Thread by @boygirlparty

I have a story to tell:

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Over a year ago, Francesca's, Express (!!!), OK Originals, and Orion Fashions started selling copies of a bunch of artists' pins.

Without our permission.

Rebranded as *their* products. #pinfringement

when i (and others. likely you) contacted them to take responsibility for their actions, they avoided our calls and letters.

and i got blocked. did you?

but we rallied, got legal representation, and filed suit.(artsy.net/article/artsy-…)

but wait: THERE'S MORE. just wait.

the infringers (Francesca's, Express, OK Originals, and Orion Fashions) actually tried to get the court to dismiss our case & argued to strip us of our creative rights to our own work. They said the artwork THEY COPIED FROM US was "basic, unoriginal" and "lacked creativity".

guess what?

"Basic" and "unoriginal" giant retailers systematically copied 12 independent artists' designs, and violate the DMCA by intentionally stripping designs of their owners' copyrights.

Their move to dismiss our case kiiiinda backfired.

Because the judge sided with us repeatedly, moving the case forward on every point that matters.

These decisions are already a huge win for ALL independent artists!!

Me and you.

Here's why:

The judge's decision sets a powerful legal precedent that future artists can use! Thanks to the DMCA (what we already use to take down unauthorized copies of our work from websites like Etsy and Facebook!)

keep reading...

Basically, this says if you put your name and/or other identifying information on your work (as we did), and someone removes that (as they did), they broke the law. And if they put their own name or other branding on copies (they did), they broke the law AGAIN. #basic

This decision is a huge win for artists like me!!! It clarifies another way that the DMCA can help artists in future legal battles when their work is copied by #basic #unoriginal corporations as mine was. (more: instagram.com/p/BI4MeOnDVx5/…)

Guess what else? It's now on record that this case is against "known infringer" / "known distributors of knockoff and copycat goods".

Because our judge affirmed this language!!!

#fightingformyart #pinfringement

Instead of taking responsibility for their #basic #unoriginal copies of our artwork,
these #extra corporations continue to spend time and money and effort
trying to fight independent artists they copied,
fighting our rights to our own art!,
trying to make us go away.

Um, no.

Here's where you can get our ORIGINAL pins / art:

@boygirlparty (me): shop.boygirlparty.com
boygirlparty.etsy.com
@REALGOBLINKO: goblinkomegamall.com
@LittleArrowShop: littlearrowstudio.com
@sleepy_mountain: sleepymountain.com
@doodle_beth: doodlecatsshop.co.uk

(cont'd)

@AnitaIvancenko: PardonMyTone.etsy.com
Kristina Micotti: kristinamicotti.com
Cousins Collective: cousinscollective.bigcartel.com
@kateandcait: shopkateandcait.com
Felt Good: feltgoodco.myshopify.com
@thegoodtwinco: thegoodtwin.co

#pinfringement

Thank you so much for reading, RTs & for your support. We're fighting for our art and for other artists and to stop corporations from doing this! Many thanks to our team at @KGFirm helping us fight this good fight.

More to come.

#pinfringement #fightingformyart #boygirlparty

PS Here's a great article about our #francescas case and @saramlyons's case and other #pinfringement on @outline :

theoutline.com/post/3944/enam…

an article on @outline about the artists fighting back against industrial scale infringement by Francesca's, Express, OK Originals, and Orion Fashions: theoutline.com/post/4055/fran… #pinfringement