I couldn't agree more hto all what is written here. 1000% agree. Stop piracy is a task for everyone. And AI generated images aren't a creation itself if they are made from others artists artworks. What a difficult world. Thank you Renderosity for this article.

Honestly, the only time I've engaged in piracy is when something's no longer being sold. like old SNES games... might as well emulate those on a PC nowadays. Otherwise, I do my best to always buy things because sites like this one allow me to redownload my stuff in case my PC suffered a meltdown and wiped out all my saved files or whatever. As was pointed out, Piracy sites aren't exactly very dependable at all for obvious reasons, and the types of files they offer to share often change on a daily basis.... because they have a very limited server space on their file hosting sites, so they delete things to have enough space for newer files all the time. When you buy from sites like Daz studio and of course Renderosity here, you don't have to worry about that at all. it's also largely the same reason why I prefer to watch anime on streaming sites like Netflix, Crunchyroll, etc instead of some shady illegal streaming site with badly fan-subbed content. legal sites like Netflix are far more accommodating of my deafness than an illegal fan-dubbing anime site is. a illegal anime streaming site will also do their best to upload viruses to your PC, so you need a seriously strong ad-blocker for that sort of thing. ugh.

An excellent article. I recently closed my Renderosity store, for a number of reasons, but one of them was the rampant theft. Wasn't the sole reason by any stretch of the imagination, but when I thoought about that aspect of it, I had to ask whether it was worth my time to participate in a market where it seemed a significant portion of my potential customers felt it was better to steal my product than to pay for it.

Beautiful read and straight to the point. I seriously considered quitting making content after I found out my entire work was being copy-pasted somewhere else for free, even though I was being extremely generous and mostly free. I only chose to keep doing what I loved regardless of piracy because of the few (in comparison) great people that supported and keep supporting me today. Some websites even told me it's "not their policy" to remove pirated content after I submitted a DMCA claim. This just showed me how there's no justice in this branch, and we small and self made artists are left to fend for ourselves.

This is a great post! I sometimes think these thieves don't realise or maybe don't care that they're not stealing from huge companies making millions of dollars. They're stealing from independent artists. People who use the money they make from their art to put a roof over their head, pay their heating bills and feed their families. Ordinary people. This is something completely different to the usual kind of piracy and although that's bad enough, this is so much more worse. I wonder if these people would walk up to an artist at a market selling their paintings and just take one and walk off? It would be no different. This has happened and continues to happen with my work on a regular basis and it is disheartening, particularly when quite a lot of my energy has always gone into creating good quality freebies for the community and still does. What keeps me going though are the people who do show their support, I'm very thankful to them and for them. They are very much appreciated. The good people, the fair people, the honest people, the people with integrity, the people that recognise and respect the time and energy that an artist puts into their work. Thank you to those people.

Outstanding message. It is too bad that with all the good services the internet provides that there are unscrupulous people that abuse the system in so many ways. I am not a content creator, although I am trying to learn Blender. It's a lot of work and these people deserve to get paid for the effort and creativity they put into their products. My personal thanks goes out to all the content providers out there and to Renderocity for highlighting this issue for all of us.

I have been using Renderosity since Poser Pro 12'-14' then transitioning to DAZ3d. I think I may know why people are motivated into taking on such illegal actions. It is because they believe that the creators had a set original price, and they suddenly jump the price. Similar to restaurant share plating, in the context of food, they feel that a one time payment is sufficient enough. I think that this site has very talented artists, and I ask them not to give up. Thank you for all the years of good content.

YES. Enough is enough. It's tiresome and your right, we we are stolen from it diminishes us in more ways than one. Thanks for posting this. I've shared this out on my social media platforms that I have friends that either create or buy so they are more well informed. The links are useful!

Well said and thank you, Renderosity!

This has been a persistent issue for the community. Why is this article only now being published ? We need to constantly post this sort of thing here.

I agree with the sentiment. But does this mean that Renderosity will now stop publishing content from AI "creators?" Until that happens, it is hard to believe that you are being serious.

Nice to know this site making a statement not just about being against IP theft and stolen content but also the downside to those who support it.

Yes, creators our the life blood of our community and our art medium will disappear if their copyrights are violated. I have purchased a lot of content and will continue to do so. I insure that my purchased content is secured and that my protection is first rate not only to protect my own identity and work, but the work of artists whose copyrights I have already promised to respect in my purchase agreements. Piracy is as evil now as it always been portrayed in history-- a leech. Thank you artists and content contributors-- you have my love and respect in all cases. And keep the good stuff coming!

A great statement. It would be a lost to see vendors leave. Looking forward to Poser ?13

Rock on and thank you for supporting artist and creators!

I wonder if anyone supports shutting down the "creators" who steal 3D models from video games and sell them for profit as their own content? I use the term creator loosely because stealing 3D models from video games and importing them to Daz or Blender isn't very difficult. Maybe someone needs to turn in people such as 3DUK to the video game and movie studios for IP theft?

I do hope some inroads against this can be made -- some of the "warez" sites are so flagrant about their digital asset thieving. As the article suggests, if creators can't get paid for their time and effort, they stop creating digital assets for sale. The thieves are destroying the very market they steal from. Too many parasites kill the host, so to speak.

My comment was not published? I guess that moderators are nervous about offending vendors on Rendo currently promoting AI, seeing that said promotion encourages the same wholesale theft that you clearly claim to be against. One of these days you will see that I am correct - it will be obvious. But I appreciate moderators. It is early in the game, and it is apparent that you don't yet understand the issue.

I couldn't agree more. Theft is theft, and it should not be tolerated here or anywhere else. I am not a vendor, but having made a few relatively simple freebies for my fellow members over the years I appreciate just how much time and effort goes into making quality, complex content. Vendors deserve to be paid for their time and effort and I would hate to see any of them become discouraged enough by piracy to give it up.

May Justice Strike!