Guild Wars 2

Hi all!
I know this might be the wrong place to post it but I really don’t know where else I could bring attention to this issue.

A kind person recently let me know that someone was selling a GW2 fanart of mine at Ebay and when I checked their listing I’ve found not only my artwork, but other fanarts some of which I recognised (and contacted the artists) and also official game artwork such as the artworks featured on loading screens.

Here’s a link to the user’s GW2 themed listings (his other stuff also seem to be stolen though) : http://bit.ly/178NhNo

A link to my artwork being sold: http://bit.ly/14L0MAF

A link to an Anet concept art being sold: http://bit.ly/17Q4NGd

Thief’s username on Ebay: desmond103
(Sorry for blacklisting but sharing his name might be the only way he can be found)

Now I am not very familiar with Ebay and I may not be able to properly report the user, but Anet surely can do something to stop this thieving.

I’d really appreciate any help possible, including drawing the attention of the developers to this issue.

The link you posted shows a search with 0 results. Am I doing something wrong? Did he remove “his merchandise”?

Nothing there for me….

Here you go this might help:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/vero-rights-owner.html

Edit: Also it looks like your URL got cut off, probably from being too many characters. You may need to use a tiny url service.

Thanks for the feedback, I’ve edited the link and added some more plus the name of the user if it’s easier to find his listings that way.

I’ve tried to use that Vero thing with no success thus far

Also if you can find the user and check out their listings, it’s full of presumably stolen material from various franchises, you’ll need to specifically search “guild wars” among his listings to find the stolen fanarts and official game artworks.

Here’s a screenshot from part of his listings: http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/235/3/2/notcool3_by_qvi-d6jd4hn.png

I Just searched Guild Wars 2 artwork on ebay and it came up. He definitely is selling prints of fan-art he finds on the internet. Assuming the artwork was originally pulled from a site such as DeviantArt, there would have been a copyright / usage statement added when it was posted, and the owner of the original works should be able to take action on that basis. The pieces featuring compositions of ArenaNet Media kit elements would certainly be ArenaNets property.

One of the artworks is in fact from my DeviantArt gallery but thus far I had no luck using their reporting system. I’ve managed to get a formal message go through somehow and now I’m awaiting a reply while contacting the other artists whose works I have recognised and waiting for a dev to find this topic.

I am sorry about double posting but the culprit is still selling official GW2 artworks as well as GW2 fanarts on Ebay. As far as I can tell he removed the tags from the GW related works so they cannot be searched but when I click the links I have, the artworks are still there. This guy needs to be stopped, if anyone can help that would be awesome.

Leaves cookie trays to attract some Anet developers

lol that sucks and we know that this happens all the time with artists. If adding signatures and watermarks does not work then I hope deviantart has some sort of copyright service or something :P

The report item functionality tells you to report directly to VeRO (ebay). Reporting to DA is irrelevent.

This is what you need to complete
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/tp/vero-rights-owner.html

You own the copyright to your work, if you’ve not given him commercial rights to produce posters, then Ebay have to take it down following your request. Otherwise they are selling stolen goods and also breaking the law.

Uploading artwork to DA doesn’t give up your rights, you simply give DA the non-exclusive rights to display the work and to make prints only if you chose to enable that functionality. Only DA would then have the rights to make prints and you’d be making money from the process.

You could also pursue this through the courts if you wanted, but it would be an expensive international battle unless you’re also in australia. It looks like his entire stock is stolen IP. Hopefully NCSoft will use their muscle to take them to court, and you can piggyback on the back of the case.

Wait ppl still use Ebay!? I though Ebay was a borderlands in wvw to destroy!

go to arenanets support website and create a violation report. You can then ask for the support representative to forward it to NCsoft’s legal team.

Kaz.5430:

The report item functionality tells you to report directly to VeRO (ebay). Reporting to DA is irrelevent.

This is what you need to complete
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/tp/vero-rights-owner.html

You own the copyright to your work, if you’ve not given him commercial rights to produce posters, then Ebay have to take it down following your request. Otherwise they are selling stolen goods and also breaking the law.

Uploading artwork to DA doesn’t give up your rights, you simply give DA the non-exclusive rights to display the work and to make prints only if you chose to enable that functionality. Only DA would then have the rights to make prints and you’d be making money from the process.

You could also pursue this through the courts if you wanted, but it would be an expensive international battle unless you’re also in australia. It looks like his entire stock is stolen IP. Hopefully NCSoft will use their muscle to take them to court, and you can piggyback on the back of the case.

Part of the problem here is that Fanart artists are NOT the copyright holders to the content. Ebay is probably not acting on the OP’s requests because it needs to come from Anet’s legal department. So unfortunately, of all the art that’s being sold, no one but Anet can request for it to stop. I would suggest that the OP contact the Guild Wars Community Team and share the concerns with this e-mail address: community@arena.net

Baktwerel.9108:

This guy needs to be stopped

The monster!

Art thieves are some of the most vile scourge on the face of the internet so I want to see this guy taken down.

Jski.6180:

Wait ppl still use Ebay!? I though Ebay was a borderlands in wvw to destroy!

Yes indeed.. A portion of my income comes from eBay. It’s much better than flipping on the TP.

JustTrogdor.7892:

Jski.6180:

Wait ppl still use Ebay!? I though Ebay was a borderlands in wvw to destroy!

Yes indeed.. A portion of my income comes from eBay. It’s much better than flipping on the TP.

Dam your exploiting the world!

Ah the digital age, isn’t it wonderful. Drag an image from a browser to a folder and you’re in business. Seriously, that individual needs to be taken down, sometimes I really have to wonder what kind of soulless broken human thinks its fine to do something like that. Reminds me of that guy that was selling themed wallpaper discs with work he pillaged.

I reported the OP in a good way, asking the mods to make sure the legal department sees the post and takes action.

gennyt.3428:

Ah the digital age, isn’t it wonderful. Drag an image from a browser to a folder and you’re in business. Seriously, that individual needs to be taken down, sometimes I really have to wonder what kind of soulless broken human thinks its fine to do something like that. Reminds me of that guy that was selling themed wallpaper discs with work he pillaged.

There are times when you have an individual, like a teenager, who doesn’t understand the law. But ignorance isn’t a defense to breaking said law either. Sometimes life’s lessons are learned the hard way.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Part of the problem here is that Fanart artists are NOT the copyright holders to the content. Ebay is probably not acting on the OP’s requests because it needs to come from Anet’s legal department. So unfortunately, of all the art that’s being sold, no one but Anet can request for it to stop. I would suggest that the OP contact the Guild Wars Community Team and share the concerns with this e-mail address: community@arena.net

That’s not entirely true. They are not the ‘exclusive’ copyright owners.

NCSoft might own the IP to the Guildwars universe, but unless the ‘fan art’ is a direct edit of NCSoft owned artwork, NCSoft cannot claim ‘ownership’ and distribute the artwork themselves (without permission from the artist). However, the OP also cannot `distribute` the artwork (unless they have permission) because it could be considered a derivative work of NCSoft IP. She still ‘owns’ it and ebay ought to respond to her take down request.

Looking at that particular image, I think NCSoft (if they actually want to, which I don’t think they would anyway) would have trouble arguing much copyright at all. If they tried, due to it’s cartoony nature, if the OP argued it was a Parody it would be classified as `Fair Use` if it went to court (between the OP and NCSoft).

But this is all getting off track because the OP isn’t trying to commercially distribute her work anyway. The OP is perfectly within her rights to tell ebay to remove the listing, and they should so do based on her request. That’s the important thing here.

But even if she actually wanted to make commercial prints herself she could probably do so without any issue at all from NCSoft. But asking would be a better plan, and I suspect that they’d most likely give her permission if she asked for it. But that wasn’t what she was trying to do so it’s not really an issue.

Donari.5237:

I reported the OP in a good way, asking the mods to make sure the legal department sees the post and takes action.

Please, nobody follow this example. All this will do is clog up the system, and delay actual reports from being seen by the moderating staff.

I did a little searching. I have found several examples of this fanart that clearly displays the GW2 logo. I do not think that is legal. Most of the others are total copies of the loading screen art and all are international (not in the US) sellers. I think this is shameful.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/36-Guild-Wars-2-II-Hot-Video-Game-Art-49-x24-Poster-/161033796343?pt=AU_Art_Posters&hash=item257e5cbaf7

If the link does not work, I just searched for Guild Wars 2 poster

TriggerSad, I’m not entirely sure anyone else can follow my example. Once or twice in the past I’ve clicked to report a post and been told it had already been reported. I think they only need one flag to get it to their attention and have already prevented the clogging you warn against. An excellent feature, imo.

Kaz.5430:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Part of the problem here is that Fanart artists are NOT the copyright holders to the content. Ebay is probably not acting on the OP’s requests because it needs to come from Anet’s legal department. So unfortunately, of all the art that’s being sold, no one but Anet can request for it to stop. I would suggest that the OP contact the Guild Wars Community Team and share the concerns with this e-mail address: community@arena.net

That’s not entirely true. They are not the ‘exclusive’ copyright owners.

NCSoft might own the IP to the Guildwars universe, but unless the ‘fan art’ is a direct edit of NCSoft owned artwork, NCSoft cannot claim ‘ownership’ and distribute the artwork themselves (without permission from the artist). However, the OP also cannot `distribute` the artwork (unless they have permission) because it could be considered a derivative work of NCSoft IP. She still ‘owns’ it and ebay ought to respond to her take down request.

Looking at that particular image, I think NCSoft (if they actually want to, which I don’t think they would anyway) would have trouble arguing much copyright at all. If they tried, due to it’s cartoony nature, if the OP argued it was a Parody it would be classified as `Fair Use` if it went to court (between the OP and NCSoft).

But this is all getting off track because the OP isn’t trying to commercially distribute her work anyway. The OP is perfectly within her rights to tell ebay to remove the listing, and they should so do based on her request. That’s the important thing here.

But even if she actually wanted to make commercial prints herself she could probably do so without any issue at all from NCSoft. But asking would be a better plan, and I suspect that they’d most likely give her permission if she asked for it. But that wasn’t what she was trying to do so it’s not really an issue.

I will agree with one part of your argument. The Fanart was created by the player, and another player is trying to profit off of it. Yes they should be able to ask Ebay to remove it, but there are key problems that I must point out. Ebay’s policy might require the actual copyright holder to make the request. If you cannot prove your own the full rights to the content, Ebay might not act.

Going on, I must also point out other problems with your post. NCSoft or ArenaNet owns the rights to all Guild Wars related materials. One cannot take Rytlock, draw him in your own style, and attempt to sell the print without permission from NCSoft/Anet. That is no where in the bounds of “Fair Use”.

As for “Fair Use”, that is completely different from “Commercial Use”. You can post a parody on YouTube, write up a walkthrough tip guide, or even post criticisms on a blog. Once you attempt to sell the works without permission from the copyright holders, that’s against the law. On a similar note, you can also get in trouble if you try to monetize YouTube videos using other people’s copyrighted materials.

The artist can make commercial prints all they want, as long as it’s their own designs. Again, drawing a copyrighted material in your own style doesn’t remove the copyright. As stated on the Guild Wars legal page, they are ok with personal use, but retain all commercial control over their products (until they grant permission otherwise).

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/guild-wars-2-content-terms-of-use/

Smooth Penguin.5294:

gennyt.3428:

Ah the digital age, isn’t it wonderful. Drag an image from a browser to a folder and you’re in business. Seriously, that individual needs to be taken down, sometimes I really have to wonder what kind of soulless broken human thinks its fine to do something like that. Reminds me of that guy that was selling themed wallpaper discs with work he pillaged.

There are times when you have an individual, like a teenager, who doesn’t understand the law. But ignorance isn’t a defense to breaking said law either. Sometimes life’s lessons are learned the hard way.

Oh yeah I remember doing dumb stuff as a teen but I’m having a hard time believing someone who can go through the necessary hoops of Paypal/Money orders/ cashing checks etc doesn’t have even a passing awareness of copyrights, I mean the stuff being sold there didn’t exactly fall out of the universe and onto the internet. Or maybe that’s part of the problem, because it’s online means it belongs to nobody(?).

gennyt.3428:

Smooth Penguin.5294:

gennyt.3428:

Ah the digital age, isn’t it wonderful. Drag an image from a browser to a folder and you’re in business. Seriously, that individual needs to be taken down, sometimes I really have to wonder what kind of soulless broken human thinks its fine to do something like that. Reminds me of that guy that was selling themed wallpaper discs with work he pillaged.

There are times when you have an individual, like a teenager, who doesn’t understand the law. But ignorance isn’t a defense to breaking said law either. Sometimes life’s lessons are learned the hard way.

Oh yeah I remember doing dumb stuff as a teen but I’m having a hard time believing someone who can go through the necessary hoops of Paypal/Money orders/ cashing checks etc doesn’t have even a passing awareness of copyrights, I mean the stuff being sold there didn’t exactly fall out of the universe and onto the internet. Or maybe that’s part of the problem, because it’s online means it belongs to nobody(?).

Another part to this equation is that people might think that they are too small for big companies to care to chase. Tell that to Disney, and you’ll hear something completely different.

Baktwerel, did you submit anything to Ebay or ArenaNet support regarding this?

I’ve actually been impressed with the support regarding in-game issues, I would think they would at least send a response regarding something like this.

Another part to this equation is that people might think that they are too small for big companies to care to chase. Tell that to Disney, and you’ll hear something completely different.

True that, everyone know you don’t mess with Mouse unless you want to pay.

I’m willing to bet NCSoft has their own cadre of lawyer who probably be almost as willing to go after anyone who thinks they can slip under the radar.

Hey everyone! I just got back home from a 4 day vacation and checked this topic to see what happened during those days.

First of all, thank you for everyone for giving feedback on this issue. I have submitted a report of some sort to Ebay the day I have posted this topic but thus far the only response I got from them is a spam e-mail about watches and shoes…

Since the fanarts and official game artworks are still up for sale, I’ll try to use that Vevo thingy again, hopefully with more luck this time. But even if I manage to get my own fanart off that guy’s listings, I want all the other fanarts and the official artworks removed as well (might as well get the guy banned since he only has stolen merchandise). As far as I know, the other fanart artists I could contact are trying to report the theft too, not sure about their progress.

Art thieves -especially ones that make profit out of theft- make me really mad, regardless whether I am involved or not. Hopefully this issue will be resolved soon.

-Leaves more cookie trays to attract some Anet developers-