Copyright infringement is, unfortunately, something many artists have to deal with on a daily basis. Whether it’s a Twitter user posting their art without credit or a small-time t-shirt company passing their work off as their own, many times these things can be worked out quickly through internet shaming. The last thing an artist wants is a legal battle taking up their precious time and money. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s facing artist Lili Chin.
She noticed that Old Navy/The Gap was using her artwork to sell their clothing, and instead of taking down the listing and apologising like most do they are shamefully doubling down and lawyering up.
From her blog:
My art gets stolen all the time.
I have been through many copyright infringement cases – some have been resolved amicably, and there are ones that have taken more work. This case against Old Navy (Gap) is not getting resolved right now because Old Navy is denying copyright infringement.
They are being totally unapologetic, and have said that it would be a “bad business decision” for me to expect to be reasonably compensated for the use of my art. Instead of compensating me, they have chosen to pay a large law firm to fight me, and have even asked the judge to order me to pay THEIR legal fees.
It’s a big enough hassle to stop a small company from using your stolen artwork, but a company with as deep pockets as Old Navy? This is going to be a fight. Chin is ready for it, but maybe we can help. There’s already been a fair amount of people calling out Old Navy on Twitter, using the aforementioned, time-tested internet shaming, as well as calls for a boycott of the clothing company, and we’d like to do our part.
Go give her Twitter a follow and spread the word using the hashtags #fightingformyart and #boycottoldnavy. Support her art on https://www.doggiedrawings.net. She’s going to need the money for attorney’s fees, after all. Old Navy may have the money and lawyers, but let’s make sure Lili Chin has the support.
