Possible copyright infringement?

[evil_fionn]

Because I have a serious question:

Tonight, as the husband and I were in the Wal-mart, we were walking by the men's clothing section and saw a T-shirt with calligraphy on it.  I stopped to read it (because I'm a geek thankyouverymuch), and noticed that the writing was the partial text of an SCA scroll from the Barony of Windmaster's Hill in Atlantia

Comments

[firenzekat]

why don't you contact your local SCA board member also...
personally, I would not be happy if someone had used my artwork on a t-shirt without my permission, esp. if it was potentially making them money!!!!

[principia]

Walmart is notorious for appropriating other people's copyrighted works with little to no thought, or to putting things like elements of Nazi regalia on their t-shirts because some dingbat probably saw it on Google Images and thought it looked like a biker tattoo.

I'm not sure if this would be considered sufficiently transformative to come under fair use... although it's clear the point is to have some neat-looking script on the shirt and not to use the text itself.

[evil_fionn]

Which was my thought... they just wanted some calligraphy.
But with professional calligraphers, I know that some of them can charge some pretty hefty sums for one word printed on a page. So even though this person might not be a professional, they might have some legal justification for being upset.
Anyways, I was just wondering, and since I'm not going to Pennsic, I gots the time on my hands to stir stuff, and I was bored and wondering.

[judyjudith]

If all they wanted was some neat looking script - there are plenty of calligraphy style typefonts out there to use. There is no need to hijack someones artwork unless you are too lazy to do the wording yourself.

Sic'em.

[lady_songsmith]

or very old documents with no copyright on them, though I'm unsure what the legal rights to reproductions would be on, say, a manuscript owned by a museum.

[lady_guenievre]

OMFG. I am *appalled*. I'm going to spread this to my Barony, if nothing else the copyright for the scroll itself really stands with the scribe and I don't recognize the work.

<- the VERY unhappy Baroness of Windmasters Hill

[cathgrace]

you should totally buy the t shirt too though..........

[jencendiary]

Wrong-o. She should steal this t-shirt. Hehe.

[frrom]

Agreed. You should have physical proof in case Corpora wants it.

[mobiboros]

"derivative" works are still copyrighted. You can't take someone's art, change part and use it as your own. You need to obtain license by the copyright holder to create a derivative work.

[dulcinbradbury]

Yep. Original owner has rights to derivations.

[frrom]

True. The "HOPE" painting controversy is just the most recent example.

[ellid]

The BOD needs to be informed ASAP, and this needs to be publicized as much as possible. This is far from the first time Wal-Mart has done something like this.

Best case scenario: find the scribe who did the original scroll and have him/her send a letter to Wal-Mart's corporate HQ. The letter should be on the letterhead of an intellectual property attorney and should be cc'd to every major news network, the Associated Press, every newspaper local to Windmaster Hill, and the American Civil Liberties Union. If the scribe can't be located, then the BOD should do it, preferably before the t-shirt is sold out.

[lady_guenievre]

Already working on tracking the scribe, and this will start going up the Seneschalate tomorrow. (It's a bit late to wake them now).

[luciab]

Ummmm--- pretty sure that's me. I have the scan of the original here in front of me. For example, the "November" was broken at the end of a line. I haven't registered this anywhere as copyrighted, but I do have a scan of the original.