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News & ArtsMonday, July 20, 2009
Books / Nerd My New Plagiarizing Technique Is Unstoppable
Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Slog tipper Chador tips us to this pretty amazing post, in which David Rees calls out Jamba Juice for ripping off his Get Your War On style for an ad (partially reproduced at left.)
Granted, the clip art that Rees used to create Get Your War On was free for anyone to use, but Jamba Juice pinching the style of the strip is fairly unconscionable. Rees calls for action:
3. First person to sue Jamba Juice on my behalf CAN KEEP ALL THE MONEY. All I care about is destroying Jamba Juice and their overpriced dumb-ass juices. EAT A PIECE OF FRUIT, you morons, you’re missing most of the fiber.
There's much more over on Rees's site. Someone in the office presented an interesting comparison: This kind of resembles the whole Linda Derschang versus Starbucks battle last week. Corporate camouflage is getting even creepier and more intrusive. Rees might not have a legal case to make against Jamba Juice, but he certainly has a moral case to make, and I'm glad that he's at once outraged and funny about it.
1
Back in the 1990's I used to make similar cartoons with Harvard Graphics while I was bored at my stupid desk job. Can I sue too?
2
This isn't the first time a big name company or artist tried to rip off a web comic artist. Todd Goldman of david and goliath got busted red handed for the same kind of thing two years ago. http://www.miketyndall.com/todd_goldman/
4
The thing that's missing here is that those clip art used are open source. Anyone can use them for anything.
Why is David Rees product better than Jamba juice? I hate jamba used and loved Get Your War On, but he really doesnt' have a legitimate claim that they ripped him off when he didn't create the artwork to begin with.
Why is David Rees product better than Jamba juice? I hate jamba used and loved Get Your War On, but he really doesnt' have a legitimate claim that they ripped him off when he didn't create the artwork to begin with.
5
Waaaa. Welcome to the world of royalty free artwork. You can use it, I can use it, your smart ass kid can use it too. Want to be able to protect yourself from appropriation? Make your own drawings.
6
If you assemble public domain stuff into your own work it's a copyrightable object if the use is original, creative, and transformative relative to the PD stuff. In this case GYWO is pretty damn solidly transformative, and provided a good lawyer argues that the tone and style of the text and balloon style applied to the images is substantially similar to the GYWO he's good to go. It helps that the target audience and method of distribution are both similar for the two works.
Not a lot of money here though, good luck getting willful damages or any attorney's fees, since I doubt that a CR has been registered, and GYWO was first published a looong time ago, but oh well. This is shitty and I hope JJ suffers.
Not a lot of money here though, good luck getting willful damages or any attorney's fees, since I doubt that a CR has been registered, and GYWO was first published a looong time ago, but oh well. This is shitty and I hope JJ suffers.
7
"You violated the first law of the GYWO clip art!!! THESE DUDES DON’T HAVE NAMES."
Maybe because it isn't GYWO, you wanker.
And really dude? The fact that people don't get fiber is your reason for hating Jamba Juice?
Maybe because it isn't GYWO, you wanker.
And really dude? The fact that people don't get fiber is your reason for hating Jamba Juice?
9
@1, @3, @5, @6, @7, Aaah, I love it when people don't, you know, actually read the linked post. His outrage is completely tongue-in-cheek, and he isn't planning on suing. Oh, and he did mention that the graphics are public domain. Paul is upset that they're ripping off the style of the comic for a cheap marketing gimmick- it's understood that there's no legal weight to this issue, hence "a moral case". You all fail at understanding irony.
10
@9 guilty as charged! His rant is pretty fucking funny--"JUICE SUCKS, DRINK WINE" may become my new motto.
11
Put it this way. If GYWO didn't exist, this marketing campaign wouldn't either. Did Jamba Juice do anything illegal? Probably not. Did they rip off the GYWO style? Undoubtedly.
12
@6 FYI Copyrights occur automatically, they only need to be registered if you are going to mount an infringement suit. So if someone were to mount a legal challenge all that would need to happen is for Rees to do the relatively simple registration process.
13
Simmer down now. You did not invent the blending of stock clip art and quotes. See someecards.com.
http://d3gkbha1s7sr56.cloudfront.net/som…
http://d3gkbha1s7sr56.cloudfront.net/som…
14
uh, yeah, that's some pretty original "art" there fella...didn't know you invented clip art comics...
you know, i'd feel a lot sorrier for all these "artists" who whine that they get ripped off all the time, if the art in question was actually original.
you know, i'd feel a lot sorrier for all these "artists" who whine that they get ripped off all the time, if the art in question was actually original.
15
I'm totally going to threaten to sue the next person who sets their type in Helvetica. I used it first!!!
16
@9 My point was that he actually does have a case, which leads to...
@12 yes you are right, but unless you register your work within 3 months of publication any infringement action is only going to be rewarded with "actual" damages (the direct financial damages suffered by the GYWO guy as a result of the infringement) instead of the "punitive" (which isn't the right word to describe them but whatever) damages permitted by the copyright statute if you register before infringement or within 3 months of infringement in the case the work was infringed before it was actually published.
My whole point is that he has a case but not for money. Hence no one is going to take his tongue in cheek lawsuit to begin with, even though he has an actual case.
Anyway, my point is...Artists: Register your copyrights ASAP!! You could get a buttload of money from an infringer (up to 150k) or at least a small cheekload when you threaten them with a lawsuit and settle before trial (around 10-20k probably depending on the circumstances.)
@12 yes you are right, but unless you register your work within 3 months of publication any infringement action is only going to be rewarded with "actual" damages (the direct financial damages suffered by the GYWO guy as a result of the infringement) instead of the "punitive" (which isn't the right word to describe them but whatever) damages permitted by the copyright statute if you register before infringement or within 3 months of infringement in the case the work was infringed before it was actually published.
My whole point is that he has a case but not for money. Hence no one is going to take his tongue in cheek lawsuit to begin with, even though he has an actual case.
Anyway, my point is...Artists: Register your copyrights ASAP!! You could get a buttload of money from an infringer (up to 150k) or at least a small cheekload when you threaten them with a lawsuit and settle before trial (around 10-20k probably depending on the circumstances.)
17
The "style" of that comic is so generic I'm unconvinced Jamba is ripping off any one artist. What gets me is this guy uses free clip art for his comic? THAT's lame. Totally lame.
18
"Put it this way. If GYWO didn't exist, this marketing campaign wouldn't either. Did Jamba Juice do anything illegal? Probably not. Did they rip off the GYWO style? Undoubtedly. "
Is this any worse than the billions of commercials that have Bruce Springsteen soundalikes pitching Ford trucks or Home Depot?
Is this any worse than the billions of commercials that have Bruce Springsteen soundalikes pitching Ford trucks or Home Depot?
19
The supposed "moral case" here is pretty weakly founded. People get inspiration from other artists' styles all the time, and most people who care about art would consider the idea of limiting this kind creative borrowing through copyright law a cynical sort of protectionism.
My feeling about this is sort of like George Carlin's views on hookers: if it's okay to copy another artist's style, and it's okay to sell overpriced fruit smoothies, why isn't it okay to sell overpriced fruit smoothies by copying another artist's style?
My feeling about this is sort of like George Carlin's views on hookers: if it's okay to copy another artist's style, and it's okay to sell overpriced fruit smoothies, why isn't it okay to sell overpriced fruit smoothies by copying another artist's style?
21
@20: I don't see a single comment in this thread that specifically indicates that anyone isn't familiar wth GYWO.
So...
Huh?
So...
Huh?
22
Everyone should read this book: Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, …. It explains, describes, and predicts the directions things are going in corporate co-option. Sadly, it also describes the bind we're in trying to fight it. Anne Elizabeth Moore is a genius.
23
This kind of resembles the whole Linda Derschang versus Starbucks battle last week.
Not really, Paul... Here, Jamba Juice is simply referencing a style, maybe even this specifically popular strip, in order to market their brand.
The problem with Starbucks isn't just that they are referencing a competitor's style. It's that they seem to be trying to pretend to be something that they are not. They are trying to be a wolf in sheep's clothing, so to speak.
I don't really think anyone is going to mistake the difference between coffee houses. I just think it's a cheap facsimile that cheapens Starbucks brand.
Not really, Paul... Here, Jamba Juice is simply referencing a style, maybe even this specifically popular strip, in order to market their brand.
The problem with Starbucks isn't just that they are referencing a competitor's style. It's that they seem to be trying to pretend to be something that they are not. They are trying to be a wolf in sheep's clothing, so to speak.
I don't really think anyone is going to mistake the difference between coffee houses. I just think it's a cheap facsimile that cheapens Starbucks brand.
24
I think kj @17 is either joking or is constantly deafened by the sound of things zooming over his head. It's so hard to tell from just a few sentences.
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