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Intellectual Property and Copyright Theft In Our Industry.

Grafix USA

New Member
I am not saying it is O.K., But EVERYONE on this boards breaks the law....The only thing is how you feel about doing it. Either you didn't know or the law is old and doesn't really apply today (however it is still the law) or you think that whatever law is petty and don't care. Bottom line EVERYONE breaks the law...

'But these so-called minor crimes are committed so regularly they have almost become legal, which seems to be the reason so many people aren't fazed when they do break the law.'

Enlarge The poll of 5,000 men and women found the average person admitted to around seven offences a week.

It revealed speeding as the most common crime, with almost half - 46 per cent - admitting to driving over the speed limit.

Another 40 per cent confessed to texting or chatting on their mobile while behind the wheel.

A further 36 per cent said that they drop litter in the street, while around 35 per cent download music illegally.

More than a third have cycled on pavements instead of on the road, 29 per cent admitted eating and drinking while driving and a quarter have had sex in a public place.
Another 24 per cent say they park on a pavement to protect their car. Nineteen per cent take drugs and 18 per cent admitted to not wearing their seatbelt.

Other crimes committed on a daily basis include parking on double yellow lines, driving through red lights and carrying a weapon.

Mr Sewell added: 'Some of these crimes might seem petty but they were all made illegal for a reason.

'Most people wouldn't dream of stealing something from a shop but this research proves that some crimes have become normal everyday activities for many .'

So is your point that "two wrongs make a right" or to encourage people to violate copyrights enough that it becomes acceptable? Interesting logic.
 

BadAss

New Member
No David,,,,
Read... I started off with..."I am not saying it's O.K." Seriously!!!! The statistics are University studies. What I am saying is (maybe copyright infringment) "Don't throw stones at your neighbors , if your own windows are glass." Actually Ben Franklin said it...
 

BadAss

New Member
Also I am saying...
No One on here can say they do not break the law. And to parapharse another great author. "Show me a man who says he never breaks the law, and I will show you a liar." They may not be aware, so does that actually make them a liar or just uninformed??? I am not really sure...And the cycle continues.
 

Mosh

New Member
If you are refering to when I shoot aniamls in my yard, or when I knock down 8 or 10 beers while I am running a $250K, 25 ton combine in a field then yes. No wait, none of those thing are against the law, so I guess I am safe!
 

Bigdawg

Just Me
I don't think most of the people here really wanted to see this guy lose everything - or maybe they do... well - at least one person did. But if there had even been an "OMG what have I done" moment when it was pointed out to him that what he had done was illegal and he was flaunting it on an open board - he might have more of my sympathy.

And I actually do feel sorry for him - can't help myself. I have no idea the world of sh** he is about to encounter, but I hope he consults an attorney and fast.

I'm not perfect. Not many are, but most of us would learn (I would hope) when it was pointed out to us. I'm glad cptcorn posted this thread because nobody can now say they are unaware of the law - and the reality of breaking it.
 

Rodi

New Member
We all do this, sometimes in lesser or greater degrees. Unless you have complete control of the fonts you have bought and keep within the EULA(sometimes the more printers and CPUs you are supposed to tell them and pay up), there is a good chance you are harboring pirated fonts. If you are like most shops and just accept fonts supplied by ad agencies and designers, you are dealing in pirated fonts. Until the last few years, the whole bitstream library was pirated Linotype, and Mathew Carter who co-founded Bitstream is a SAINT in the Type making business. So you use the Bistream fonts provided in Corel draw, you are pirating fonts. Have you ever read the EULAs from Corel derived fonts?

My whole point is, it takes man hours to keep clean and you still can't. Copyright law for fonts is reckless at best and it still allows for Adobe, Bitstream, Linotype, etc etc to be actual Pirates, then sue others for Pirating.So if the guys at the top are doing it, what do you think is happening in the street?
 

Rodi

New Member
I did not see the thread in question, but unless he is selling the picture in question, they will get a cease and desist and maybe force him to replace the wrap.
 

Mosh

New Member
I dought anything is going to happen to him, I hope he is reading this and lets us know what his plans are.
 

astro8

New Member
Besides the copyright issue, what kind of sicko would use that image on 'car wrap' knowing the history behind it. There's somethings in life you just don't do.
 

Pat Whatley

New Member
He probably didn't know the history behind it. A google search for "pile of skulls" or "stack of skulls" brings up several versions of it without any watermark. If CptCorn hadn't provided the description I bet virtually nobody here could have told the story. Doesn't make it right but I don't think intentionally crapping on history was one of the mistakes made.
 

p7050

New Member
This is a actual person I race with. What about a person whose name is ford and he drives a race car and puts Ford Racing on his car is that copyright infringment
 

astro8

New Member
He probably didn't know the history behind it. A google search for "pile of skulls" or "stack of skulls" brings up several versions of it without any watermark. If CptCorn hadn't provided the description I bet virtually nobody here could have told the story. Doesn't make it right but I don't think intentionally crapping on history was one of the mistakes made.

C'mon Pat I knew what that was the moment I saw it...my first thought was Cambodia.

You know when it's wrong, you get a sick feeling in your guts.

Pretty hard to come across a legit truck full of skulls.
 

CheapVehicleWrap

New Member
"This is a actual person I race with. What about a person whose name is ford and he drives a race car and puts Ford Racing on his car is that copyright infringment"


Actually thats refered to as trademark infringement or so ford might claim.

MUCH, MUCH more serious (and criminal) as mentioned earlier is the creation, possesion or sale of counterfeit goods such as t-shirts etc.

The guys on the boardwalks with their 24" plotters and stacks of samples are doing this as are the fake Guici etc. warehouse busts here in NJ. There are TONS of people doing this on ebay. TONS. Mcdonald's and Harley being the most aggressive plaintiffs.

Only a few years back a local 70+ year old man who's legally blind that devoted his entire life working on Corvettes was taken away in cuffs at an auto show in PA for airbrushing Corvette t-shirts. he lost his business, house etc.

I don't recall if he recieved a prison sentence at the time, but that could certainly happen now.
 

Mosh

New Member
Almost no legitimate Calvin and Hobbes merchandise exists outside of the book collections. Exceptions include two 16-month calendars (1988–1989 and 1989–1990), the textbook Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes, the textbook The Fallacy Detective, and one T-shirt for a traveling art exhibit on comics.

However, the strip's immense popularity has led to the appearance of various counterfeit items such as window decals and T-shirts that often feature crude humor, binge drinking and other themes that are not found in Watterson's work. After threat of a lawsuit alleging infringement of copyright and trademark, some sticker makers replaced Calvin with a different boy, while other makers made no changes. Watterson wryly commented, "I clearly miscalculated how popular it would be to show Calvin urinating on a Ford logo."
 

acothran

New Member
Pretty hard to come across a legit truck full of skulls.

Actually for a mere $65.00 (USD) the "designer" could've had a high-res, background free, ready to use....Large Pile of Skulls.

A couple of people mentioned the Aurora Skull graphics and after checking their website, I realized StickaSteve could've saved a lot of time, his reputation, and probably much, much more by paying a small fee and downloading the graphic I listed in the link.

Thanks CPTCorn for starting this thread. I was involved with the original thread and the best thing that could've come from that...is this. Thanks again.

Allen
 

ProWraps

New Member
man. what a day that poor guy is probably having. what he did was clearly wrong. but more than likely a product of ignorance, not malice.

all in all, he should fess up, talk to the customer, remove the wrap, make amends to the artist and the customer, redesign the wrap and redo it for free.

lessons are learned the hard way. this one, seems pretty hard. i hate theives as much as the next, but, lets not lose perspective on the situation.

great topic for discussion, and one that i honestly feel needs to be talked about more on here.

i just hate to see the poor guy strung up and beat with a stick IF HE DOES THE RIGHT THING. if not, well, then the legal ramifications should be enforced.

we have all had our "oh sh*t" moments. trust me, most of you know i have them on a daily basis. its how we handle the situation and correct our failures and mistakes that makes us a contribution to this community.

i for one hope that he sorts this out, and continues to contribute to this community with the new legal knowledge that he has gained from it.
 

acothran

New Member
i for one hope that he sorts this out, and continues to contribute to this community with the new legal knowledge that he has gained from it.

It doesn't really have anything to do with the legal process or make amends with the owner of the photograph but the OP did eat some humble pie last night and finally broke down, admitted his wrong, and apologized to those he'd attacked on his thread. I try not to get into heated discussions here but I couldn't help but jump in last night. My last reply to that thread was in response to his apology and I felt it was sincere. That doesn't at all lessen the severity of his actions but I feel his apology at least helped me see past some of his original attitude here on S101.

Maybe he'll surface and we'll find out the ramifications. If nothing more, we've all learned something from his mistake.

Allen
 
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