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Anyone here been sued for selling t-shirts?

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#41 ·
blackSheep77 said:
I know, Rodney, and those people at T-Shirt Hell must live by their own twisted interpretation of the golden rule—"Do unto others, and sue if they do unto you!"
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tbaby said:
And looking over CrazyTeeShirts site, I noticed shirts like "rehab is for quitters", which is one of the most famous t-shirts in the industry (are you licensing that?) and "More Cowbell", which everyone seemed to rip each other off by doing. When he mentions that tshirthell gave him a cease and desist, I would imagine that they probably had good reason to do so, considering it's obvious he is selling shirts that have been in the industry and are clearly not original.
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OK, we're not here to bash any other companies.

This is not a court of law, and we really shouldn't go accusing other sites of infringement here without any proof.

Even with proof, this specific thread is about if a person actually got sued for selling t-shirts, and I think that the responses show that some do, and some get cease and desists prior to legal action.
 
#43 ·
I'm not bashing T-Shirt Hell, Rodney. If it is true that they sue people when they think they're "stealing" their designs, then I'm just telling it like it is
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That would be considered "bashing" in this context especially when you start saying they have a "twisted interpretation of the golden rule".

Again, as I mentioned above, this thread is about if anybody has been sued for selling t-shirts. It's not for accusing other sites of stealing designs.

I don't want to hijack this thread any further, if you'd like to discuss it further, feel free to send me a Private Message or Email :)
 
#44 ·
When it comes to tshirt humor, you will find many sites with these sells.

I have worked in the legal field for 22 years, people sue for anything. There is a lawsuit for a hand gesture...I will leave the parties names blank for now.

I have a design out which I was a bit liery about. I spoke to an atty before letting it be known to business owners that I will be selling a tshirt with their biz name. For approx three years, I have sold this tshirt and have no problems. I figured, its free advertisement for them.

I have taken artwork, blotch out some areas and used for customers. These customers are not mainstream and are not making a lot of money.

People will do what they want. While many businesses higher attys to investigate for piracy, etc., attys can only do so much. Yes, there are peop who search the net for occurrences which may result in piracy then you have to notify the person and start legal process if there is no cease.

We all know piracy is out of control because "people will do what they want." The moment someone dies, tshirts are printed. Anything big that is going on, will get printed on a tshirt. Attys cannot be everywhere. A company can only do so much. It takes time for officials to come down on those who sell pirate videos, etc. downtown l.a. Its a legal process and when its over, those same people will be back in business again.

I know this is something to be concerned about and if I am printing something which I know is a "no no" I dont put my biz info on the tee and I am selective in where I sell them. hint!

If it is a photo I have taken then all bets are off.

I enjoy creating tshirts I like to think no one has designed.

Happy tshirt printing yalll!
 
#45 ·
tbaby said:
I follow the t-shirt industry quite closely ...

And looking over CrazyTeeShirts site, I noticed shirts like "rehab is for quitters", which is one of the most famous t-shirts in the industry (are you licensing that?) and "More Cowbell", which everyone seemed to rip each other off by doing. When he mentions that tshirthell gave him a cease and desist, I would imagine that they probably had good reason to do so, considering it's obvious he is selling shirts that have been in the industry and are clearly not original.
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Since you follow the industry closely, you would know that the site of mine you are calling out sells stock transfers made by x-it, wildside, ag and the like.

And... I received the mentioned c & d at different site. I do own and manage many more shirt sites than I disclose here.
 
#46 · (Edited by Moderator)
I am glad my tshirts designs are my originals and yes, I have been afraid someone will steal my ideas. One in particular, I have considered trademarking.

People can sue anyone they want...winning is another matter. You have plenty of "ambulance chaser attys" out there...they will take your money, file some papers, show up in court and move on.

Business is business.

I dont visit any of the tshirt online shops, so I have no idea whats what with them. To know someone can sue you for a hand gesture is enough for me. I have been fortunate that no one has given me a hard time regarding my designs. I am struggling just like everyone else. I guess when I become a big company then people will come after me, that's usually how it works.
 
#47 ·
I recently had someone steal my shirt design which was a depiction of a copyrighted name & character. It was my illustration 100%, but still...I know.

Anyways, I was pissed and this person yelled at me that I didn't own the rights and he'd have me shut down blah, blah, blah.

I simply stated that it was my drawing and not something I had stolen and they agreed to stop selling their versions of my shirts (btw, this all happened on eBay).

I was also intrigued by how they got a hi res version of my art. I figured that they had purchased a shirt from me and had it scanned.

Anyways, I deal with a lot of my "interpretations" of copyrighted characters, so this topic interests me. I'm sure I'll receive some type of legal paperwork someday, but these are the shirts I wanted to wear and found out so did others. If no one else will make them... I will... and make them available to others!

Sorry, little of the path. I beleive the question was has anyone been sued yet?
 
#48 ·
I dont know if anyone from here has been sued or not.. but alot more can happen than being sued..
The following happened at a race at bristol last august... and actually does happen to some..

Copyright Infringement

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Just wanted to share what happened in Bristol during the race.
. About halfway through Friday (which is the busiest day), the Feds came through and started inspecting everyone's stuff. They nailed about a quarter of the vendors in a fellow sign maker (who also makes shirts) area.

Just wanted everyone to know how serious this can be. The guy next to the signmaker i know of brought his stuff from out of state in his brand-new truck and trailer. Not only did they confiscate his shirts and decals - they took his truck and trailer because it was used to transport across state lines. A few of the vendors that had (relatively) minor infractions only had their stock confiscated. Some had their stock taken and were issued a citation - which can add up to a few thousand dollars easily.

The bigger companys dont mess around.. many times yes they will just issue and cease and desist, but much more can happen.
There are some people out there that have lost all they have simply because they think they can break the rules and not get caught..
 
#49 · (Edited by Moderator)
KurtsShirts said:
I recently had someone steal my shirt design which was a depiction of a copyrighted name & character. It was my illustration 100%, but still...I know.

Anyways, I was pissed and this person yelled at me that I didn't own the rights and he'd have me shut down blah, blah, blah.

I simply stated that it was my drawing and not something I had stolen and they agreed to stop selling their versions of my shirts (btw, this all happened on eBay).

I was also intrigued by how they got a hi res version of my art. I figured that they had purchased a shirt from me and had it scanned.

Anyways, I deal with a lot of my "interpretations" of copyrighted characters, so this topic interests me. I'm sure I'll receive some type of legal paperwork someday, but these are the shirts I wanted to wear and found out so did others. If no one else will make them... I will... and make them available to others!
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Ya know.. just because i draw something.. say for example if i drew a picture of mickey mouse or one of the ones you drew does not make it my art, You are still using a character that is copyrighted by someone else.. and Legally its like playing russian roulette.. And in my humble opinion unethical. .. just my 2 cents..
 
#50 ·
I disagree. It is my art because I drew it. I created it. I'm not talking about what's legal and what's not.

It was bound to happen. Call it karma. Either way like I said, I created the shirts that I wanted to wear because no one else had.

And for the record, I would love to acquire the rights to the characters/imagery that I use, but on such a small scale, it's not even an issue. I'm prepared to accept my fate whatever it should be.

I just thought there was an "honor amoung theives" type of code. I was wrong.
 
#51 ·
Artists DON'T like their designs stolen - period. Nor does trademark holders. Theives are theives and a duck is a duck, no gray area. At least kurtshirts is prepaired to take the fall if, say Burger King (among others), comes a knockin'. Me? I wouldn't touch a TM image with a 10' pole. Art sold to the public (in the form of redrawn TM images) crosses a line into the legal realm and nolonger stands as the artiststs interpretation - by the very fact it is now marketed to a buying public (the point of the TM to begin with). A visious circle best kept at bay I say....
 
#52 ·
The ONLY exception to this rule to this is FINE ART (like Warhols CAMPBELL'S SOUP CANS) which are a reflection of the culture and not an expendible product for mass consumption (now if kurtshirts made fine art prints of his images, he could go after the people putting the designs on shirts). But that's a whole other can of worms.....
 
#58 ·
Jeez, I didn't mean to start anything. I don't want to make enemies here. Simply put: Like I said, I'm making the shirts I would like to see. Most are direct interpretations (as stated above) and others are either paradies or remakes of old, vintage designs.

This was supposed to be a springboard for my own original designs, but this ended up taking off.

I am currently creating "fine art" versions of certain designs and hope to become 100% legit. The truth is for now, people want these shirts. And I'm selling them. If I could afford the licensing, I would. I guess I will continue until I receive notice that I can't.

Then it will be time to sell my designs exclusively.

I appreciate everyone's opinion and hope I haven't offended anyone.
 
#60 ·
Thanks David. I was starting to feel ostracized! I'm really not a bad person and I have much respect when it comes to others rights.

I guess because it's on a corporate level it doesn't affect me. I'm just one smaller vendor who's trying to sell the shirts I think are cool... with established characters!

I've got fast legs, I beleive I can outrun that arm!
 
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