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A Question of Copyright
I'm not looking for defenses or insults here; just wondering about the logistics and rights.
Some of you know that I brought shirts with a tentacle design bleached into them to Otakon this past weekend for sale in the Artist Alley. I have recently seen some craft tutorials on overbleaching (here and here) and thought I'd try it out. Given that I sell gamer gear, and also that I have a fondness for tentacles (we won't go into details), I thought it would be a cool idea to have a shirt that made you look wrapped in tentacles.
The problem arose when I returned from the convention. The shirts sold so well that I decided to put up a listing on Etsy.com for them. Today I got a message from another seller on Etsy telling me very politely that my designs were strikingly similar to her own copyrighted one, and that she would very much prefer if they weren't. Now I have absolutely no problem deferring to someone who holds a copyright. In fact, out of respect for the fact that her designs were on Etsy first and as a fellow artist, I have taken down my listing on Etsy to avoid directly competing with her.
My problem is that I think my designs are significantly different than hers, but I don't know the extent of copyright law. I mean, if one person makes a screenprinted shirt with a pirate ship on it, is it against copyright for another person to make a screenprinted shirt with a different pirate ship on it? We are both using overbleaching, and we are both using tentacles. I think my designs look pretty different from hers, and I think the clothing she makes would appeal to different situations than mine. However, I don't want to overstep my bounds here.
These are what hers look like: Hers
And these are mine: Mine
...thoughts? Anyone with actual knowledge of this type of issue would be much appreciated.
I respect the other sellers on Etsy, and it is clear that she had her listings up first. Despite my not knowing about her design, I do feel it is reasonable to avoid waltzing in and being an ass about my own work.
Some of you know that I brought shirts with a tentacle design bleached into them to Otakon this past weekend for sale in the Artist Alley. I have recently seen some craft tutorials on overbleaching (here and here) and thought I'd try it out. Given that I sell gamer gear, and also that I have a fondness for tentacles (we won't go into details), I thought it would be a cool idea to have a shirt that made you look wrapped in tentacles.
The problem arose when I returned from the convention. The shirts sold so well that I decided to put up a listing on Etsy.com for them. Today I got a message from another seller on Etsy telling me very politely that my designs were strikingly similar to her own copyrighted one, and that she would very much prefer if they weren't. Now I have absolutely no problem deferring to someone who holds a copyright. In fact, out of respect for the fact that her designs were on Etsy first and as a fellow artist, I have taken down my listing on Etsy to avoid directly competing with her.
My problem is that I think my designs are significantly different than hers, but I don't know the extent of copyright law. I mean, if one person makes a screenprinted shirt with a pirate ship on it, is it against copyright for another person to make a screenprinted shirt with a different pirate ship on it? We are both using overbleaching, and we are both using tentacles. I think my designs look pretty different from hers, and I think the clothing she makes would appeal to different situations than mine. However, I don't want to overstep my bounds here.
These are what hers look like: Hers
And these are mine: Mine
...thoughts? Anyone with actual knowledge of this type of issue would be much appreciated.
I respect the other sellers on Etsy, and it is clear that she had her listings up first. Despite my not knowing about her design, I do feel it is reasonable to avoid waltzing in and being an ass about my own work.
Comments
I'm just a regular person so take my 2 cents with a grain of salt.
Who is that guy who does Friday Night Party Line and is a lawyer?
Anyway, the only similarity is a thematic one. Unless your product is just a recolor of hers or uses the exact pattern, it's free game.
Edit: *looks above*
...So would a dragon ape be warm or cold blooded?
As for your problem (I shall call it that for now), I agree with all things said by the other members here, same idea, different implementation. If we look at software, Photoshop - Gimp, Inkscape - Illustrator, Blender - Maya, same idea, different implementations. And besides, Chtulhu tentacles are different from octopus tentacles. Were you not the person arguing that older was better? Bad One Sin, back in the closet.
EDIT: I very much like your design, and I would personally argue that the designs are different enough that you should be able to sell your shirt without fear of legal action. Just because your techniques are similar and you both have tentacles as the centrepiece doesn't mean that she has a case against you. Sum 41 can't sue My Chemical Romance because they both use guitars and sing crappy songs about how much their lives suck.
My only response to the tentacle rape comment is that women have the right to chose what they like and what they do, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, break laws, blah blah blah. Period. It doesn't matter the subject. Also, most of the people that bought them were women.
All right, all right, I'm taking down the request for civility. I just didn't want anyone hassling the other artist, just as I'd prefer for her fans not to hassle me.
I appreciate all the compliments on the design. Thank you guys.
Sounds like most people feel the designs are significantly different. That is the way I felt, but I wanted to check with people that don't share my bias as the creator. If I find that copyright is not an issue, then I feel I can continue to make and sell my product ethically. There are politics involved, as with any online community, so I'll probably still keep them off of Etsy, but I can continue to make and sell them guilt-free.
EDIT: >_
I agree with Lusankya that the designs are different enough anyway. Her tentacles are thin things that only come from below; yours are thicker and more detailed, coming from all directions, with bubbles.