Stolen: A Hand Lettering Piece Lifted by an International Apparel Brand.
Vol. 072
Stolen: A Hand Lettering Piece Lifted by an International Apparel Brand.
An interview-style chat with Drew Lakin, who highlights his experience and surprising learnings with an international apparel brand stealing and selling his work.
A quick bite:
This past week I chatted with Drew Lakin about his experience getting his work stolen, talking with intellectual property lawyers, the law’s perception of lettering vs illustration vs art, and so much more. This was HUGELY eye-opening for me, and our hope was that this article can help protect a few of us graphic designers, illustrators and lettering artists in the future.
Continue reading below…
Today’s article is a bit different: a kinda-interview style chat with the incredibly talented Drew Lakin. Drew recently had a lettering design stolen by an international apparel brand (name intentionally withheld), and in the process of pursuing reparations and speaking with a handful of intellectual property lawyers, he learned that we as creatives aren’t nearly as protected as we might think.
My mind was absolutely blown when I learned some of this stuff — I couldn’t believe my own lack of understanding as well as Copyright Law’s lack of understanding of what lettering is. Drew couldn’t either. So, if you’re in the brand, lettering, or illustration space, this article is especially for you!
If you’re not familiar with Drew’s work, take a peek here (and don’t effing steal it!). He’s one of my favorite brand, lettering and illustration-focused designers out there. Drew and I briefly met at SXSW in 2017 when I was teaching a workshop with Goodtype, and I’ve been in love with his work ever since.
When Drew’s work was initially stolen, he hit me up on IG (and a bunch of other designers) and asked if I had any thoughts on the matter (I did). He was kind enough to share some of the insights that he picked up along the way about intellectual property (IP), copyright, trademark, and licensing. We both felt that the design community needs to hear this story!
Below is an interview-style article of my conversation with Drew. For ease of reading, I have paraphrased and consolidated Drew’s responses in various spots.
**Additionally, please note that this article is not an attack on this apparel company. This article is intended to glean a bit of insight into how unprotected our creative work is out there. This is purely for informative purposes. In that vein, the company will be referred to as “International Apparel Company” herein.
The Interview:
AV: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat, man! I really think the design community needs to hear this information. So, succinctly, can you tell us what happened?
DL: An in-house designer at International Apparel Company lifted [stole] and utilized a hand-drawn script I’d drawn and posted to my Dribbble profile in 2014. They used it as a primary graphic on garments in their first womenswear collection in the fall/winter 2021 season.
AV: Ugh — so sad to know that other designers working for big brands are out there straight up live tracing people’s work and presenting it as their own. What do you even do in a situation like this?
DL: I was pretty frustrated and disappointed when I first realized what had happened. Being somewhat familiar with the brand, I knew they presented themselves as a supporter of the arts and this was not a manifestation of those values.
I first tracked down one of the founders on Instagram and sent him a message professionally stating: “hey, someone in your team lifted some lettering I designed and it’s currently being utilized on multiple garments in the current International Apparel Company’s women’s collection. I’d love to discuss how this occurred and what we can do to remedy the situation.”
When I didn’t hear from him or International Apparel Company within a few days, I knew making an Instagram post (don’t go searchin’, folks, it’s no longer up) would get their attention, so I made a post showing a side by side of my lettering and the pieces they’d used the lettering on.
AV: Haha — I died when I saw that post. It was literally a straight live trace, and then a poor brush lettering “s” in a clearly different style added to the end. Not only was it stolen, but it was stolen and poorly applied. Did International Apparel Brand end up seeing your Instagram post?
DL: Yeah, once the theft caught wind within my circle and Instagram following, the reshares and comments directed at the International Apparel Company got their attention. The founder I’d reached out to responded apologetically and was eager to talk and come to a resolution.
AV: That’s good to hear. Honestly, it’s likely that the founder didn’t even know that the design was stolen. Like, he’s not out there double-checking the work of his designers to see if it’s stolen or not. This whole situation really highlights the need for designers to have integrity and respect for our peers, ya know? Like, “don’t steal other people’s work”, it seems like a pretty obvious rule to live by. But, apparently, it needs to be reiterated.
I know that you talked to a handful of other graphic designers and illustrators to whom this had happened, as well as a few IP Lawyers… after speaking with some people with experience on this issue, what did you learn and do? Sue and get a shit ton of money?
DL: Sadly, I found that I didn’t have much ground to stand on at all.
AV: Wait — what? Even though it was painfully obvious that this was your work that was stolen, and you also had proof on Dribbble that you had created this almost 7 years ago, the lawyers said you still didn’t have grounds to pursue legal action?
DL: Essentially, yeah. There’s a disconnect between what myself and the greater design & art community deem as art — a graphic, illustration, hand lettering, type design, etc. — and what could be argued from a legal standpoint. The IP Lawyers I spoke with told me lettering isn’t considered art in the same way that illustration is considered art. Each of the 4 IP Lawyers unanimously communicated that should I pursue legal action, I may have a case, but because my art was specifically a common word “that anyone could write down”, [i.e., the word “Saturday”] it’d be hard to make the case and realistically I’d end up in debt from the legal fees accrued during the process.
They further explained that unless I personally register any artwork I create with the U.S. Copyright Office, non-client work that is posted online is not legally protected. Therefore, the act of someone stealing my exact design, while morally incorrect, is legally okay. It also seems that an illustration — a rendering of an actual “thing” — is easier to argue in court than lettering.
AV: HA! F that. That’s unreal. So, their argument was “Anyone could draw the word Saturday like this—and because it’s not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office or created for a client—you’ll have a tough time fighting this.”?!
DL: Exactly — not what I had imagined would be the case. I was pretty shocked!
AV: Sheeeshhh... I would have loved for you to go to court and toss everyone a brush pen and paper and have them try to replicate your lettering. I think their perspective on “easy to write” would have changed haha.
But, this is crazy — I can’t believe that I didn’t know this. Were you as surprised to hear this as I am?
DL: I was mostly surprised by the IP Lawyer’s perspective that lettering, in this case, isn’t “art” nor easily defendable. The internet is seemingly the Wild Wild West when it comes to self-publishing art as an independent creative. The systems in place just aren’t there to support us.
AV: This is super eye-opening for me for multiple reasons. 1: I didn’t realize that from a legal standpoint, illustration and lettering are viewed totally differently. 2: I didn’t know that if a lettering piece of a “common word” was created for personal use or not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, it isn’t protected and can technically be stolen or used by others without repercussions. Wow.
So, with the lawyers basically telling you that you’d spend more money pursuing legal action than you’d make, what did you do next?
DL: A few friends within the design community had reached out during this process, having had similar experiences, and based on those conversations I was optimistic that I’d be able to come to some sort of reasonable monetary arrangement, especially considering that this is an international apparel brand and their price point [per garment is high].
However, I didn’t know how long they’d been using the art on their products or to what extent they’d used it. I was completely in the dark.
AV: Yeah, I mean, I’d like to think that significant financial payout is obvious. I mean, they stole your work straight up! I have a friend who recently dealt with this kinda situation with a painting she had done. It took her 2 years of legal nonsense, but she ultimately got ~$15,000.
DL: Well, International Apparel Company only pays designers $650/per graphic for work they produce, which is well under its value in today’s inflated economy. Sadly, not only does this prove that they don’t actually value design, but in a way it perpetuates lifting art in the first place. Because International Apparel Company doesn’t value their creative team or contractors and the work they produce, that lack of appreciation and self-worth is passed on to their design team.
After a bit more conversation, the IP Lawyers suggested coming in high as a “settlement”, and then plan to negotiate down from there. I ultimately suggested what I would have charged HAD they inquired to create a custom type treatment to be used on multiple garments. I genuinely felt it was a reasonable price under the circumstances.
The International Apparel Company countered, and they proposed half of my ask, which to me, felt like an “apology fee” rather than an actual exchange for the value of the work. I pushed back and argued “this is what I would feel best about” and that this further proves they don’t have a good gauge on creative value.
Ultimately they agreed to pay what I’d requested, but their stipulation was processing an initial payment, and then the remainder in 30 installments. Not the kind of terms I was expecting, but at the end of it all, I got what I wanted.
AV: Sheesh, what a nightmare! And to think that payment doesn’t include all of the headaches, time corresponding with the IP lawyers and the International Apparel Company, and chatting with people about what to do. Talk about a brutal way to learn a lesson.
DL: Yeah, it was hard to manage honestly. It was never about the money, but more so the principle and speaking up when larger entities often get a pass in these kinds of situations. I was told that they fired the in-house designer who plagiarized the work. It sucks to hear it came to that. I don’t want to be the reason someone loses their job, but again I genuinely hope they learned something from it. If you’re employed as a designer for a brand/studio, you’ve been trusted to execute original works — anything else puts the company at risk.
AV: Yeah, that sucks — but if you don’t already know that stealing isn’t okay, I guess you need to learn somehow?.. So, now that this is mostly behind you (aside from having to cash 30 minuscule checks for the next half a year haha) — what’s next for THE Drew Lakin?
DL: Haha, honestly spending less time creating for others, giving more energy to my personal art practice (which has laid dormant for many years) and spending more time in nature. I’ve learned in the last few years that I don’t want to put myself in a position where things like this happen, it’s an energy suck. There are powers that I have no control over and my focus at this point in life is pursuing the things that feel good for my creative, mental and physical health.
AV: More time for personal work and in nature — we love to hear it! Well, shit man, thank you so much for taking the time to share this story with the design community. Again, most of this information is not info I was already privy to, so I know that a lot of the design community is likely in the dark on this as well. A huge thank you on behalf of everyone, man!
I hope Drew’s experience helps prevent a similar experience for yall. It’s crazy to hear that IP Lawyers don’t really view lettering as “art”, and in this instance, it was quite difficult to fight for what he was owed when his work was clearly stolen.
Cheers!
Adam
