I'd like to know about your opinion about this images

more

more 

so many 

Here's the template from EmberMike to email them-

"Dear Unoriginal Vector Artist,

Thanks for viewing my portfolio and picking out a few things you really like. I can tell right away which of my designs you were most inspired by because you copied them and are now selling them.

Fortunately for me you are as unskilled in creating vector graphics as you are in coming up with ideas of your own, so your stuff isn't really competing with mine. But you have still created some problems for me and I have to do something about this. But before I do, I thought you should know why. Because inevitably, whenever I report someone for copying my work, I get that angry email afterwards asking why I'm such an a*****e and why I bothered reporting you.

First, save the excuses. I've heard them all. Maybe you think I'll believe that you were just practicing, trying to learn how to do something by copying something else. And that's fine. I've done that myself. But I have never copied something to learn and then inadvertently keyworded it, saved it to various sizes and formats, and then accidentally uploaded it to multiple stock sites and put it up for sale.

You may also think I'll believe that you didn't know you couldn't sell other people's work. Or that you didn't think your design looked that much like mine. You were just "inspired" by my work and tried to do your own version.

Or if you're especially brazen you may even think anyone will believe that you actually are the original designer of that vector and that I, in fact, copied you. Even though it's pretty easy to prove otherwise.

But let's assume for a second that you don't throw any of these excuses at me and you really did just make this one mistake. You had this single lapse in judgement and 99% of your work is truly original. Then sure, I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe that you'll be more careful in the future not to copy anything of mine. But we still need to deal with this. Here's why...

I reuse a lot of elements from my designs in new work. I'll grab an icon I did last year or a graphic from a couple of years ago and work it into a new design. And since often the way that agencies assess cases of possible copying is to simply look at who uploaded the image first, now I could potentially look like the copier if I upload an image with that same graphic at a later date. Now because you copied my work, I'm potentially in danger of having my account with an agency terminated or suspended while they investigate. And although ultimately I'll be able to prove that I was the original artist, I can't take the chance that my accounts could be suspended even for a day. I'm not losing a day's earnings because of you.

So go ahead. Call me names, get angry that I reported you. Have at it. But understand that the innocent copying you did, thinking there was no harm in it, puts my livelihood at risk and hurts my ability to reuse stuff that I created and you decided to copy and sell. Maybe you think I really am an a*****e for being so overly protective of some silly clipart or vector icons. But please know that those silly graphics are the result of years of learning, practicing, studying the market and figuring out what sells and what doesn't. It's how my mortgage gets paid and how I pay for the clothes on my kids' backs. It took you just a few minutes to do your sloppy version of my design but it took me 8 years of working at this to get to this point, and I'm not about to let you or anyone else take it away because you felt entitled to copy my work.

I like to think I'm not a total a*****e so if this is a situation where it looks like you just copied 1 or 2 things of mine, I'll give you a chance to delete the infringing work, rather than going straight to the agencies and getting your accounts shut down. But that's a one-time, short-term offer to do the right thing. Refuse to remove the copied designs, try to explain why it's not an exact copy, or even refuse to respond to my request in a timely manner, and you're on your own in dealing with the wrath of compliance departments who won't give you the same courtesy I am.

If you do manage to come out of this with your microstock accounts still online, consider yourself lucky. Not many people who get caught copying others are able to get their accounts reinstated. Enjoy your good fortune and learn from it. If you are one of those few people who really did have a small lapse in judgement and made this one mistake, and you really do want the chance to build a legit portfolio, don't squander the opportunity. "

A layer of graphic design.

I see a lot of this type of imagery on iStock as well, not least from some of the newer contributors playing catch-up. "Abusive inspiration" is a good term. Microstock is a melting pot of abusive inspiration.

This is not copycat, this is Plagiarism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism
http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/plagiarism/

Well, yeah, it's both.

Quote from: Beppe Grillo on February 19, 2015, 05:45

This is not copycat, this is Plagiarism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism
http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/plagiarism/

Well, yeah, it's both.

Copycat should be an exact copy
Plagiarism is "inspiration"�
From a legal point of view it is completely different

Quote from: No Free Lunch on February 19, 2015, 00:45

Here's the template from EmberMike to email them-

So now it's okay to plagiarise Mike? 

In this case the author has been cited and the text put in quotes, so it is a citation.

"Although plagiarism in some contexts is considered theft or stealing, the concept does not exist in a legal sense. "Plagiarism" is not mentioned in any current statute, either criminal or civil." ?

I don't think "copycat" is a legal term either. So from a "legal" point of view we are just puffing hot air.

From http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/plagiarism/
"The original author can bring a lawsuit for appropriation of his/her work against the plagiarist and recover the profits. Although not normally a crime, a person who plagiarizes is subject to being sued for fraud or copyright infringement if prior creation can be proved."

you really can't imagine that is a copyright infringement, i mean the idea looks the same but there are really different photos it is not copied per se. And what make you think that the original is "original"? If you make a search you will find dozens of photos with the same idea, not only those 2 contributors.

On the right images from only one contributor.
So amazing.

zebra i'm sad that he's coping you're images that much...but i suggest you to find some peace because they won't close his account