IP Infringement

Discussion started by Reznor9

How do I report a user for infringing on my personal IPs? I’ve attempted to contact the support email and hit the report button on the individual item with proof that the designs were originated by me and have not received a reply. I have reached out to this user and he admits to duplicating my IP but states he can simply change one thing and it becomes his which is not how IP works. Now I’m not an expert at IP law but I’ve read that every designer automatically owns the copyright to their work, except for in the work-for-hire situations. There’s no need to register a copyright with the US Patent and Trademark Office like there is to get the protections that come with patenting a concept. So how can I protect my work from vultures like this that drive business away from my own listings?

Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks.

Answers

Posted over 2 years ago
0

Cgtrader took down the models in question. Not sure if that’s an automated reaction to a complaint until they can review the evidence or if they already reviewed my evidence and documentation. In any case its an ugly feeling to have your hard work and effort being sold by someone else as their own and having them laugh at you when you politely ask them to remove it.

Posted over 2 years ago
0

I'm glad it was resolved. Hopefully support bans this user. He/she has no idea what IP is or the law. You may want to see if this scumbag is using other websites to sell his stolen models.

Reznor9 wrote
Reznor9
It was a temporary resolution. In the end CGTrader denied my claim since I don’t have paperwork from the copyright office. I have an IG account with over 100k followers and have documentation of my process when creating it over a year ago as well as ArtStation posts showing my work but it’s not good enough for them. To my understanding In the United States, every designer automatically owns the copyright to their work, except for in the work-for-hire situations. There’s no need to register a copyright with the US Patent and Trademark Office like there is to get the protections that come with patenting a concept. However, a copyright can be registered with the US Copyright Office. If you wish to file a copyright infringement lawsuit, you’ll need to register your copyright first. But maybe that article is incorrect or outdated. Anyhow I’m really disappointed and saddened that my creations have zero protections according to CGTrader as they choose to facilitate plagiarism to make a profit. I wish some of the movie and comic book studios would come in here and make them remove all items infringing on their IPs. I’m sure that would take a huge chunk out of CGTraders profit margins. This company and their claims that they will not stand for IP infringement in their content policy is a joke.
Posted over 2 years ago
2

Lets clear some things first (because of the other people that might have the same problem) there are two questions: 1. Are we talking about someone who downloaded/stole your 3d model and modified it in order to sell it as their own ? Or are we talking about someone who saw render/picture of your model and made model based on that render. For first thing we (community here) and cgt support need proof that model is indeed made by you wich mean that you have to provide for example full max scene with all blueprints used for building model in question (even better if blueprints are concept art made by you), material setup, layered psd for textures etc. Thief can't have those things, the only way thief can get those things is if artist lost his mind and made source files of the model available to public/buyers. From my personal experience cgt support take things like this very seriously and if you provide sufficient proof i'm sure that things like this will be resolved very quickly. As far as second thing goes, you need registered design patent in order to claim that someone copied your design. No one will take as granted any claim about design that isn't registered because anyone can claim anything. Your models and models of the person that you are claiming stole it from you wont match in any technical way wich mean that models aren't stolen, wich is the only thing that matter to the cgt support if there isn't registered design patent. Don't get me wrong, but in this case, the "other" side can also claim that you copied their design. Since you claim that is custom design made by you, you should be able to provide some concept arts, or something similar wich can proove that design is indeed yours, In plain words, 3d models are 3d models , design is design. Apples and oranges. Good luck.

Reznor9 wrote
Reznor9
I have an IG account I run a prop making business with over 100k followers. The whole marketing behind my brand is that I’m making original pieces, not based off existing variants of characters. So unlike the hundreds of prop makers out there using the same cookie cutter files they buy off cgtrader or Do3d or other market places, mine are exclusive. I post my WIP and I respond to followers feedback when creating these designs and also showcase them on my ArtStation in which I declare that the IP is mine and most anyone whom follows my work would side with me, that I am the designers of said pieces as they had seen the process since the beginning. That said even the guy that is copying my designs admits that he himself is a fan of mine and that I am the “inspiration” for those models, then follows up with the fact that he can copy them if he wants because I don’t have the documents to stop him from doing so. Also as I stated earlier I’ve read In the United States, every designer automatically owns the copyright to their work, except for in the work-for-hire situations. There’s no need to register a copyright with the US Patent and Trademark Office like there is to get the protections that come with patenting a concept. However, a copyright can be registered with the US Copyright Office. If you wish to file a copyright infringement lawsuit, you’ll need to register your copyright first. I just think it’s BS for me to have to spend 1k on licensing fees to protect my IP. There should be an easier way for artists to protect their work.
LowPolyVehicles wrote
I agree with you, but CGT fall under EU laws because they are in EU, and because of that design must be registered, in order to be claimed, there isn't automatization of any kind like in US as far as I know, if someone know better please write. But if it's isn't a common design (in other words if you didn't used someone else design as inspiration) and you showed wip there is no reason for cgt to keep copycat around. I suggest you to post link to the models in question and create image that shows comparison between the two so that community can see what's what.
Posted over 2 years ago
0

It seems the guy has a personal vendetta against me. All his other works are just copies of cannon works from DC and Marvel movies, comics and games. I seem to be the only freelance artist he chooses to plagiarize. The guy claims to be a fan of my work but he also had the audacity to undermine me at every request to remove my works without really changing anything about the designs. I have several members of the community reaching out to me to warn me that he released another design of mine and then labels it as inspired by something else’s. Doesn’t even give me credit for the freaking inspiration. . I tried to build a rapport with him as an artist and person and thought were good and he even agreed to remove some stuff. But then a week or two later he not only put it back online but doubled down and added more designs of mine to his shop. I’m hurt and frustrated as an artist and individual. I hate that I have to be rich to protect my works.

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