decides to file a counter-claim against you (in which case you also receive their personal information so you might pass it on to your lawyer).

        As a rule, such counter-claims are only filed in cases where an initial false claim of copyright infringement has been made against someone.

        True, the infringer might attempt to bluff their way through a counter-claim – but this exposes them to significant legal jeopardy, and (I would suggest) rarely happens. Generally speaking, just the receipt of a Take Down notice (again, which *does not* contain your personal information) is enough to frighten them off.

        This being the case, and in order to protect your work, I would encourage you to file a DMCA complaint with Deviant Art.

        1. Geesh. You sound like a lawyer! (I say that in a good way).

          And yes, the “may” was my trigger to not fill-up the form.
          I could file the removal notice, since “MissAngela” doesn’t seem to give a damn to my notes. However, she hasn’t taken them down, and my comments are still there, and I suspect I got a few new “watchers”, thanks to it. So…
          I may as well play her game and post my updates on her page. Why not?

  3. Tut mir leid das ich leider nicht in der Richtung helfen kann sprich mehr Druck aufbauen.
    Es ist so das ich kein Englisch wirklich verstehe und oder schreibe. Meine Muttersprache ist deutsch und deine wirklich gute Seite besuche ich mit dem Übersetzer von Google.

    Mit freundlichen Grüßen Jörg

    1. Danke, Jörg.
      Nichts hindert Sie daran, Ihren Kommentar dort auf Deutsch zu schreiben. Es könnte die Aufmerksamkeit weiterer deutscher Anhänger auf sich ziehen, dass diese Person ein Kunstdieb ist.
      Und wer weiß, vielleicht spricht diese Person besser Deutsch als Englisch.
      Hab Spaß!

      Geschrieben mit Hilfe von Google Translate und einem deutschen Freund. 😉

      Pierre.

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