As designers, we believe that copyright is a trump card for those who would steal our work. Maybe so, but it can be an expensive trump card as Modern Dog Design Studio is now finding out.
Seattle based designers Robynne Raye and Michael Strassburger of the Modern Dog Design Company have launched a lawsuit in which they allege that artwork from their book, Modern Dog: 20 Years of Poster Art, was used on T-shirts without their permission (sadly, a not uncommon occurrence). The alleged culprits? Some pretty heavy hitters. at least according to the complaint filed by the design company in October of last year The cost of the proceedings? Their Greenwood studio which had to be sold in order to finance some of the legal wrangling and mounting costs. In addition, they’ve set up a fundraising site, Friends of Modern Dog, hopefully to raise enough money to see the lawsuit through and and to keep their company from going bankrupt. The company could use a few shekels, if you’re into that whole David vs. Goliath thing. Donate here.
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Man, that’s the saddest thing ever. I hate how the system works against the little guys. Really hope the guys from Modern Dog get thing their way at the end.