Seller is selling stolen images. How do I report them?

[soggytees]

I ordered a design for a t-shirt. I was very pleased with the design the seller sent to me…until I discovered it was already being used by another company online. It appears the seller stole the image, and I’m not sure what I should do. Luckily, the order was for 2 designs, so I am canceling my order at this point, but I’m not sure how to report this seller. Any help?

[orcatek]

First it could be a stock image, so it may not be stolen. Second, maybe the seller provides designs to the online company.



If it is stolen, then contact support.

[soggytees]

Reply to @orcatek: I understand what you’re saying, but even if the seller did design it (which I doubt at this point), they shouldn’t be selling me a design along with all rights and privileges that they’ve already sold to another retailer under the same conditions. Fiverr’s terms spell out that unless the seller stipulates otherwise, the design ownership becomes the property of the buyer…I would think that disclosure would at least be mandatory…I also have a HUGE issue with the seller taking extra time (he “delivered” a place holder image and told me he was still working on it and needed an extra few days…so I granted the extra time) and then turning over a picture that is identical in every way to another design that has been being used for a while it would appear…a design which I thoroughly suspect he didn’t design to start with.

[sincere18]

Reply to @soggytees: But you do still own the rights to the work turned over to you.



If it’s a stock image that has been purchased, that means that you have the rights to use it and so does anyone else who has a project using that same stock image. It’s a non-exclusive rights license, so many people can use it legally on their own copyrighted products.



I would contact customer support and state that you thought you ordered original work but were given some images used by other people and ask for a refund.



Then when contacting someone else to do the job, I would always suggest you email them ahead of time to ask and ensure that the work is going to be all original. By the way, how much did you pay for it? If you are paying just $5 or $10 chances are it’s going to be a stock image with maybe some modification. Original work would cost a bit more. So be weary of sellers then trying to do that. Unless they are new sellers, many new sellers tend to give away a lot more for the money at first to get good ratings.

[thepromogirl]

soggytees said: they shouldn't be selling me a design along with all rights and privileges that they've already sold to another retailer under the same conditions.

 

I agree, this you could put you in a legal hot water (copyright infringement). With that said, before we assume anything, contact the Seller and address your concerns to them directly. Be straight forward and get their explanation (you will need their feedback for Customer Support as they won't delegate issues). If you still suspect it's copyright infringement and are concerned that you didn't get the exclusive rights, contact Customer Support and let them handle the Buyer/Seller right on things.

 

If you want to go a step further (and you can) you can contact the company online and show them the design you purchased and get their side of the story. Note: Fiverr won't do this for you, all they will do is review any material you've provided and take of potential copyright issues on their own website. With that said, put yourself in someone else's shoes. If you were being infringed your copyright, wouldn't you want to know about it? Treat people how you want to be treated. :)

 

You can also let them know they can contact Customer Support and file a copyright complaint as well (they don't have to be a user here on Fiverr) and they will review any any Gigs or Sellers that are infringing on any copyright.

[soggytees]

Reply to @sincere18: I understand that on Fiverr (or anywhere for that matter) it’s very important to clarify exactly what the expectations are. In this instance, I posted a gig request in which I specifically stated that I was looking for orginal artwork (not stock images). I contacted the seller based on images that appeared to be hand drawn in their portfolio, and agreed to pay extra for the custom work being done (I was REALLY IMPRESSED with these designs in the portfolio).



Also, there is the issue of Fiverr’s https://www.fiverr.com/terms_of_service. In the “ownership” policies, the statement is this: “For removal of doubt, in custom created work (such as art work, design work, report generation etc.), the delivered work shall be the exclusive property of buyer, and seller assigns all rights, title and interest in the delivered work.” The language at the beginning of the policy does allow the seller the right to disclose/stipulate that they are not selling all rights exclusively to the buyer and/or that the seller will retain the ownership of the work…but again, this must be disclosed. So, based on that statement, there shouldn’t be stock images sold as designs (they could be used IN designs but not sold AS designs)…but I do realize that there are some here who do this…that’s why I specified that I was looking for original artwork. 😦

[soggytees]

Reply to @thepromogirl: I am talking with the seller. He claims that the design on the other site is his that he sold to that business. I highly doubt that to be true since the seller also told me before turning the design over to me that he was working on my design and needed extra time…and then sent me the design that is exactly the same (even the same exact colors) as one being used on shower curtains on another site. 😦 I think you’re right about course of action. I think I’ll contact Customer Support (I’m having a hard time figuring out how to actually contact them…just finding a lot of FAQ) and also the other business to let them know. If the seller is indeed the original designer for them as well, they need to know he’s trying to sell the design again (so they’ll know it isn’t exclusively theirs…they can take it up with him)…if it isn’t his (which I suspect it isn’t), then that opens a whole other can of worms…

[soggytees]

Thanks everyone! I figured out how to submit a request to Customer Support, so they’ve got the info now.

[thepromogirl]

soggytees said: He claims that the design on the other site is his that he sold to that business.

 

Yikes! Well, I don't know the full details, but you're doing the right thing by contacting Fiverr, they'd be the ones to review it all and let you know what to do. :)

 

Good luck!

 

[soggytees]

…and I just went through this for a second time with another seller…that’s REALLY disappointing…

[sincere18]

Reply to @soggytees: a second time? Really? And you clarified with them and asked if they only do original work before you ordered? Wow, sorry to hear that.

[sincere18]

Reply to @soggytees: Thanks for sharing the Fiverr ToS, but what I was referring to is wherever a stock image is being purchased from. You may have your exlcusive rights from the person on Fiverr for their creation, but the stock image is being sold to many people from the stock site, so that does happen now and then.

[wordpressguru]

Design stuff? And I suppose it was for something like $5 or $10, isn’t? Just my curiosity here…