Q: Can a famous artist post your fan art after cropping out your logo and not giving you credit?
I made an album cover for a very famous rap artist, and I sent it to him. A few days later he posted it on his official Instagram for millions to see, but he cropped my logo off of the bottom. Now the image is being used in thousands of places on the internet without my permission, and the famous artist did not give me any credit after choosing to crop my logo off of the bottom of the artwork. I have the original Photoshop project file, and screenshots of the post and message. Is this copyright infringement? Infringement of intellectual property? Do I have a case? Thank you for your answers ahead of time.
A: It appears you likely do have a case for copyright infringement. If you created the album cover, you are the copyright owner. You have the right to determine whether your work is reproduced. One thing to consider is whether your message to him granted him permission to use the artwork. An attorney would need to review all the facts. It you think you may want to enforce your rights, you should have an attorney register your copyright.
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