Doh! I didn't think to do a forum search for this error.

Excellent! Thank you Spike. Sorry if I seemed a bit overzealous but, things like this really upset me (and rightfully so!).

The problem, Spike, is you had proof. What I don't understand is - Out of 9 images, you verified that 8 were not his - Why was he allowed to remain anyway just because one MIGHT be his? It makes no sense. There should be a zero tolerence policy on artwork theft just the same as there is on warez requests. So, the final image was finally removed and according to Micheleh, it's "Pending investigation". Huh? I still don't understand. Nobody has directly answered any questions and that REALLY bugs me. I feel like I'm trying to interview a politician here. It shouldn't be that difficult. At least three other online art communities took swift action and didn't need to debate. Obviously they understand that art theft is wrong. So why does the largest of them fear taking action? Even a single stolen image should be grounds for immediate banning - much less 9 of them :)

"Typical policy on this sort of thing is usually as follows: the artist whose work has been stolen or misrepesented brings a complaint against the offending person to the site where it is taking place, asking that the work be removed. That is why contacting Shinya is important." This is where your policy needs work. He very purposefully chose an artist who does not post at Renderosity and that people had a slimmer chance of recognizing. Also, the fact that he posted SEVERAL stolen images and he was allowed to remain is something else that needs to be looked at. He should have been banned from the very first stolen image and there should have been absolutely no debate on the matter. What's there to debate? You would not allow someone with a warez request to remain on the site. Why is this any different? I guess, I really don't see the difference and nothing you've said has convinced me there IS a difference.

Micheleh, Thank you for letting us know something is being done. All we had been hearing was "this has been dealt with" but nobody was willing to tell us what was being done in the process. This is a very volatile issue and something that should be dealt with in a very open manner. As members, we need to see that this issue is being taken very seriously. As swiftly as you moved to remove free stuff items that actually belonged to another artist - this needs to be treated with the same kind of urgency.

Plagerism... copyrights... whatever you want to call it - theft is theft. My concern is the fact that not only was swift and immediate action NOT taken but nobody seems concerned that someone has been posting stolen artwork at Renderosity. You can bet if it had been the artwork of one of the "popular" artists here, we'd be hearing the howling about this all the way to the moon. As it stands, this hardly made a blip on the radar. I find that to be rather sad. Considering I post in the galleries on a semi-regular basis, I'd like to know that I am protected against theft. Warez requests have a no tolerence policy but it seems that stolen artwork does not. I guess I just don't see the difference between the two.

What kind of answer is "We have taken action here"? What does that particular response have to do with the question asked in this thread?

::laughs:: Then he just changed it on his site after getting caught here... at least he's not saying anymore "This is my greatest work ever".

I am VERY disappointed to see that "his" gallery is still on the site in part. I do not understand why it has not been removed in totality and why he has not been obviously banned. Can one of you explain this to me? This is the single issue I would have expected the administration to not only take VERY seriously but to take a hard nosed stance on. He should have been banned for posting a single stolen image, much less 9 of them. You verified 7 of them, do you HONESTLY believe the other two are his? What further verification do you need? This really makes me uneasy. Don't just tell us action is being taken, show us results.

Thanks Spike.

Jeff, are you saying you will allow him to remain even though he blatantly violated copyright on several images and you can not confirm the other two? He should be banned from the site like he was from the others he posted these images on. Does Renderosity's terms of service not protect artists from copyright infringement? I'm just amazed he has been allowed to remain at all. Flabbergasted even.

Thanks for letting us know who it was. I was just going to ask. Fortunately, I didn't download "his" prop.

Yeah, I archived it. Thanks, Jeff, I will.

His ego is only matched by his stupidity "This is one of my greatest works ever" is the comment generally on all of the things he posts. He has 9 images posted here since he was banned at Renderotica. He's already sent me an instant message telling me he wished I would die :)

Or Shin Gouki, I think when I copied the user name it added an underscore instead of a space.