Q: Hobby Lobby selling my art without permission
I am a graphic artist and sell my creations on Etsy. I display them with watermarks on the images and remove them when purchase is made. I recently became aware that they are selling bottles with my images (along with the watermarks) as labels on the bottles for as long as the last 3 years. The company/wholesaler they purchased them through has tried to alter/remove some of the watermark but not all of it. Do I have any recourse here? I have the sale stats for this image going back to 2013 proving that I am the creator. My main objective is for them to stop selling and also stop buying from the wholesaler who is obviously stealing and altering others work. thank you
A: You do have some recourse. If you registered your images with the Copyright Office you have better options, but at the least you could send a take down letter/cease and desist letter.
Joanne Reisman agrees with this answer
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A: As long as you can prove that this an image you created you own it whether or not it has been formally copy-righted. All you need to prove is you created it. You can, as Mr. Steven's says, at a minimum sue to prevent the unauthorized commercial use of your images. Also as Mr. Steven's says you have more rights to damages if you formally copy righted you images. Here is a free article on the Oregon State Bar website that gives you an over view of copyright law. I would contact a copyright Attorney in your area to get assistance with the particular issue you have.
A: Here is the to the article: http://www.osbar.org/public/legalinfo/1031_PatentsTrademarksCopyrights.htm
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