Caution All Skin/clothing/texture Artists

SLBid contacted me about a customer than was trying to sell some txtrs of mine amongst a whole heap of other txtrs.
SLBid removed them and explained why she couldnt sell them and asked where she got them from.
She gave them a SL name which I cannot give here but added she bought them from Ebay with a bunch of mixed skins, clothing, faces, textures etc from the same person whos is SL.

The person in SL has a profile which states " My developer team are waiting to take on any custom order, anything you ask for will be in your inventory within 24 hours"
I went to her store.
It had one JEVN vendor in it with 2 dresses ( thats all !) And it was a small rented slot in a mall.
I find it hard to believe this 'designer' has a team of developers waiting to take her custom orders when she only has 2 dress for sale and some pokey rented slot in a mall.

She mentions in her profile
"Midwestern girl, i will only give you my RL pic if i feel like you deserve it*

The ebay description shows the seller as being from Chicago, Illinois, United States

Here is a description that should alarm anyone who makes clothes skins and textures
( i would add the link but dont want to advertise the this obvious theft )

************************************************************************

* * * N O R E S E R V E A U C T I O N * * *
Designed for the professional as well as amateur
3D Animator, Modeler, Graphics Designer,
Landscape Designer, Game Designer, Website Designer, etc.

Not 34,000 but
over 34,125
TEXTURES & MATERIALS
in this HUGE & AWESOME Library!

Will work with just about any 2D & 3D Graphics Program:
3D Studio Max, Viz, Maya, Lightwave 3D, Bryce, Strata 3D, Blender,
Poser, True Space, Form*Z, Studio Pro, Ray Dreamer Designer,
Inspire 3D, CAD Applications, Softimage, PhotoShop & PhotoPaint.

These textures are also ideal for website designers!!!

These are THE MOST textures and materials you will find
in any collection offered on eBay! Compare for yourself.
It's packed with more textures than you will ever use.
But don't wait until they're all gone.


T e x t u r e C a t e g o r i e s I n c l u d e :

- Animated
- Architectural
- Artwork
- Auto CAD
- Baskets
- Book Covers
- Brick
- Brushes
- Building Material
- Bump Maps
- Buttons & Pins
- Camouflage
- Candy
- Carpets & Rugs
- Ceramic
- Clocks
- Concrete
- Containers
- Creatures
- Dirt - Displacement
- Doors
- Door Knobs
- Eyes
- Facade
- Fire
- Flags
- Floor
- Foliage
- Food
- Frames
- Furniture
- Gaming
- Glass
- Granite
- Grates
- Grass
- Ground
- Ice & Snow
- Laminate - Lamps
- Leather
- Lights
- Light Gels
- Macro
- Maps
- Marble
- Metals
- Metal Objects
- Minerals
- Misc.
- Nature
- Objects
- Oil
- Organics
- Paint
- Paper
- Pastels
- Pattern
- People - Pink & Yellow
- Pins & Buttons
- Places
- Planes
- Plants / Flowers
- Plastics
- Precast
- Psychedelic
- Roads
- Roofing
- Scenery
- Sidebars
- Siding
- Signs
- Skies
- Skins & Furs
- Slate
- Space
- Space Age
- Stone - Stone Figures
- Stones
- Surfaces
- Technology
- Terrain Maps
- Textiles/Fabrics
- Tiles
- Vehicles
- Walls
- Wall Paper
- Watches
- Water
- Weird
- Whites
- Windows
- Wood
- Wood Tile

& much more

And for you game designers, I've included over 1,000 Outfits, Faces, Skins, & Misc.

There's almost 4.7 GB of Textures & Materials
packed onto 1 DVD!
Graphic formats include .BMP, .JPG, .TGA, .TIF, & .GIF (mostly .BMPs & .JPGs).

******************************************************************

I have sent her a notecard and will be writing to ebay. She is selling this collection for a starting bid of $15.95 and has sold 5 DVDs which obviously end up in the hands of SL residents or indeed other world residents.

Too much of a coincidence?
Either way the Ebay'er is CLEARLY breaching some major copyright. There is no mention of an EUAL and as SL is the only place were game 'outfits' would be of use its quite clear these outfits have been ripped from SL

If you want her name please do not PM me or IM me but rather send me a notecard and I will send you her name.

The good news is you can get ppls real life details off ebay at request.

Just thought you should know.

removed even though it is quoted

I did not intend to hurt or insult anyone

I posted what I thought was a legit question as I do not know you, nor do I know your work, and I was not gonna research it

you could have simply clarified

instead you cross posted to someone else's thread trying to hurt...

I am sorry my words stung, but they shouldn't have

I wont even dignify that with a response other than to say, I am well aware she gets my details but as Im the one sueing and have nothing to hide ( as well as include my RL name in my EUAL at the store then that doesnt bother me one bit. ) I have never understood the reason why ppl are so hung up about hiding their names. I am running a business in SL I pay taxes and have an accountant and if you want people to treat your business and the laws that apply with seriousness then you have to show your mean real business and that means not hiding behind an avatar esp when you issue DMCA warnings as TRUs copyright agent does . I include my real name because they need to know this isnt a bloody game and reslling my work for a currency that has a real value is very 'real'

She is actually a he registered at ebay , no surprise there! which kinda backs up my theory about how ppl hide behind masks in sl and that leads to them thinking they can do what they want both in a positive fantasy way and in a negative " i dont care I want so Ill take"" way

I'm guessing Rhaorth you havent been to Textures R Us or maybe didnt read my forum signiture. Its ok I know most small new stores grab off the net but in all seriousness I wouldnt be writing this if I couldnt claim copyright. I know the copyright laws. Had 3 yrs to learn it.

Im surprised more ppl other than me arent responding to this. After all she/he says shes selling skins and outfits for games so putting me aside, If I was a skin designer I would be all over this person.

Anyhoo I have got his/her ITs details and had placed a bid to try and get a copy just to see whats inside exaclty.

This is the 1st time someones had the bear face gall to save to PC load onto a DVD and start selling on the real world It even says in one of the feedbacks about them being bootleged

She he IT must be in poor in wealth and ethics to stoop so low.

/me hears this, wakes up to give LillyBeth a big awesome hug, then goes back to sleep.

no I have not seen your textures or if I did they just did not stick in my memory (sorry)

my question was legit, it was not intended to be a dig or hurtful

instead of cross posting trying to be hurtful, you should have simply replied to me with a short and prideful comment that they are YOUR textures, then I would have been corrected and understood the concern much more

(there is so much of the so and so took this or that, which the "owner" was never really the true owner of such item, that one has to wonder, unless one knows the "owner" personally)

I hope that makes sense and I truely hope you can accept my apologies, I did not intend to upset you or make you angry

someday I might go check out your stuff

(as to your sig, I usually do not read sigs, I just kinda skip past them)

and my comment about ebay and ppl knowing your contact info too when you request theirs, was more for general knowledge, was not directed directly at you.

yes, I guess I showed my ignorance, but ignorance is not necessarily a bad thing, it is simply, not knowing

contact e-bay, submit dmca takedown notice, file a copyright infringement claim with them and provide examples (the last is so they will retain the data on said person for purposes of subpena and legal action.). then if you're in for fun, file a a legal suite on the infringement...

Lillybeth, I am so sorry this has happen to you.
Good luck

um.. And I dont mean this with alot of disrespect lilth as we have butted heads before.. But Didnt you buy your textures from another website and uplaod them here with the rights to do so.. couldnt this person had done the same thing.. I know that you have a few artist working for you and I am sure alot of your newer textures are all orginal. But isnt it possible that this person (I am not saying he/she/it did mind you) got these textures from the same place you did.

I am just trying to get some clarity, I assumed that some of the 31k textures this person is showing are part of your Orginal designs. And if that is the case by all means sue, destroy, crush to a small fine white powder.

(Allthough I am sure this is just another guy who just saved every texture he could get his hands on to his computer and is now selling them) but give the guy a break do you know how much time it took him to upload 31k textures from sl. God I cant even begin to imagine the amount of time spent

Anyone who claims they created something, and it is actually someone elses work is commiting fraud. Do what you have to to get that person caught, teach him/her a lesson.

I dont recall your name or our headbutting but can only assume your refering to a website that has some game txtrs that I wrote to gain permission to modify and distribute in SL.
That amounts to around 60 textures or 5 sets that are about 2 yrs old now.

So out of the thousands of sets I own and made please dont make a swooping statement of the 0.003% of work I didnt make myself as it creates an impression that the majority of TRUs work is 'bought'

There are a further, ohhh 10 sets made from a well known fashion designer in SL that she wanted instant L$ for ( hand made drapes )

As for your quote :

START QUOTE: Allthough I am sure this is just another guy who just saved every texture he could get his hands on to his computer and is now selling them) but give the guy a break do you know how much time it took him to upload 31k textures from sl. God I cant even begin to imagine the amount of time spent END QUOTE

Your saying we should give the guy a break because he took the time to snag SL txtrs skins and outfits and save to a DVD ?

Seriosuly, I havent discredited anyone here No names were used so please dont try and turn a thread that was meant to alert OTHER ppl into a transparent attempt to discredit me.

We recently had a customer make an off the cuff acusation about an artists work saying she had seen them on some website.
I had the artist show me the PSDs and the accuser was asked to show me the URL. She couldnt and didnt.

Its very damaging to have ppl gossip or speculate and statements like that start the kind of speculation we have to deal with the best we can.

We have signs all over the store asking ppl to conatct me if they believe an image is protected and it will be investigated and removed. Thats all we can do and I ask you to do the same rather than making swooping public statements please.


The person I am worried about only came to MY attention from SLbid as a customer of theirs had tried to sell some txtrs which included my stairs ( hand made ) when asked where she bought them from her reply was " from *name protected* she sells them on ebay" ( thought my 1st post explained that?)

So based on that information, I am bound to investigate.

AT this stage I am waiting delivery of the CD but based on the ebayers feedback were one buyer quotes " I didnt know I was buying bootleg stuff " it doesnt look very good.
Also I fail to see how anyone can obtain copyright or distribution to 34,000 txtrs.


No one came here to discredit anyone and thats why ' I ' have not included anyones name.

The purpose of this thread was to alert other designers, skin and fashion and they are concerned as they have asked for info from me. So what happens between me and other designers and this ebayer/SL'er is our business now.

Thanks for the genuin support from other people who replied, its always appreciated.

Thanks for the heads up Lilly! Not sure what can we do, hope you or someone can get this solved.

*gives Lilly a big hug*

Rhaorth,

Its ok really.

The problem lies with when I was new to SL I started up a txtr store and followed other stores by example ( as one does )
Back then 3 yrs ago a texture store in SL was 100% off the net freebies with the exception of one store that had a small amount of customised textures.
So I followed suit and scanned the net and upload a load of crap basically.

Over time I soon realised, in order for TRU to actually get ahead of other stores I would have to offer something unique so I learnt Photoshop and began at first modfying stuff off the net and eventually making my own.

It was because of this, that TRU broke the mold and started to get noticed.

The problem started when I wanted to protect my own work so I put signs out and issues EUAL in my sets stating that ppl could not resell any ' original' artwork
And ppl got angry at this as I still had a large amount of web based junk out so how could I claim copyright on stuff that wasnt technically mine? ( and quite right! )

So over the following months I removed all the freebie junk and filtered it down to a tiny % of stuff off the web that only I had the right to distribute. ppl assumed the worst of that too and accused me of stealing it. I showed them the permisions and it remains

That was a long time ago and TRU has grown to have the biggest amount of original tetxure work in SL.

But you know the saying " mud sticks? " well thats so true.

I still occasionally hear gossip that TRUs stuff is off websites but despite the store signs asking ppl to inform me of ony image they believe to be protected only one person has approaced me for over a yr. And those that did approach me the year before that was shown the evidence on the few sets I had that I had the rights to distribute.

Its easier to see the bad in ppl than see the good. Its human nature. And even if that person or group of ppl have worked hard to turn things around they cling to the bad.

I cant change that but it explains a little about why I reacted like I did. I assumed you were having a dig and I was wrong obviously.

Please DO come to the store I would love to show you our work.

Many of my hand made sets are used by the likes of Grim Misfit, Julia Hathor and of you peek on SLX Id say 70% of prefab builders use mine or other artists 3d sets ( walls with windows etc )

I'm proud of TRU. And sure It wasnt always something to be proud of but I worked hard to change that and believe I have.

Never had a SL take down order. That should speak for itself.
And if you look at other stores with the they nearly all have some web stuff to some degree , some more than others!

One store with a faked 30,000 traffic using a traffic bot with 17 alts you can only see in debug menu has nothing BUT web based crap , website backgrounds etc.

I dont judge ppl by mistakes but rather how they learn from them.
I had an artists at TRU that did my accounting to give artists their best selling sets and sales info.
He/she tried to steal all the artists and set up his own store. He didnt last long and no one joined him ( despite him telling them I was 'ok' with it )

A new artist joined us some time ago and it came to light this was the same person. I confronted them and they admitted it.

Now I didnt boot them and some ppl were amazed at me. But this person made a mistake, learnt from it and came back after realising he was better off were he started under TRUs roof.

I made mistakes when I was new in SL and new in TRU. Yet he without sin and all that?
But Ive learnt from them changed the way I did things and grew as a result and thats normal. You have to make mistakes to learn and grow yea?

But anyway as I say there are some die hards that prefer to only see the bad from yrs ago and cling to that and it kinda makes me defensive at times so my apologise for assuming you were one of those die hards.

LB

I guess first thanks for the info, I'm sure there are a few people's work on that dvd that will appreciate the heads up.

second, slightly more personal observation, you seem wound pretty tight lately, I know it's a sore topic (I'd be mad too) but please don't assume people posting (possibly poorly worded) questions / statements are attacking you. the only way to get details is to ask, even if it sems like a leading question...

best of luck going after this person

hi again

yes you definitely misunderstood

I did not know all that trash you spoke of in that post, and am glad I didn't

I incorrectly questioned about if it was off the web because so many ppl do just that

I did not mean to open any wounds

I guess I will just watch what I say in the future and try wording things a little better

hope you have a good week

noted

Thanks for the info, i ll keep my eyes open

Sadly one of risk of creating anything original here if its noticed it will be stolen.
If I had anything stolen I am not sure I have energy to do the whole legal thing.
I have been bit uncomfortable selling my textures for similar reasons.
Majority really need work and have long ways to go before I would consider them truly
good but there a few I quite like enough I want to share with few people.
Very few people have my artwork unless they snatched them from my blog, here or got them directly from me.
Even I on rare occasion when I am having really hard time find something accidentally have bought freebie or pro textures from someone other then owner.
And on rarer occasion sometimes I borrow images from public domain or other sites to understand example how to make example good looking flowering vine.
So I understand the tempation.
The difference is I don't sell my work and I try the hardest to be original when I do it and change the image as much as I can.
I gotten to point I don't even want to go shopping Texture or other wise because of either buying a product that was being sold by someone who shouldn't be selling it, or having to deal with very grumpy texture maker who is pissed by theft so much they no longer sell full rights to their textures or want my money at all cost even if never created it.
Then there are the other texture artist who are so nasty and paranoid to deal with I don't want to give them my money. I haven't shopped much in Tru in while but there are textures I recall I really liked there and did buy long time ago. I hope the nature of selling textures in SL doesn't make you one of those bitter texture sellers or prevent you from continuing to run your business, Lillybeth.
It seems like majority just don't really appreciate the effort or time it takes to make good texture.
So I just do it for myself and hope I am not good enough that someone decides they want to steal it from me.

LillyBeth's work is great! I would be lost without her and appreciate the time she frees up for me to create when I use her textures. If I made all my textures personally, I would be spending less hours building. Her textures save me time AND are the best out there! Not to mention that they are reasonable in price.)

I know you will survive this latest attack on your business, LillyBeth. There are too many of us that appreciate what you do.

Waves to Julia, you're stuff is always been so beautiful I wondered how you made lot of the things you do.
I have been trying to hand draw my own flowers,trees,etc but they aren't as good as yours.
You were my inspiration to return to SL but I just make things for fun.

I would say that percentage is even higher. If I don't find a texture I want at TRU, I make it myself. Which is long and arduous and incredibly rare. So I use most likely 90% TRU textures in my builds.

I really hope you get this person Lil. It's a crappy shame when someone resorts to theft just to make a quick buck.

Hi lil..yes..I've kept a close watch of your buisness from the beginning..and in the beginning yes..I uploaded alot of freebie stuff myself from the net and recognised some..(not all of your textures were "net based'.)

However as time has progressed and we both have matured as designers in Second Life..your original artwork far superceeds any el cheapo gargoyle or wall sconce that may be net based.

I have learned more over the last two years about copyright infringement and DMCAs from YOUR establishment than anywhere in Second Life.and I truly am grateful. I have done buisness with you when I was in a pinch. I try to make alot of my own textures because Im such a perfectionist when it comes to what I want and sometimes its just too hard to explain to a subcontractor "this is what i want". and I have a few friends who do sub work for you as well.

I appreciate your post and hope that it leads more newcomers to the world of textures and also leads them to the education required and the respect asked for and an understanding of the legal rights obtained and not obtained when buying someone elses artwork to use in their own
creations.Alot of people simply don't understand.

I do understand and wish you the best. I have used some of your 3 d build textures in full sim builds but not once xffered them seperately.your prices are low enough that If the client wants the textures to use I will gladly take them to your store and buy the pack for them!

Again thankyou for your vigilance and talent.

~Lana Tomba

Waves to FD! TY for those kind compliments and glad you returned to SL. SL has its problems, but it is also filled with amazing people, amazing builds, and the highest concentration of artists/creators that I know. It is ever changing and ever fascinating!

/me Waves back to Julia btw I sent you two hand drawn tree textures I recently made as thank you gift. It is called thank you gift from FD Spark.

Hi, I am a texture artist and I guess rather new having come to SL only llast year. I was interested to read about your history LB, I had no idea! I haven't seen or chatted with you in-world for some time, but wanted to say thanks and keep up the good work.

Thank you for the kind words. ( seriously ) it means a lot.
I hate saying this is it kind of comes accross as being conceited but as I am now considered a success in SL that alone puts you on peoples ' hate' list.

People dont like success in others, they have a pop at successful people because I think it somehow makes them feel inferior or envious?

I used to join in with the whole ' Anshe ' hate campaign and why? because she made more money than I could dream of and for that reason alone I didnt like her.
Never met her dont know here but I felt I had the right to dislike a stranger and chose to believe all the rumours I heard as that justified my dislike.

The reality is I was just plain jealous that she had created a business empire and I hadnt and never would to that size and success.

Having tastes a small sample of the kind of stuff she has to live with I now reflect back over my days of gossiping about Anshe and see how easy it is to jump on that band wagon.

I bet you anyone here who is considered a success in SL suffers the same issues I have
Dislike ' just because '

I once had some loony ( whom I had the NERVE to send a notecard giving him 24 hours notice to remove my textures before I FAXed LL ) stalk me send me notecards in other ppls names making threats of bringing me down in SL and RL and how he was still making 60K a month from my txtrs guilt free, bragging about how many alts he had and was still shopping in my store yadda yadda

And why? because I caught him selling my artwork and had the sheer nerve to insist he removed them! ( ?? )

I think Anshe has a thicker skin than me from what I have heard. And you need it.
I dont, I am very sensitive to hatred from strangers. I hate hearing gossip about me and its actually reduced me to tears on more than one occasion as I asked my partner in rl
" why do people hate me? I dont even know these ppl ?"

His answer?

" because your successful and thats reason alone "

I wouldn mind but even the degree of my apparent success is all speculation.

I worked hard and long. I dont have a SL I dont leave my store you wont see any " Please dont IM me between X hour and X hour this is my private time " in my profile because I dont have any lol Its ALL work in SL for me and has been for over 2 yrs now.

Im VERY lucky.... blessed. But its not all luck. You have to sacrifice your play time in SL and often in RL to make a business succeed. Theres no secret.

Its a combination of a LOT of hard work, a LOT of time and a small amount of being around at the right time with a pinch of luck thrown in for good measure oh and learning from your mistakes!

Ok Ive blabbed enough about myself

Thanks again