Plagiarism help

BeckyJane

BeckyJane

New Member
I could do with some 'what would you do' advice, here.
I designed the following poster for Maidstone Vegan Festival last year and we've since reused the design again this year (I'm also one of the organisers of the festival). It's no masterpiece, but is just what the team wanted and seems to have worked effectively.... so effectively, that it seems that the West Midlands Vegan Festival have decided that it will do nicely to promote theirs.... Now, we've all taken inspiration from others but this is pushing it.... (see below)
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I have approached the organiser, who has agreed it does look like my poster, has apologised and blamed someone else for doing it, but said it's too late to withdraw/redesign as posters and flyers are all printed.
I said that in that case, please pay me a token amount £100 and I'll say no more.
He has come back saying he'll publish an apology and 'promote my business' (yes, we all know how effective that can be!) but clearly doesn't want to pay. Any suggestions of which tack I can take?
Thanks, Becky.
 
I'd just let it go to be honest. They're similar, especially the sun and the font colours, but I've seen variations on your original design a million times for farmers markets, country fairs, beer festivals, sports days, etc. Essentially anything outdoors in summer that involves food and drink will likely feature sun, blue skies, grass and bunting, so it's entirely possible it was just a coincidence as the ideas are pretty relatable and an obvious choice. Legally, I doubt there's anything you can do, especially if £100 is all you're seeking. You're just going to give yourself a bad name if you continue to demand payment.
 
These things can genuinely happen - and it's good that you spotted it.

I think there's enough in difference to make them standalone - especially if it came with sample text already on it.

If the text was not on it already -then they are very similar and a complete rip-off
 
Okay - there was no sample text on the graphic I downloaded (blue sky with grass). This is a blatant rip-off: The organiser of the festival actually attended our festival, so has seen the artwork. I didn't really expect to be debating about whether it was a rip off or not - even they've admitted it.... apart from anything else, their festival is in October, so it's not even a summer festival. Why would I get myself a 'bad name' for asking for some (small amount) of compensation?
 
I don't want to do that - I can't afford a lawyer, and I don't actually want to cost them huge amounts of money (they are likely not making much and are a not for profit), as I share their values. I think the particular person running it is dishonest - he's done a similar thing before by completely copying someone's business model. I'd rather naively hoped that he might 'do the right' thing and cough up. I wondered whether anyone else has experienced a similar situation and how it was resolved. Instead I rather feel like I'm being told I'm being silly.
 
That format has been used over and over for Summer carnivals, school galas and everything in-between for ever and ever but that is a blatant rip off of your design though it would be costly and difficult to prove.
Don't get hung up on legalities and stuff and just take it as a compliment although it is a bit disrespectful to you as a designer.

If you do want to pursue the matter for a token payment then it may be more trouble than it's worth and things like this can get all consuming and more trouble than they're worth.

But... (no disrespect here and I don't want to get into lifestyle ethics) vegans generally do tend to be easily intimidated in my experience apart from my mate Boris who breaks into animal testing labs and shit. He's pretty bad-ass.

I'm a vegetarian and we're not as ethically constrained so if you'd like, we could pop over to talk to this this guy and lean on him a bit if you get my drift.
I can assure you that no animals will be harmed although some of out methods do contain eggs and traces of nuts.
We accept cash, card, PayPal and and now Holland & Barrett vouchers. ;)

PM me and we could chat further.
 
It's not that we think you're being silly, it's just that there's not a lot you can do about it without
going to a lot of time and expense for such a small job.

Try and work it into a plus - maybe Tweet or blog about it, whilst gently dissing this other organiser.
 
Wardy said:
It's not that we think you're being silly, it's just that there's not a lot you can do about it without
going to a lot of time and expense for such a small job.

Try and work it into a plus - maybe Tweet or blog about it, whilst gently dissing this other organiser.
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I don't think your being silly either.
That's my job. ;)
It's a blatant rip-off to me and I'd feel a little bit damaged and annoyed by it.

Do as Wardy says. Write a blog post about plagiarism and use this as an example but show that you're above getting into petty conflicts.
Allow the reader to draw their own conclusion at the end.
They will appear to be creative thieves and you will come across as a consummate professional.
You could even submit it to a few creative sites and gain exposure too.
People like to read about stuff like this. I do. :D
Just be careful about how you word it to avoid sounding petty and unprofessional... Oh, and slanderous.
Win, win. :D

They could have actually done you a favour here.
 
Given that the organiser has already refused to pay anything, the only way this can be resolved is through legal action. If the organiser of the other event has admitted that they copied your intellectual property and you have it in writing (either on a text, email or letter) you could sue them and would probably win. The question you have to answer is, can you really be bothered with the cost, time and hassle of dragging them to court?

If the answer is no then let it go and move on. If the answer is yes then see a copyright lawyer and go from there.
 
bigdave said:
Given that the organiser has already refused to pay anything, the only way this can be resolved is through legal action. If the organiser of the other event has admitted that they copied your intellectual property and you have it in writing (either on a text, email or letter) you could sue them and would probably win. The question you have to answer is, can you really be bothered with the cost, time and hassle of dragging them to court?

If the answer is no then let it go and move on. If the answer is yes then see a copyright lawyer and go from there.
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That's actually a very good point.
 
BeckyJane said:
I wondered whether anyone else has experienced a similar situation and how it was resolved.
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I would be completely pissed off if I were in your shoes. It is out of order and just another example of how people take our industry for granted. It is like going into a shop, finding your favourite pack of biscuits, stealing half of the pack of biscuits, putting the remaining half back on the shelf and then selling the half of stolen biscuits claiming that you made them.

I do have experience with a similar situation, as this has happened to me with one of my designs before. In the end, it just wasn't worth the hassle, time and commitment to pursue, as I would have only charged a few hundred quid for the design in question, therefore in the long run, I would have lost out on more money by pursuing it, not only on legal fees but just my time.

This is no excuse but while the designs are very similar, I guess they have tried to move certain elements around to make it a bit different to your design, but there is only so much they can do to make it completely their own, as they are all very much what you would expect to see on these type of posters. No doubt if you looked hard enough, you may find other similar designs. What they should have done is get in touch with you and ask your permission to use your design, or produce something similar. £100 is a small fee you are asking for, I would have easily quoted more than double. If they can't afford the £100 then come to some other kind of amicable agreement. That would have been the right way to go about things but as I say, people take the piss with our industry...
 
I don't think you're being silly and think you did the right thing and went about it in the right way contacting them directly, if anything asking for less compensation than I would have.

Taking it further would mean trying to go a legal route which you've said you don't want to do, and whilst from what you know of this they 99.9% saw your design and copied the idea it is a generic enough design that it would be difficult to proove.

You could send them a further email stating that you intend to go the legal route if they do not agree to your compensation - I'd always include an invoice in with it, also perhaps send it by signed for post as this is less easy to ignore than an email.

If you wanted to try to get some mileage out of it you could blog/post the piece on the various 'they copied my work' websites, doing so ahead of next years event may get it some extra press, but beyond that I don't see what you can do.

Always disappointing when things like this happen and more so when its a company who share your values.
 
Not so sure about that one myself. Speaking as an illustrator, they look totally different to me, there's
only so many ways one can illustrate a lion's head.
 
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