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Received C&D letter - copyright/trademark infringement
a month ago
General
So in the past (somewhere in 2014/2015) I received a cease and desist letter from Disney because I had several nsfw piece with their characters in it (Timon, mushu and some others as well)
I didn't hesitate to take down the art back then and since then I haven't yet received another email from them.
(and it was legit, correct spelled email address from sender etc)
For this reason I stopped taking /accepting copyright and trademarked characters in my commissions.
Though I didn't know that any sort of infringement counts, even non commercially in fan art, and apparently Activision regulates this strongly.
I uhm, gonna do a few alterations on the art I have of spyro... For now, I'll take down what I have posted publicly and re-upload it from time to time again.
I did not get a warning over my spyro-based character, even though he looks very much like it.
I might do this with spyro as well, make it a character of my own with serious visible alterations and rename the character.
This note is a direct warning for other nsfw fan-content creators out there as well.
The email i received:
Dear Mr. Indigo:
We are counsel for Activision Publishing, Inc. (“Activision”). Activision is the publisher of, and owners of the intellectual property rights in and to, several popular video games. These include, but are not limited to, the original Spyro the Dragon series of games, the upcoming Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Skylanders series of games.
It has come to our attention that you are posting NSFW Art using one of our trademark registered characters On platforms like X and others. We understand and appreciate your enthusiasm and affection for the Spyro character, previous Spyro games, and the associated lore of the Spyro universe. However, for a variety of reasons, including creative and legal considerations, Activision does not and cannot permit the unauthorized use of the Spyro character in content not suitable for all ages (NSFW art or illustrations) or related products. Additionally, Activision has serious concerns that the use of Spyro and other characters in your art may cause confusion with other fans. We are certain that you can appreciate these concerns.
As you know, the Spyro character and intellectual property are of enormous value to Activision, and the unlicensed use of that intellectual property is in violation of Activision’s rights, including its rights under copyright and trademark law. Accordingly, we must demand that you immediately cease and desist from any further development, distribution, marketing, promotion, or exploitation of unauthorized Spyro content. While we have no objection to your development of original characters based off of Spyro, any such art cannot be set in the Spyro or Skylanders world or use any of the characters, locations, names, or other assets or intellectual property from Activision’s Spyro or Skylanders games.
I didn't hesitate to take down the art back then and since then I haven't yet received another email from them.
(and it was legit, correct spelled email address from sender etc)
For this reason I stopped taking /accepting copyright and trademarked characters in my commissions.
Though I didn't know that any sort of infringement counts, even non commercially in fan art, and apparently Activision regulates this strongly.
I uhm, gonna do a few alterations on the art I have of spyro... For now, I'll take down what I have posted publicly and re-upload it from time to time again.
I did not get a warning over my spyro-based character, even though he looks very much like it.
I might do this with spyro as well, make it a character of my own with serious visible alterations and rename the character.
This note is a direct warning for other nsfw fan-content creators out there as well.
The email i received:
Dear Mr. Indigo:
We are counsel for Activision Publishing, Inc. (“Activision”). Activision is the publisher of, and owners of the intellectual property rights in and to, several popular video games. These include, but are not limited to, the original Spyro the Dragon series of games, the upcoming Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Skylanders series of games.
It has come to our attention that you are posting NSFW Art using one of our trademark registered characters On platforms like X and others. We understand and appreciate your enthusiasm and affection for the Spyro character, previous Spyro games, and the associated lore of the Spyro universe. However, for a variety of reasons, including creative and legal considerations, Activision does not and cannot permit the unauthorized use of the Spyro character in content not suitable for all ages (NSFW art or illustrations) or related products. Additionally, Activision has serious concerns that the use of Spyro and other characters in your art may cause confusion with other fans. We are certain that you can appreciate these concerns.
As you know, the Spyro character and intellectual property are of enormous value to Activision, and the unlicensed use of that intellectual property is in violation of Activision’s rights, including its rights under copyright and trademark law. Accordingly, we must demand that you immediately cease and desist from any further development, distribution, marketing, promotion, or exploitation of unauthorized Spyro content. While we have no objection to your development of original characters based off of Spyro, any such art cannot be set in the Spyro or Skylanders world or use any of the characters, locations, names, or other assets or intellectual property from Activision’s Spyro or Skylanders games.
That sounds kinda odd.
Idk, but if this is true, Disney lawyers or whatever would be going after thousands of people doing the same thing <_>
I included the email i received from Activision here now as well to read.
My only thing is, there is tons of nsfw art of Disney and Spyro, etc out there. But I understand your concern.
I wish I could give you some advice, but I've no experience on this and am not qualified for it heh. ^^;
But I do hope things are alright for you! Your art is always amazing to see ^^
It's sad yes, but i am currently altering the spyro i drew in the arts to something more original with a new name as well so i can still post art with them 2!
Luckily it's not an actual DMCA notice, but just a friendly " please with all respect stop your current actions and don't post further unauthorized materials using our trademarks" etc.
so we'll see.