Didn’t I Write This Like A Year Ago?
Multiple people wrote to me about this, but credit Carly Monardo with getting there first.
Okay, for historical context, read here and work your way forward.
For “Shmorky”, substitute “Jess Fink“. For “Todd Goldman”, substitute “Hot Topic“. For my take on the whole situation, allow me to quote Kris Straub on one of the past iterations of Wikimesses: That’s pretty goddamn weak.
For lawsuit threats, wait a week until after the story has died down, then mail them to the contacts page.
Most IP (intellectual property, for those not in the know) will gladly take on a case like this pro-bono, because if the original artist registered a copyright, it’s an easy win. It just goes to show you that you should always register your copyrights if you’re putting art on the internet.
By Breadman on 02.22.08 4:40 am
IP LAWYERS. Forgot the word lawyers. Oh well.
By Breadman on 02.22.08 4:41 am
[…] [Top Story] The latest example of T-shirt plagiarism from a webcomics cartoonist: Jess Fink, whose shirt design (above, left) seems to have been swiped pretty much wholesale by goth-merchandise chain Hot Topic (above, right). Fink claims that the chain is blowing him off, and is therefore contemplating legal action. (Links via Gary Tyrrell.) […]
By Journalista - the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » Feb. 22, 2008: Hotter topic on 02.22.08 4:43 am
[…] Merch The question naturally arises, what would be an acceptable resolution to the Jess Fink/Hot Topic situation? As I see it, some of the remedies proposed last year in the Shmorky/Goldman don’t […]
By Fleen: Your Favorite Faux-Muckrakers Since 2005 » Just To Be Clear on 02.22.08 9:14 am
[…] up on the Jess Fink story from last week, Rachel suggests in our comments section that Hot Topic is handling the […]
By Fleen: Your Favorite Faux-Muckrakers Since 2005 » Now That’s Just Lame. Oh, Wait, Wizard. Gotcha. on 02.25.08 2:30 pm
[…] been through this nonsense plenty of times with webcomickers, and it’s always the same thing that needs to be done: contact the […]
By Fleen: Home Of The Webcomics Action News Team! » The Pope Of Awkward People on 02.11.10 12:54 pm
[…] Moen once got an indescribably awesome birthday gift from Vera Brosgol. Hot Topic, who have pulled this shit repeatedly, are selling a t-shirt with artwork blatantly stolen from Moen’s birthday […]
By Fleen: Home Of The Webcomics Action News Team! » Slush Yaaaayyyyy on 02.25.10 3:56 pm
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