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

[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 )?