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Donald Trump accused of using copyright-protected images in his NFT collection

Donald Trump accused of using copyright-protected images in his NFT collection

Former US president Donald Trump has been accused of using copyright-protected photos in his NFT collection, with social media users calling his money-making endeavor a "scam".
Last month, Trump launched 45,000 photos as an NFT collection called ‘Collect Trump Cards’, or ‘Trump Digital Trading Cards’ as it’s officially known on OpenSea.
The collection, which depicts him as various characters

Manchester United accused of copying NFT from artist

Manchester United accused of copying NFT from artist

The NFT collection that Manchester United introduced on Tezos sold out far more quickly than anticipated, but it is accused of copying from another well-known Tezos NFT artist.
On December 28, NFT artist Lucréce tweeted that he was in discussions with Arthur Breitman, co-founder of Tezos, to ask Manchester United why its new NFT line incorporates his designs and aesthetics.
Lucréce’s collect

Japan court orders JPY 500 million in damages over "fast movie" uploads that earned just JPY 7 million for the infringer

Japan court orders JPY 500 million in damages over "fast movie" uploads that earned just JPY 7 million for the infringer

With an aim to deter unauthorized use of copyright-protected work for personal benefits, the Tokyo District Court ordered a man and woman in their 20s to pay JPY 500 million (USD3.6 million) in damages for uploading minutes-long, edited versions of their films - known as "fast movies" on YouTube - without permission.
The duo edited and published ‘fast movies’ for 54 works, including "Shin Godz

Photographer sues media outlet Gannett for copyright infringement over the use of photo she shot

Photographer sues media outlet Gannett for copyright infringement over the use of photo she shot

US-based photographer Stephanie Campbell has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Gannett Media Corp. and more than 220 Gannett news outlets for allegedly using a photo she shot without permission.
Campbell claims she owns the right to a photo she took of former National Football League coach Katie Sowers, which Gannett obtained through a screenshot to publish to their readers and sub

Greek clothing brand accuses Decjuba of copying dress designs

Greek clothing brand accuses Decjuba of copying dress designs

Greek clothing brand Devotion Twins has accused retailer Decjuba of copying their dress designs in its latest summer collection.
Devotion Twins claims Decjuba, which operates 140 stores in Australia and New Zealand, ripped off its popular trademark-registered Ella dress design that had become internationally recognized and worn by actors such as Catherine Zeta-Jones and socialite Kris Jenner.

The Year in Review - top 10 stories of 2022

The Year in Review - top 10 stories of 2022

The year 2022 was filled with many IP rip-off stories where young creators accused popular brands of stealing their ideas.
PitchMark covered many of the much-discussed stories about IP theft during the year, ranging from a joke at the Oscars to design rip-offs. Here’s a compilation of the best stories of 2022 from PitchMark.
These are the stories where you, our readers, have engaged with th

Riot Games sues China’s NetEase for copyright violation

Riot Games sues China’s NetEase for copyright violation

Riot Games has sued Chinese gaming company NetEase for allegedly copying its game Valorant despite requesting changes be made to the game.

The American game development and publishing company known for its popular League of Legends game claims that NetEase’s mobile game Hyper Front is a “copy of substantial parts of Valorant.”
It filed a 162-page lawsuit in various countries - United Ki

Litigation update: Photographer Jingna Zhang loses plagiarism case against Luxembourg student artist who ripped off her work

Litigation update: Photographer Jingna Zhang loses plagiarism case against Luxembourg student artist who ripped off her work

Singaporean photographer Jingna Zhang’s lawsuit against a Luxembourg-based art student Jeff Dieschburg accusing him of copying her work has been rejected by the district court in Luxembourg.
According to Luxembourg media outlet Delano, the court determined that Zhang's photograph did not meet the requirements to be covered by Luxembourg or European copyright law, asserting that “there was insuf

How AI-generated artwork may jeopardize original artists’ creations

How AI-generated artwork may jeopardize original artists’ creations

The discussion surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) art is developing quickly. In recent months, an AI-generated image took first prize at a fine art competition, an exhibition of DALL-E 2-produced artwork opened in a museum, and an artist registered a work she created using an AI generator with the US Copyright Office.
In September, New York-based artist Kris Kashtanova became the first pe

GUESS called out by graffiti artist Banksy for using his designs without permission

GUESS called out by graffiti artist Banksy for using his designs without permission

Renowned graffiti artist Banksy has accused fashion retailer GUESS of allegedly stealing his artwork and exploiting it for promotional purposes without giving proper credit or taking permission. GUESS has since clarified its position.
A GUESS store window on Regent Street displayed Banksy's most famous artwork, The Flower Thrower, Flower Bomber, Rage, or Love is in the Air.
It showed an imag

Frequent rip-off of Mexican designers and why the government has stepped in to protect them

Frequent rip-off of Mexican designers and why the government has stepped in to protect them

Mexico’s independent designers are facing a slew of design rip-offs by larger brands, and the indigenous designs are also not being spared. However, the Mexican government has now stepped up its efforts to protect the country’s independent and indigenous creations.
Designer Georgina Chávez is the latest victim of a rip-off. She alleged that her designs have been copied and sold on China’s onlin

Disney sued by musician Daniel Grigson over a song from 'Frozen II' soundtrack

Disney sued by musician Daniel Grigson over a song from 'Frozen II' soundtrack

The song Some Things Never Change from the Frozen II animated movie is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit against The Walt Disney Co. and songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
Musician Daniel Grigson accused the songwriters of stealing key melodic elements, chord progressions, and even portions of the words from his song That Girl which he wrote almost two decades ag

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