Help! My art was stolen and I don't know how to proceed

K.Flagg

This has never happened to me before. I'm not sure what I should do or even if I can. This site clearly has mostly stolen art. you may want to check for your own. Should I just make my own cease and desist letter or do I need a lawyer for that? Its extra frustrating that this is the image I have made my logo out of. But hey, this means I have made it as an artist right?
https://numeralpaint.com/

jimsz

You can contact them with a standard C&D letter. Since the domain is registered in Morocco with the owner details hidden through a company in Arizona, you may not get very far.

The actual site is hosted by Cloudflare.com, you may want to also send them a C&D as they actually host the copyrighted work.

Is the work actually registered? For the most part there is little you can do.

willicreate

@K-Flagg I feel angry for you. You could send a short, curt cease and desist letter (there are samples online) but be prepared to be ignored. At least you can say you did something. I wouldn't involve a lawyer, for Will Terry has said it's not financially worth it.

Will Terry had an interview with artist Lewis Rossigno about their experience My Art Was Stolen - What Should I do? Hope this helps ease your fustration.

Yeah, guess this means your work is popular.

NessIllustration

@K-Flagg If they ignore you cease and desist, as @jimsz said you can try the web host. Also, I see they have Harry Potter and Marvel, cartoon characters, etc. Tempting to forward this to Marvel and watch them obliterate them...

K.Flagg

@jimsz Thank you for this info, I hadn't thought about the host but I doubt they will do anything.

K.Flagg

@NessIllustration I hadn't thought about seeing if I could report them for the major IP infringements like Marvel,Disney ect. I bet there is a contact form somewhere for that. I did notify another artist that I recognized so maybe if they slammed with a bunch of cease and disists at once?

NessIllustration

@K-Flagg Thing is, seems their entire business model is based on stolen art A few artists can send cease and desist, they might remove the products, but they still have hundreds more and they'll continue doing what they do... Would love to see a big corporation just pummel them out of the map entirely.

K.Flagg

@NessIllustration so far I have reported them to Disney, Marvel, and Warner Bros. with screen shots of the clips directly from the movies on their site. I think that was the best course of action because I totally agree that at the most they will just take down the requested cease and desists and keep stealing more art. Grrrrrrrrrrr I hate them so much!

lpetiti

Am I a terrible person for kind of laughing at the thought of Disney and Marvel pummeling them?

RachelArmington

You might first just email to tell them you own all the rights to the art, it was stolen from you and that you want it taken down (I had a similar situation, and the company did stop without me having to get stressed and into legalities--although they did continue stealing from other artists).

Another thought (beyond a cease-and-desist letter or hoping Disney will bring in its heavy-fisted lawyers) is to take it to social media. Jim Yellowhawk did this a few years back when a company was stealing American indigenous art (including his) under the guise of supporting the people (the company was in Vietnam, if I remember correctly). He called them out in his Facebook posts, which were shared a lot. His followers complained to the company and commented on the company's social media. I doubt it did much good concretely, but he did educate and engage his following, and it was probably a good way to vent. Silver lining.

Jeremiahbrown

@K-Flagg Thanks for sharing the link! I bought a bunch of reasonably priced posters. My kids will be very, VERY happy! Thanks so much!
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jk, this stinks but keep in mind, like everyone else said, they probably won't get away with it for long. I think Will Terry's podcast on the subject was pretty spot on and reassuring. Also, it has to be at least a little flattering that they picked your work to steal right (or I could be a bit of a freak for feeling that way )?