Stolen necklacedesign/texture-what can I do?

Today a women in SL sent me an IM that she found one of my necklaces at:

http://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=821844

and:

http://shop.onrez.com/item/714793

The necklace - except for the hanging last part of it, thats been changed, is created by me. Both the design/primbuilding and the textures, that I made myself in photoshop!

Here is a pic of the original necklace, as I created it:

http://www.tettemerio.se/satyrasingh/MadeForYou-annonsbild-associarer-big.jpg

Everything I sell in my shop MadeForYou is able to modify and transfer, but not to copy, so appearently she somehow anyway could make it with all perms, since she now can sell it away as her own creation?!

The textures in the necklace, as I said, is not anything you can find in SL or at the net somewere else - its my ownmade textures that only I have excess to.

I tried today to contact the women. I was of course upset, angry and sad and asked her to take the necklace off her collection and also to give me a big apologize.

She answered me this:

"yanno u need to get over urself...i made that neclace about a year ago so if anyone is stealing its u..now stop imn me..im not happy bout ur theiving from me....but there isnt much i can do...just back off"

And I answered:

"Ok, then I guess you also can show me the original textures of each part of the necklace? No you cant, couse I made them and only I have them. And except from that, I created and started to sell that necklace long before a year ago"

Then nothing more from her ...

So my question here is - does anyone know if there s something I can do about the fact that she is selling my design as her own or must I just accept that people can steal my work like this?

First of all, it's against forum rules to name names in issues such as this. You may wish to remove those from your post.

Someone else will be able to comment on the AR/DMCA issue.

Sorry, did not read that in the rules but the name is gone now.

I think you can find the information you need here...
http://secondlife.com/corporate/dmca.php

I believe XStreet is very agressive about kicking out people who do stuff like this. TOO aggressive, even, if some reports are believed.

If they are your textures you can have something done about it.. However a copy of your design such as prim placement. No luck there... Every designer goes through this every now and then. A designer is inspired by something you did they make something simular. Same thing happens in real life.. There are knock off's of everything.

File a DMCA.

P.S. yours looks better.

The one on SLEX is copy/mod. Did you try purchasing a copy, separating the prims and seeing if any of the original prim still have your name as the creator? It's so easy to get textures off an item--you almost need to watermark them.

Thanks!

Ok, I will contact them too then, maby they can stop the selling there at least.

agreed.

I'll be checking out your shop!

Yes all textures at all parts of the necklace is my ownmade. They can not be found anywere else but in my inventory and on my computer.

And yeah, I guess you are right, I v just been lucky so far - have had my shop MadeForYou in SL since july-07 and never noticed anything stolen before.

I also think its one thing to be inspired by other designers - a total different thing to copy the whole item, with textures and all, and just put another thing at the last bit of the hanging part on the item and sell as your own design.

foehn and Sydney - Thanks.

I bought one to take it apart and check the prims. Each prim was recreated by the person selling the item. The textures do show up in the texture window as well, so it wouldn't be hard to rip them. If it is a copy as it appears to be, this seller spent a LOT of time recreating all 31 prim and ripping the textures.

There is another creator's name on the arrow/square and circle prim.

No I did not do that. Guess she´s not THAT stuped that she leaves any prims with my name on them at least but ... well, who knows, maby I should try to check it...
How can you steal a texture from itemparts? I dont know how to do that so it can not be as simple as you say, or can it?

Satyra, it's VERY simple and would take anyone with any tech savvy about two seconds. If you doubt that, I can send you your textures from the necklace in any format you'd like. Honestly, it's very simple.

Thanks for taking so much time/energy and lindens as well to help me.

The arrowpart you say have another creatorname - that endpart is the only thing changed out from my originalnecklace.

And yeah, can you do that please, show me my textures as you can get them - would be interesting to see. And I will also at the same time then pay you for the necklace you got to check this and for the uploadingcosts you might get to show me the textures so I can compare them to my original once.

Im online at SL right now, if you have time left.

Satyra, there is some very unique texturing on several of the prim. I wouldn't think it would be difficult, if you could identify those unique charactertistics, to prove that the build is yours.

Trying to get you online now.

But if it is as you say, that anyone can just take a copy of my textures, how can I then prove the original is mine? Sorry if I sound stuped - im just swedish and blond - AND a women to that, hehe. tss ...

One of the textures in the necklace is a part of a pic of a RL-bracelet I made actually. Thats the one that looks stained.

the textures if you still have those in sl should have a date on them that precedes the thieves ..wouldn't that be enough or no?
well that and your PS files.

It's interesting...I spoke to both designers, CandyGurl AND Satyra (CandyGurl has been a customer of ours in the past). BOTH insist the design is theirs! Satyra sent me a copy of the original texture, and though she didn't send it, CandyGurl says she has it as well. I would think that a date would prove it (on the texture). Also, Satyra says the texture came from an RL bracelet, so Satyra, maybe a pic of the bracelet? Man, I wouldn't want to be the one sorting this out. I will say, though--the two are EXACTLY the same, with the exception of one piece of it being textured differently.

I have never met Satyra, but she seems VERY sincere and sweet. She was open enough to trust me, a virtual stranger, and send me the textures just to gain support--I think that's a pretty good predictor of character. I also can't imagine a scenario in which ANYONE would post to a forum if THAT PERSON was the thief! With that said, I know from experience that CandyGurl is generally an honest woman. The idea that EITHER could be a thief just bothers me. I can't imagine either of them with that label.

God, this is totally insane!
Did not think I would have to get in a war for protecting my design/textures but appearently I have to.

Anyway - Yes, I have the textures still in my inventory and can with a printscreen show you the dates I uploaded them.

I can also show you a pic of the RL-bracelet I made myself and took a part of to one of the textures to this SL-necklace.

Shall I do that at once?
Do you - CandyGurl - really want me to take this to its deepest point before you edmit you copied my item?