Copyright Infringement Question: My Artwork Is Being Used for Steampunk USB Packaging
I Have a Question!
A very nice person sent me a link to a Steampunk website suggesting that there is someone on that site who is currently using a portion of my Absinthe poster as their main image for his company, which makes and sells Steampunk designed USBs.
On the previous page of the forum discussion, he even posted a photo of the label paper he uses and the finished product: 
So I clicked on his Etsy link, which is here and I found that he had also taken a portion from a second poster of mine, my Fortune Teller poster which you can see below: 
He took the border from the Fortune Teller poster and turned it so the two leaves on the bottom are now located on either side. 
But then, I found his Photobucket and there are images of my poster in different stages, starting with my original poster image to his finished product which you can see below: Click here to visit his Photobucket and see for yourself. This is on page 44. If he takes them down, here is a screen capture of his Photobucket page: 
For better detail, here they are in single file: First, here is the actual image that Mr. Rockwell found on Google image search and then used for his own purposes: 
Notice that my copyright watermark is on there. Now you understand why I have decided to use a much more BOLD watermark. Obviously this one didn't deter Mr. Rockwell from using it. 
You can see my devil image still peeking out from behind where he covered it with black. He did leave the nice ribbon, though. But he did cover up my copyright and signature down in the lower right hand corner, right under where the skeleton lady sits. This one, he badly pieced together the border and pretty much made the devil disappear. 
And here is his finished product: 
Different themes Mr. Rockwell created using my Absinthe poster which were made for his promotional purposes: 
This is what he is selling on his Etsy page: 
And this I found on his Facebook page: 
And below are just more photos that are parked on his Photobucket of him using my Absinthe poster for his projects: 
OK! So I emailed Mr. Will Rockwell and told him he could not use my image, it was a copyright violation. He emailed back and wrote this: My dear Madame Talbot,Your imagery is so period authentic that, until I received your note, I was convinced these posters were real 19th century advertising. I found them by Googling "Victorian advertising" and certainly did not intend to steal your creations, I thought these works were 100 years old. As you can see, your design greatly enhances my packaging but under the circumstances I completely understand your frustration. I will redesign my box labels immediately, but hope you will allow me to sell those already made. I am sorry to meet you under these unpleasant circumstances, as I would enjoy being acquainted with the creator of the Absinthe poster, now that I know she still lives. Will Rockwell Right. So I emailed him back and told him: Absolutely NOT! I do not make my posters so that other people can piggy-back off of my hard work in order to make money off of them and me. My posters are my livelihood, this is how I make MY living. You can sit down and put pen to paper and draw your own images rather than using Google images. Also, did you not see the COPYRIGHT watermark and website on the image that you obviously took off? You used not one, but TWO of my poster images, all of which have watermarks on them. And the fact that you are making $180 plus on these items *because of my packaging* just pisses me off even more. I told him he had 24 hours to take the images down. Here is Mr. Rockwell's response: Madame Talbot,
I tried to be reasonable with you, but clearly that is not working. I suggest you advise your attorney that I have created an original work of art based on a derivation of a copyright held by you, and will continue to use these derived images. According to Title 17,101 of the United States Code - A "derivative work" is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as an art reproduction or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a "derivative work". I have clearly created derivative works which are protected under the United States Code. My derivations contain dozens of modifications to your original work and are obviously not intended to capitalize or profit from your work, as I only use the decorative borders, not any of the figures or lettering. I'm sorry you couldn't be more reasonable, we probably could have come to an agreement regarding compensation for your obvious talent. ------------------------------------------------------- So he is basically saying that he can do whatever the hell he wants with my posters, because he is claiming this to fall under "derivative work". So what do you think? Is this outright copyright infringement? ------------------------------------------------------- ....
