plagiarism=ban

Just banned user vilaggiodesign. He submitted this entry:

I found this:


Community contest doesn't mean you can steal images from others! If you do, it will be spotted and you will be banned forever. It is as simple as that.

lol ! bad bad user

Great design....wish he didnt have to take it from someone else

Okay, noted down, that is actually a good headsUp -- i have to admit, that there was a logo that i experimented with once before - and i grabbed the clipart from a random clip-art search -- then finally saw that it was already used in an existing logo -- although i really liked playing and experimenting with that clipArt --- i wont be using it (tho i showed it to a friend) --- moving on forwards - it will just be my raw drawings ...

One more question - what about using those "free" cliparts advertised on the web? -- would that count as plagiarism? -- just asking

Okay, noted down, that is actually a good headsUp -- i have to admit, that there was a logo that i experimented with once before - and i grabbed the clipart from a random clip-art search -- then finally saw that it was already used in an existing logo -- although i really liked playing and experimenting with that clipArt --- i wont be using it (tho i showed it to a friend) --- moving on forwards - it will just be my raw drawings ...

One more question - what about using those "free" cliparts advertised on the web? -- would that count as plagiarism? -- just asking

Clipart / stock can be used as an aid to your marketing material, flyers, web site, etc.. However, you can NOT use ANY clipart / stock in a companies Logo / Brand (anything represents the companies identity, including mascot). This is against ALL stock / Clipart guidelines & opens up the company & designer that used them for litigation.

The company would lose their brand & the designer may face additional criminal charges for knowingly selling someone elses copyright protected material. One can argue that they didn't know, however when you sign up to a stock art site you have to agree to the terms of use which directs you to the user agreement of each design for proper use. Just because someone failed to read it all doesn't make it ok & in a court of law, stupidity or laziness is not a defense.

Think about it for a second, a companies logo / brand / identity needs to be unique & original so that nobody else can confuse them with another. Clipart / stock is available to everyone anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Some stock / Clipart is downloaded by millions daily. That's 1 million possible lawsuits if they each tried to break the rules & brand with it.

Hope that helps a little

Edited by scorpionagency, 16 October 2009 - 04:43 PM.

Clipart / stock can be used as an aid to your marketing material, flyers, web site, etc.. However, you can NOT use ANY clipart / stock in a companies Logo / Brand (anything represents the companies identity, including mascot). This is against ALL stock / Clipart guidelines & opens up the company & designer that used them for litigation.

The company would lose their brand & the designer may face additional criminal charges for knowingly selling someone elses copyright protected material. One can argue that they didn't know, however when you sign up to a stock art site you have to agree to the terms of use which directs you to the user agreement of each design for proper use. Just because someone failed to read it all doesn't make it ok & in a court of law, stupidity or laziness is not a defense.

Think about it for a second, a companies logo / brand / identity needs to be unique & original so that nobody else can confuse them with another. Clipart / stock is available to everyone anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Some stock / Clipart is downloaded by millions daily. That's 1 million possible lawsuits if they each tried to break the rules & brand with it.

Hope that helps a little

- NICE! - Thank You! - It cleared up questions in my mind (as far as experimenting with clip-arts)! That experiment will have to go to the trashy-bin (never to be experimented ever again!)

- I guess the safest way, is to really really really start from scratch! ( i do have a couple made from scratch, maybe when i get to make a little few more, maybe i would have enuff to post as a startup portfolio) ... hehe

- But yes! it helped a LOT!