a striking similarity…
February 3rd, 2008 by andyhey!during the past months i’ve been getting occasional emails and private messages from friends and fellow blender users informing me that a certain graphics card (manufacturing/packaging?) company has published a graphics card box using a rip-off version of one of my early character pictures in their advertising campaign. they seem to have altered the image or painted it over in some way… so i decided to ignore it for the time being, since it seems that there isnt much i can do about it.but last week i got another email from fellow blenderhead roy schulz who found the actual graphics card package in a computer store. this sparked my interest again, since the similarity between the two characters is rather striking. see for yourself:
now what?
.andy
February 4th, 2008 at 15:51
sue the company :D
February 4th, 2008 at 17:39
I’m really sick of this people who have no respect for the work of others.
Let your lawyer write them. They deserve it!
February 8th, 2008 at 05:53
Not sure…was this work published under any form of CC? Is it OS-connected in any way?
If not, I would at least alert them to this fact and see where it goes from there.
Who knows? They may realize the error of their ways and try to make up for it (properly).
Pretty stupid, if you ask me.
But…a great compliment on your work - if nothing else. Especially from such a big player.
February 10th, 2008 at 17:25
Aw. That’s bad news, Andy. I’ve seen the images, yeah, they sure do resemble A LOT, I can’t say that it’s just a matter of coincidence. But isn’t Nvidia a major manufacturer of video cards? Don’t they have any filter groups or I mean someone in charge of checking if there were some piracies going on? They must have their own for that matter.
But, with that said, I congratulate you still, hehe! Of all artists in the world, it’s you and your fantastic work that they’ve chosen for the box. hehe!
But at least, they could have asked you or placed your sig there.
- reynante.deviantart.com
February 10th, 2008 at 20:41
Eh that sucks. As other said, I’d just email nvidia telling them. They probably just hired a freelancer to do their package image..and never checked where that freelance got inspired..eh!
February 11th, 2008 at 19:12
I think this is not a coincidence. Because, look at the details, look in the characters eyes, his shirt tied up together, his hands holding something, his teeth…it matches defenitly…. but I don’t really know what to do about this. Maybe like deab says: sue them or let a lawyer see the case. This is your work, Andy. Keep it like that.
February 12th, 2008 at 08:59
It seems they Ripped off the Suse chameleon . I guess they have no morals.
February 13th, 2008 at 13:53
There certainly is a striking similarity there…
Like others have said I’d send them a warning e-mail/letter first and then if that doesn’t sort it out get some lawyers in on it.
February 14th, 2008 at 16:05
A friend of mine has noticed that some artist have started putting their signature in the work itself making it nearly impossible to copy. My wife actually suggested that, for this piece at least, the damage to the ear could have been shaped so that when your signature is turned it would fit in the damage. Then you could show this if some one were to steal your work and try to call you the liar. I like her idea and will start “hiding” my signature in my work.
February 15th, 2008 at 23:59
Yeah what Jason suggested. Texture your name blatently over your character. Of course this may not be your vision - but at least it’ll make ‘em work to steal your stuff again!
BTW, I think nvidia is looking for artists, maybe tell them your obviously qualified to work for them!
February 19th, 2008 at 03:27
I agree with the first comment: SUE THE COMPANY… then you can come back to Buenos Aires for a little vacations. :P Cheers my friend
February 27th, 2008 at 04:18
I’ve already seen an image of yours ripped-off for ads for gsm tones and pix.
I posted it on elysiun some time ago.
No offenced, this is even not your best pic; why this interest? :)
cheers
February 27th, 2008 at 12:06
Didn’t you say that another company use this image to sell their cell phones too, @ndy?
March 10th, 2008 at 10:39
Andy,
It’s not NVIDA., it’s a Dutch company that has repackaged the NVIDA card
http://www.pointofview-online.com/default2.asp?content_id=316
March 11th, 2008 at 08:51
be it nvidea or Point of View, that Dutch company, they should be notified. especially nvidea. they have already established a name in the graphics card industry. i guess they would act on this matter if they intend to really protect their name. is your image creative commons? if so, most probably, the argument will not dwell on the legality of the issue but on the morality of the act
March 11th, 2008 at 11:05
Ask Nvidia or PoV for a graphic card.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:32
Hi. I took a closer look at their website. They use the Ogre/Creature theme to build up their product portfolio. They use your character as the main marketing tool for a complete series of graphics cards. Printed onto the box, the card, used on the webseite several times. I’d suggest that you contact them and ask for reasons and payment. That is something you should not tolerate.
March 11th, 2008 at 15:39
Please don’t allow this infringement to go unanswered. You do a disservice to yourself, your artwork, and the world-wide artistic community if you simply allow someone to steal your work like this. Taking an “oh-well” attitude when a company does this will only make the situation worse for artists; some of whom make their *living* selling their work.
March 12th, 2008 at 01:52
I think you should try it found out who made the box design. Because usually is not the graphics card company that makes the box design.
But… great work :)
March 12th, 2008 at 03:26
It sure looks similar. But similar enough to take legal measures? I don’t think so. I would just write a mail to the graphics card manufacturer and nvidia (so they know about the respectability of this manufacturer).
March 12th, 2008 at 13:35
It’s not just looking similar. It’s the same picture (even details match). Alternating it slightly with globally working algorithms still does not make it an own artwork. Even for a derived artwork you need the permission by the original author. I would contact a lawyer to stop shipping the product immediately and negotiate a financial compensation. Corporations sue people for copyright violations, why should people not do the same with corporations? And if it’s only for the sake of all artists. If you don’t need the money you could still donate it for some good thing.
March 12th, 2008 at 14:32
I agree with Sparkus, Maybe use the money and put it towards the blender foundation if you dont want it yourself.
But if you dont want to do it for yourself, then do it for the artists around you.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:29
Its obviously your work! if the company cant hire a real artist like yourself to design them something original, they don’t deserve to sell these cards.
Ask for compensation or a percentage of their profit, your art would inspire some to buy the cards in the first place.
March 17th, 2008 at 00:32
i agree with the most of the above comments.
March 17th, 2008 at 01:17
Sue them. Those bunch of good for nothing lying theives.
Nice work anyway!
March 18th, 2008 at 02:28
Have they responded to you? That’s pretty low if they just ignore you… Do you have proof it was created before theirs? That would suck, they could just say you ripped them :P
April 2nd, 2008 at 07:24
It’s published on the Blender gallery site in one of the monthly galleries. That should date the picture effectively.
April 11th, 2008 at 13:54
I would call or email the company, asking - nicely - mind you, for an explanation.
Consult with a lawyer to check your options, but I wouldn’t sue them unless it is the last resort. Avoiding the stink of a copyright infringement suit probably has added value to both PoV and nVidia. While the latter probably have no direct responsibility, the possible PR might make them want to put some pressure on the former to settle peacefully.
Keep in mind that this case is worth a lot of money to them, both as PR, and that they may need to rework their entire campaing and repackage stuff.
Make sure the settlement is what it’s worth to them, not to you.
Good luck!
-k
PS: Just randomly passing by, but the video was incredible.
May 5th, 2008 at 16:34
You should get a free card.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:58
This is obviously a copyright infringement, and I’m sure the company will be as annoyed as you are, especially NVidia. Since this is a commercial use by a private company—and especially with the connection to NVidia, I think you should take this seriously. I’d consult a copyright lawyer, or at least ask about a consultation. It’s premature to talk about suing, but this is your work, and you may well be entitled to a nice chunk of change. Also, in principle, I think commercial infringements like this should always be taken seriously. This is the real reason copyright exists in the first place.
June 10th, 2008 at 15:13
I just love the fact that did such an awful knock off.
It’s attrocious!
No way near the sly sneering character that @ndy made.
Well done for stirring things up @ndy!
Can’t wait till a company steals MY work. Then I’ll wear my tie a little higher and make this face for the rest of day :3
Copying is the most sincere form of flattery :D
July 11th, 2008 at 20:12
Man, you should totally be getting royalties for that!
I would contact Larry Gritz - lg@larrygritz.com for starters.
He’s a big guy at Nvidia and he might be able to do something about it.
July 25th, 2008 at 02:33
Hi Andy,
jetzt sitze ich hier zu später Stunde, stöbere durch deine Website und stolpere über diesen Eintrag! Es ist ja wohl klar, dass das ein hübscher Fall für einen Medienanwalt ist! Das kann für den Übeltäter richtig teuer werden… die Szenos haben übrigens vorzügliche Kontake.
Bis bald.
September 23rd, 2008 at 15:25
Esticaram a imagem na vertical colocaram um fundo e apricaram um filtro. Só! Não é plágio é roubo mesmo.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:10
I am a lawyer, this is a clear infringement of copyright. You can sue the company , but probably the company will claim that has no knowledge of this or they could not in any way have known that this was a copy. Probably the company could win this argument , of course you could turn against the artist responsible for this. Of course if the artist works as an employee of the company then you can turn against the company.
In any way , you are going to win this and claim loss profits . The most likely you could settle outside court and avoid any legal proceeding if you can prove that the art is yours with evidence.
Or you can send them an email and force them to employ you from now on ;)
It is a win/win situation.