Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment

Deadpool And The Age Of Instant Gratification – How To Not Buy Counterfeit Goods

By Diana Greenhalgh

We've seen an uptick in recent years of various kinds of pirates. Swipers. Bootleggers/ counterfeiters. Everywhere we look, there's someone hawking an item with a popular property on it. Taking a random image and repurposing it for their own use and profit without even asking the person who owns or created it. Because it sells.

You might think I'm talking about fan art, but you'd be wrong. Slightly. See this doesn't just apply to fanart, an entirely different issue on its own, it applies to original property creations too.

Most of us these days use various social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And through there we're shown ads or other posts that the sites think we're interested in, or that might show up in something like a hashtag search.

As social media grows and expands, a lot of people who weren't previously "internet savvy" have joined at least one of these massive online networks. And what they — or even some of us, those who actively engage social media on a regular basis in our personal and/or professional lives — don't realize is how much of the content they see is stolen from the creator of that content.

Random ads pop up in our Facebook news feeds advertising things like t-shirts with one of our favourite movies on it, or other wearable or displayable merchandise showcasing a popular comic book character. And Facebook has showed us those ads because the content of our profiles or our interactions on the site has told them that this is something we want to see.

But the majority of the time, the items being advertised for sale are bootlegged, or counterfeit goods. The graphic/art/image being used has been stolen and slapped on random merchandise, made available on fly by night websites.

And not just stolen from companies. Artists and designers are having their work taken from them and used without permission or compensation. Usually the bootleggers take popular pop culture images, but there have been instances where original, artist-owned creations were taken as well.

Knowing not to buy or otherwise support it, to buy from legit sources or directly from the artists themselves, is the best way to ensure that you respect the rights of creators and artists. Just as you seek out your favourite companies, seek out artists and support them directly.

Buy from legit retailers, or better yet buy from the artists. If the artists don't have something you admired available — ask. If they say they can't, respect it. Respect them. That's not too much to ask.

In every instance of bootleg merchandise that involves art, no matter the subject matter the artist still has intellectual copyright over their work. This is an international right recognized under the Berne convention, and is the reason that companies can't appropriate an artists' fan art for their own use without the agreement of the artist. When we draw or paint something, we have a right to that work.

Artists can file DMCA takedown notices when their work is stolen and used on bootleg merchandise. But we usually have to rely on others to bring it to our attention so we can put a stop to it.

And that's what happened in the case that inspired me to write this.

A week ago, I was discussing an official movie poster I'd created (for 20th Century Fox's Deadpool) when I received a message from a friend in the comic book community, wanting to let me know that particular piece of my work was being used on merchandise.

And it was being advertised on Facebook.

Sure enough, someone had taken a copy of my work and slapped it on a mug. Without neither my knowledge and consent, nor that of Fox.

DMCA notices were filed, and the content was removed on the grounds of copyright violation.

The people who stole my work, then went on to steal from others.

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