Blog

After five attempts on my part to get specific information about why Society6 suspended my account and whether or not there was any remedy, I finally got an answer from them, kind of. A work that I believed was derivative but a parody of a design that is Trademarked was the violating design.

I don’t care to debate the specifics, and they finally gave me an answer.

As far as any way to reinstate my account, they also answered that question. In spite of having no warning whatsoever, the account is dead and gone, never to be resurrected. Society6 permanently suspended my account, FOR-EV-ER.

It looks as though the designs violating our terms and conditions include, but are not limited to:

Supreme

Please understand that even original renderings of protected images can infringe third-party intellectual property rights. Though your design may be creative, and not merely duplicative of someone else’s work, if the underlying subject matter is protected, you still need the owner’s permission.

Unfortunately we will not be lifting the suspension of your account, however you are welcome to start another account with a different login email and PayPal account.

We recommend that you research the relevant copyright laws and other laws pertaining to intellectual property and their application to your work on the Internet (links below), or consult legal counsel if you are unsure about them.

General:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_rights

United States:
http://www.copyright.gov/

DMCA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act

We also suggest that you review Society6’s Terms of Service http://society6.com/help/terms with respect to our Content, Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights Policies to ensure that you are in compliance at all times.

We apologize that we are legally not able to advise you on copyright or other intellectual property related matters, or provide personal opinions related to those matters.
Sincerely,
S6 Legal Team

The axe came down hard. I suspect that they’ll be doing a lot more of this type of cleanup, because there is an awful lot of derivative work on their site.

Now go forth and sin no more.