How do you protect your library ?

[Marco Manunta]

Hi there,

 

library, as we all know, is vital.

 

once i hired a freelancer to help me out with a deadline. I gave him access to my 2D library to do the photoshop quickly.

 

I follow him on facebook and recently he published a render with some assets that he literally stole from my library. How do i know that ? because some 2D people where cutout that i made by myself from a pack of photos i took on the street. It's only 3, 4 people, it's not so bad but i asked myself: well if i take the day off, he could stole my entire library made in 5 years of experience.

 

So i ask to people here with more than 2 100% trusted people in the office: how do you protect your assets from half-unknown people who has access to it ? i know that you have to give the job to someone you can trust etc etc but sometimes you have no time to take.

[James Vella]

not sure how to answer your question, as of now I would contact the person and ask them to not use your content. If you took the original photos you have copyright law on your side (raw photos, proof of date etc). Small claims court is relatively cheap/fast in Australia (not sure about other countries - you would have to look into it). You could also send them an invoice for the content.

 

Personally I let people take any content I have, I don't even bother chasing people up who pass off my renders as their own - if you can match them then go for it I say. But that's my personal view - I'm too busy making new content to care and my dad always told me "locks on doors are for keeping honest people out, criminals will always make their way in anyway"

Edited September 27, 2017 by redvella

[Marco Manunta]

"locks on doors are for keeping honest people out, criminals will always make their way in anyway"

 

that's a really cool quote

 

frankly if i would have my library illegally downloaded, ok there's no problem. Why should i stop you from stealing what i stole.

 

but when we speak about thousands of money spent to buy assets (last year i spent nearly 1k euros on it) i m not very kind to let it be....here in france is super super expensive to sue someone, and if we talk of self made stuff, it's ok and it's easy to demonstrate..but with third party elements (evermotion/axyz etc etc) i dunno..

 

i know it's an awkward argument, but i was curious to know your experiences..

[James Vella]

I can understand your sentiment. Maybe Im just weird like that I dont really care what people steal from me, they are only hurting themselves in the long run. Thieves beget thieves, hate begets hate, I prefer to move on - each to their own.

 

I had a quick look for you, it seems like you can file a small claim in France for 19 Euro, 70 Euro in the case of a hearing and any additional costs can be claimed against the losing party. Civil cases are free of charge. It also mentions once filed with the court they have to respond within 30 days - sounds promising.

 

Heres the link to the guide for small claims:

https://e-justice.europa.eu/content_small_claims-42-en.do

 

Here is the applicable fees for France:

https://e-justice.europa.eu/content_court_fees_concerning_small_claims_procedure-306-fr-en.do?clang=fr

 

Always good to hear other experiences too I seen recently on a facebook post from CGArchitect sending State of Art Academy an invoice for $1000 for infringing copyright on their list of rules:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n4w2plv3t5yvx76/ripoff.jpg?dl=0

 

Edit: I edited the costing above

Edited September 27, 2017 by redvella

[Devin Johnston]

I'd contact the person and let him know I expect compensation or I'll take him to court. In the future you can always have the freelancer your working with sign a NDA or something similar that makes it clear if he shares any information you have legal recourse.

[Ernest Burden III]

...You could also send them an invoice for the content...

 

Nothing gets people's attention like an invoice. Even if you never intend to actually sue them, it makes the point that you place a value on your content. And if you do decide to take court action, an invoice establishes that you have attempted to resolve the matter in a reasonable way.

[himanshuchoudhary]

I wouldnt bother as long as the files are not the ones you purchased. But when we are talking about the photos you have taken and made cutouts from these, I am not really sure if they are actually your property, unless you have a signed agreement with the person in that image to be used in commercial work. Maybe i am wrong, and its okay

[Scott Schroeder]

It's simple math. How much extra effort are you willing to put int to recoup maybe a 100-200 bucks? Are you willing to spend 2-3 times that in legal feels to get that back?

 

Unless you had a written agreement, it comes down to a verbal agreement (which I'm guessing you never explicitly said they can't reuse) and verbal agreements are nothing more than I said/you said arguments.

 

Taking photos of unwilling people on the street is also a legal gray area, so you could open yourself up to a counter-suit if the guy wants to be a real **** about it.

 

Just move on, learn a lesson, and don't share your library with people you are working with for the first time unless you have explicit agreements or send them just the few assets they need. If they steal those, oh well. But never give them direct access to your full library.

[notamondayfan]

At the end of the day he's only shot himself in the foot, there's no chance you'll be using him again, or recommending him to others.

 

I would personally just have an agreement with others in the future that no assets can be re-used without written permission.

[Marco Manunta]

ok thanks guys, it was interesting to learn your point of view.