In due diligence, I'm following up our story from the other day about Oliver Makes Dolls and their attempt to pass off other artists' work as their own. Here is a blog post from the Oliver Makes Dolls website, responding to "Copyright Claims". (My comments are in red):
There have been issues regarding certain images/designs posted on our site and affiliate pages to be infringing copyright. We understand how this is important to artists who work hard for their creations.
But what we don't understand is why some people would resort to cyber-bullying when one can simply send an email asking for the image/design to be put down. (So artists shouldn't be angry about having their hard work ripped off. They should search out every faux-artist out there copying their work and email them asking them to stop.)
As a response, images of copyrighted materials have already been removed by the site administrator in answer to queries from concerned individuals. In response to allegations of copyright infringement on certain designs, OMD takes action by not using said designs in any of its production and removing images from OMD affiliated sites and pages.
We respect the copyright on original works of others. While some photos/images were collected from different public sources, including websites, we try every possible way to source the artist or photographer and a link where the images were found, if possible. If you recognize one of posted media or content as your own, email us at olivermakesdolls@gmail.com. If there has been an omission, please bring it to our notice and we will rectify the mistake. If there is an objection to our use of any material, please bring it to our notice; we will discuss terms of use and if no agreement is reached, remove the material from this web site. (So Oliver is alleging that these were just photos from other artists' websites. Yet, OliverMakesDolls.com was soliciting sales for the I Heart Ninjas line. The copyright infringement had nothing to do with photos, it had everything to do with trying to profit off of others' hard work.)
All persons who contribute and submit material to us for display on the website indemnify us unequivocally and absolutely, against infringement of any copyright liability arising out of improper use. (I thought OliverMakesDolls.com was a designer's website and not a user submitted news site.)
Meanwhile, actions will also be taken against those who posted malicious comments on affiliated pages of Oliver Makes Dolls and other sites as well. (I don't know of any malicious comments directed at OliverDoesToys.com. There were none on our site. That is, unless things like the facts and truth can be considered malicious.)
