Rhinestones, Hair Combs & Copycats

Another day, another infringement. Well, several of them actually. It really is never-ending y'all.

Fairy Wing Hair Combs from Hey Ricochet
A friend of mine came across these fairy wing hair combs on Instagram and recognized the design as my Titania fairy wings, which I created in 2007.

Fairy Wing Hair Combs page from the Hey Ricochet website showing a price of $28 with color options Pink, Lavender & Yellow. Described as responsibly made in China from cellulose acetate

Often when I catch people using my photos of this design or copying it, they argue how "I see that design everywhere, it's been around forever!" , or "it's all over Pinterest" as if that makes it okay, and my favorite, "you don't own all fairy wings!"
But you see, it's 'been around forever' because I made it that long ago and it was popular enough to go viral, but almost always without credit to me.

You can still see my old listing on my old website saved in the Internet Archive here, date and all.

They did remove 2 small veins, however, that doesn't make it okay either. There's this mythical magic percentage that people think they can change in a work that protects them legally, but it is a myth.

Substantial similarity is what a court would look for, and there is obvious substantial similarity here. Yes there's small differences, which may make it a derivative, but the copyright owner has the exclusive right to create derivatives of their work and any use by others would require a license or royalties.

I started small, as I usually do, and first sent a Cease & Desist to them directly on 8/26/24, asking for the listing and social media posts containing the infringing content to be removed within 48 hours.

Screenshot of emailed response from Hey Ricochet Inc. stating "We are working with counsel on a response to the claims put forth in the previously mentioned email and will respond in a reasonable time. " signed Andrea Stein and Cayce Matteoli

On August 29 I got a response saying "We are working with counsel on a response to the claims put forth in the previously mentioned email and will respond in a reasonable time. "
Yet they left all the content up and are still promoting it.

I then reported it to Shopify for removal, after which Hey Ricochet sent a counter notice even though Shopify still had not removed it by then, which means they're refusing to stop selling them.

That meant I had to escalate to legal action, and I filed a CCB claim, & sent a copy of that claim to Shopify.
Look, consequences!
There's the fairy wing hair comb listing on Hey Ricochet's site with a 'Page not found' 404 error.

Screenshot showing Hey Ricochet web listing for fairy wing combs with 404 'Page not found' error

I'm also waiting on Instagram to remove the posts.

But in Shopify's new removal notice they repeated that the other party may file a counter notice, which would allow Shopify to put the content back up after 10-14 days - even though Hey Ricochet had already filed a counter notice.
And they said they can't verify that the document of my filing would satisfy section 512(g)(2)(c) requirement of a court order to prevent the content from being re-listed.

I asked the CCB about this and their response was:
"If your claim is alleging infringement of material that you identified in a takedown notice to Shopify, and if you notified Shopify notice of the CCB proceeding before it restored that material, then the claim meets the requirements of section 512(g)(2)(c).  If that is the case, then it should suffice if you send Shopify a copy of the claim, and tell Shopify that section 1504(c)(1) of the Copyright Act provides that CCB infringement claims qualify under section 512(g)(2)(c)."

I forwarded that email to them. So let's keep that info handy in case any other platforms try to deny your CCB claim is sufficient!

They are also still selling these hair combs wholesale though, which I didn’t realize they were doing on a different website, Faire.

Screenshot of Hey Ricochet's wholesale listing for the fairy wing hair combs on Faire.com

If they’re selling wholesale, they must have produced quite a lot of them. I’ve also sent a removal notice to Faire and waiting for them to take action.

Hey Ricochet could have worked with me to come to some kind of agreement, instead of ending up with a dead web page when people look for these fairy hair combs they've been pumping up and apparently doing a big photo shoot to promote.
The CCB claim can be seen here: https://dockets.ccb.gov/claim/view/9644

Rhinestone iron-on from Heat Transfer Warehouse
I wish I could say that's the only infringement I've been dealing with, but there's another company that's been profiting off of my Teasel fairy wing design for a few years now.
I discovered that Heat Transfer Warehouse had been selling a rhinestone iron-on of my Teasel fairy wings design. Now, I'd been running into these rhinestone copies for a while now and every once in a while had to report them. Maybe this was the source?
I first sent a Cease & Desist letter on July 30th, which they ignored completely.

So I went ahead and reported the listing to their host, Big Cartel, who sent them a warning that it would be removed if they don't remove it themselves. They fortunately did remove it, but, I may go ahead and file a CCB claim because they've been making a profit off of my design and, continued to sell it after I sent the C&D. I think I should be getting at least a portion of those sales, they should have licensed the design from me if they wanted to use it.
Here's the rhinestone design with the actual photo of my Teasel wings that it looks like it was traced from overlayed on top with a transparency adjustment.

Image with fairy wing pattern in white dots representing rhinestones, with my original Teasel photo overlayed on it showing a match

This matches far too well to be a coincidence IMO. Even the wing in the foreground appears to be traced. Some changes were made to the bottom panels, which are simply copies of the upper panels in my original design, so again this is still substantially similar and a derivative.

I took a screenshot of the page while it was active, and according to the Internet Archive that page has been active since Sept. 2020. How many have been sold? How much should I have been paid in royalties?

Screenshot of Heat Transfer Warehouse's fairy wings rhinestone transfer listing while active

Since they removed the page themselves, they didn't end up with that embarrassing 'page not found' situation.

Copycat wing makers on Etsy from Ukraine
These next copycats have been more frustrating to deal with. Even though Etsy took them down when I reported them, one of them filed a counter notice, but since they're in Ukraine I can't sue and I can't even file a Misrepresentation Claim with the CCB because they only deal with entities in the US.

On July 16 I found 3 wing listings on Etsy that were copies of my Kira wings design by seller ReddoStore. Here's a screenshot of the listing for the purple wings:

Screenshot from ReddoStore's Etsy listing for purple fairy wings that copy the Kira fairy wings design, showing a woman wearing them from the back, sitting on a chair sideways

They were selling these in a few colors.  The design doesn't even really have any changes, it's absolutely copied. Here's a photo of me with those wings edited in - I made the overlays from photos of the actual wings.
Photo taken by Jordan Price.

Photo of a white woman with dark hair wearing giant purple Kira fairy wings, dark green corset, rainbow skirt and horned headdress

Near the end of August I discovered those same exact wings, but from a different seller who was also in Ukraine, OlenaOlenaStore.

Screenshot of listing from Etsy seller OlenaOlenaStore for purple wings that copy the Kira design, showing photo of a blond woman wearing them, back view

Same back brace & everything! I reported those too, and Etsy took them down. So far, no counter notice, but that doesn't mean they won't send one eventually. Unlike the time limit copyright owners have to send the service provider a court order to prevent the posts from going back up after the counter notice is sent, they don't have a time limit so they could very well send one at any time.

I don't think that's a fair system, that I have to show them proof of my design, but all the infringers have to do is sign a notice saying they have good faith belief that they didn't infringe.

I've had a lot of trouble with wing makers in Ukraine for some reason, these two aren't the only ones!

I've had to report infringements from this account, who still has posts up that copy my Kira design but Instagram won't remove the posts. Here she's using mini Kira wing copies without the veins to put onto a crown: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuq-6O3ow-I/

And advertising it on Etsy: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuxS3P4IZ2v/

Another thing I noticed is they have the same back brace as ReddoStore & OlenaOlenaStore, you have to look closely at their photos because the butterfly is being worn on the inside against their backs so it's not as immediately noticeable.

Photo from EywaDeco's website showing woman with back turned wearing transparent pink cicada fairy wings

 Here's a better pic, you can see the butterfly behind the wings here

photo of dark haired woman wearing ReddoStore copy of Kira wings in dark pink, viewed from the back

I'm not sure if there's someone selling the back braces or if they're all buying wings pre-made and reselling, but it sure seems like reselling if 2 different unrelated sellers are selling the exact same product and that breaks Etsy's rules! I tried telling them this, but they don't seem to care. I tried reporting them for violating Etsy's rule about reselling pre-made products but nothing has changed.

I've even had to report TheWingsUA (their Instagram handle), aka WingsAndFlowerDesign on Etsy, for making wings using my Titania wings photo.

Screenshot of infringing fairy wings Etsy listing from WingsAndFlowerDesign, showing mannequin from the back, wings are printed with my edited Titania wings photo

That particular photo got used a LOT, and has also been made into temporary tattoos, all without permission or any money paid to me of course. Below is the original photo of mine that this version came from.

Photo of my light green iridescent Titania fairy wings with brown veins, shot from the side, with FancyFairy.com watermark

That particular photo got used a LOT, and has also been made into temporary tattoos, all without permission or any money paid to me of course. Below is the original photo of mine that this version came from.

Image from DeviantArt user MLauNeim or MaryNeim showing Titania wings photo edited to be purple, offered as clip art, titled 'Wings Butterfly'

She's unfortunately not in the US either, I forget now where she resides but I couldn't really do anything except report her posts.

But this WingsAndFlowerDesign company has been getting really popular with Americans because they're priced so cheap. Some of their designs are really pretty but... are they really their designs or are they stolen too?
Some seem like they might be made with AI, which, I'd rather have them do that than copy my photos or designs. But there's other wings in their shop that look very familiar to me, designs that have been around elsewhere and they may be using images or clip art they find online. And if most of what I see from someone is either copied from another artist, a nature design, or AI, that tells me they are lacking in design skills so they have to use designs that are already made.
They also seem very similar to the CrystalWingsUA Etsy store.

Thankfully they at least didn't send a counter notice... not yet anyway.

But another thing I never got from any of these companies?
An apology. An "I'm so sorry I used your design". 

There are many many more overseas copies than I can fit in here, but I'm working on getting them removed somehow.
In a couple weeks I have a virtual meeting with Senior Counsel for Enforcement from the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to discuss the copyright issues that myself and so many other artists & designers are struggling with, especially with foreign sellers!

I'm not sure what will come of this, if it will lead to any actual changes, but I will update you here if it does!

Copyright Incident That Turned Into a Positive with Bretman Rock

Another day, another comment tag on an Instagram post that used my wing image without permission.
I sighed, made a quick Instagram Story about it asking to get Bret’s attention and went to bed. It already had over 1 million likes by the time I discovered it and I found out quickly a fan had made the edit so he was probably unaware.
I assumed it was probably from PicsArt Stickers, where so much of my IP is distributed illegally by users who don’t care or don’t know better on a site that seems to almost encourage theft.

But this young gender fluid, blue check mark celebrity actually responded to my DMs and - shocker - was completely apologetic and supportive!

He asked what he could do to help, was both humble and more supportive than I EVER would have expected someone of his stature to be to me, an independent non-celebrity artist making fairy wings.
I mean seriously, look at just 2 screenshots of his messages to me below.
This kind of integrity and compassion from anyone considered rich & famous is rare, folks. It just is, at least in my experience, having had enough IP incidents with some of them.

As a follower pointed out, it is a little sad that this kind response is so shocking to us, because why isn’t this kind of decency the standard? I’ve come to expect very little of people because so very many times I ask for credit or removal but I am lashed out at & made out to somehow be the bad guy, I get called ‘rude’ just for asking for my rights and art to be respected. Honestly, I’ve mostly given up even trying anymore unless it’s something really big because the worst of them have left me so drained.

Having someone like this in my corner though, a stranger who could just as easily ignored me like most do, stand up for me and support me in this way has given me some hope.
In this case, I’m actually seeing this as a blessing in disguise. I discovered a rare gem of a genuine person who somehow remains humble even after wealth and fame has carried him up to star stature.
Maybe it’s because he’s not a cis white male but rather an immigrant who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had to work hard to get where he is. Either way, I’m now glad to know him and am a new fan.
Bretman (da baddest) Rock is a genuine bad-ass

Let's Talk About Copyright & Proper Credit as Makers

On Thursday Dec. 10 to my dismay, I saw that a woman I’ve known for almost 20 years had entered a photo of herself into a Princesses With Power Tools calendar sold by Reinvented Magazine, wearing my wings, and presented as a wing maker. With no attribution for my wings, even though the photo shows her working on wing panels and initially, the profile described her as someone who ‘makes fairy wings that really flap’. Even without that text, it visually implies she’s the wing maker here.
Below you’ll see a screenshot of the calendar page posted yesterday, and below that one of my old wing listing photos for the wings she is wearing.

Screenshot of the page from Reinvented Magazine, shown in Fair Use for the purpose of commentary and education

Screenshot of the page from Reinvented Magazine, shown in Fair Use for the purpose of commentary and education

TinkSwirlSide2.jpg

I sent Reinvented an email Dec 10 at 11:59am Pacific, simply asking for credit as I felt, and still do, that the photo could imply that she was wearing the wings she makes herself since she’s also shown making wings. My initial email is below.

Screen Shot 2020-12-11 at 4.54.07 PM.png

I got no response at all from Reinvented until early Friday morning, but they found the time to discuss this with Erin roughly a half hour after my email was sent, and Erin contacted me to assure me it was all fine because it’s ‘just a photo of her in my wings’. No apology or offer to address it in any way, and I got no further response from her since. Obviously it was not fine.

FirePixieBlurredScreen Shot 2020-12-10 at 12.50.04 PM copy.png

I emailed Reinvented again, at 12:48pm Pacific, right after I got that message from Erin, asking for a direct response to me.

I mentioned a copyright issue with a Princesses With Power Tools calendar in my Instagram Stories, at first without naming or tagging anyone. It explained how disappointing it was and briefly described the problem

I did tag their account in an Instagram Story later Thursday night asking for a response, since It’s been my experience that if an organization doesn’t want to address us, they will if the request to respond is made public. Meanwhile they were taking orders for this calendar, so this needed to be brought to attention. A few people said they commented on their calendar post asking to have me credited, but each one was quickly removed, they wanted to blame their lack of response on everyone being busy but they sure had someone working for them to delete inquiring comments no matter how polite, rather than respond with even one sentence to me.

Below are screen shots of those Stories.

Reinvented was silent all through the night, so it seemed I was going to be ignored.

At 7:31 am Friday morning I got an email from Caeley at Reinvented, she let me know that she deleted the text about wing making from the page and calendar, but let me know she did not feel responsible for anything further without a licensing agreement between Erin and I, which is not even necessary nor applicable to this situation at all. She made statements about patents, trademarks & garment exclusions from copyright, none of which have anything to do with my copyright on my wings, which I register with the US Copyright Office. This specific set was not, because I haven’t had issues of infringement with them until now, but it’s irrelevant because I still own the copyright on them. They are my own design and not the movie version.

Copyright ownership is created as soon as the design is, to require legal registrations seems to communicate to me that they are only concerned with whether or not they will be sued for it rather than whether or not it’s wrong - which it was.

Reinvented Blurred Screen Shot 2020-12-11 at 11.02.11 AM copy.png

This statement Caeley made was especially concerning:
”As of right now we are not aware of any license or agreement that would forbid us from using your projects or displaying the results of your wing tutorials in our calendar. We also were unable to find any attribution requirements related to their original purchase. However, if there is a limited use license associated with photos taken by third parties of your wings, please send that to us immediately so we can make the necessary corrections.”
It sounds like they think they can use whatever they want unless they see a license agreement forbidding it, and that’s not necessarily true in every instance.
The use of someone else’s IP to give the impression that you’re responsible for creating it is still plagiarism.
Below is my response to their email.

I did post a screen shot Friday on Twitter that erroneously showed Caeley’s phone number and email, which I did not realize was a private one since it was coming from an organization she’s the CEO of. I didn’t know phone numbers are protected on Twitter like that either, so that screen shot did get reported and removed, I didn’t appeal it because I don’t intend to give out anyone’s private info and I apologize for that oversight. It’s been removed and I can’t access it again for you.
Anything else on Twitter about the issue should still be up.
The screenshot in this one has obscured that info.

Below are the Stories I posted on IG after I got the email from Reinvented, Friday around 11:30 am. The one from Friday night where I asked Reinvented to please respond to my request for credit, I had deleted after they responded to me and I guess it deletes those from the archive too, so that is the only thing that’s missing as far as I can tell.

Now, ultimately, the fault lies with Erin, who I’ve known for almost 20 years and who has lightly stepped on my toes through the years when it comes to copying my wing work, I didn’t say anything when she posted about ‘her’ wing prototypes, which seemed to be made exactly the way I teach in my tutorial, a post in which she said she’s making her own tutorial for flapping fairy wings.
Last year after Maker Faire, when I posted new video of the flapping wings Jordan worked on for me in 2016 she even asked if she could help us with our flapping wing project and I welcomed it.
But she must have changed her mind, and none of these WIP tutorial posts or even her own posts on social media of herself in my wings credited me in any way.
Below are her public posts, and receipts of her request to help with the flapping wings Jordan worked with me on in my post last year after Maker Faire in the SF bay area.

She’d been fascinated by our flapping wing project ever since we started, years ago. She’s stated she’s been trying to figure out how to make some for years, but hadn’t been able to yet with all her experience. Meanwhile, Jordan figured out an elegant and economic solution with zero formal training or previous experience, learning how to code in his free time when he wasn’t working as a graphic artist. Below, the first posts of our prototype flapping wings and her share of them.

She did experiment some on her own (below), however with a different type of construction. Although someone knowledgeable in animatronics might figure out that it was a 2 servo construction by the way Jordan was holding onto the motor (above), that wasn’t completely apparent until I posted the video of myself in them at Maker Faire in 2019 and showed the exposed mechanism.

I mentioned my concern to Adafruit after 11pm Thursday night, as I was worried Erin would continue this trend of trying to take credit for my work when she makes her wing tutorial, and she lists herself as working for them. I believe my concern was valid based on her reaction and refusal to address this properly, as this choice of photo and omission of my name now seemed intentional plagiarism rather than accidental.
In order to be completely transparent, here is my email to Adafruit below as well, along with their response to me, which I felt was fair and professional. For the record, because I’ve heard of people getting their screenshots removed for showing even their OWN email that was reported as private, mine are info@fancyfairy.com and faeryangela@gmail.com. I’m sure I’ll get more junk mail but there ya go.

Their new post shows Erin’s new photo with my wings removed and hers added in - a lot more effort than simply adding a credit tagline, but okay. I’m glad for the change.

They’ve now made a post without naming me, but claiming my issue was with her costume, which it isn’t, and stated that I felt that ‘reproduction’ of my past products in commercial print is a violation of my copyright. Well, if someone DID actually reproduce any of my designs, it’s copyright infringement.

They’re now playing victim with no accountability for how they handled this either, accusing me of slander, & doxxing, and this is also inaccurate.
I did make a mistake as I didn’t know that was a private phone number, but slander?
It has to be false to be slander. I have not lied about anything.

I’m being painted as someone who demands credit in any photo where any of my wings are shown at all times, which isn’t true at all.
Reinvented’s IG post is shown below, with the newly edited photo using Erin’s wings, which is honestly how it should have been in the first place if she was so against crediting me.

This particular type of use was clearly inappropriate and misleading. Costume makers don’t pose for publicity photos sitting at a sewing machine wearing someone else’s dress, and if you’re promoting yourself as a wing maker don’t advertise in someone else’s wings without attribution.

Last but not least, this is the last email I sent to Erin Thursday at 4:30pm after she made clear she didn’t care to credit me in any way, and no surprise, I got no response since.

Screen Shot 2020-12-13 at 2.29.09 PM.png

Keep in mind when I say it may not warrant legal action, I mean because I don’t even want to and never implied I would, not that this would never hold up legally as a copyright violation. A court may have seen it as a violation of my copyright, we’ll probably never know, because it’s not worth it.
But making sure you have the truth is worth it, to me. Even if you still think it makes me look bad.

*BTW I don’t mind people commenting their opinion, but I will take down comments that contain misleading misinformation about copyright or lies about this situation.

*Edited at 3:42 Sunday Dec. 13 to make some sections more clear and to add screenshots. I like to be completely transparent about these things if I’m being accused of something as serious as slander or ‘terrorism’.

Additional info

*Edited 12/26 to add that Reinvented Inc. seems to be noncompliant with registering their organization with their state’s regulatory body.
At the suggestion of someone with experience being on voting boards of 501c3 non-profits, I tried to look them up to make sure there wasn’t more than just IP issues they were being opaque about and there is no record in Florida’s check-a-charity.

ReinventedCheckACharityCensoredScreen Shot 2020-12-21 at 11.26.14 AM copy.png

I wasn’t sure what this might mean, so I used the site’s chat function to ask someone.
I was told by the agent that this is a red flag for donors.

Above was my chat with the agent. I’ve blurred out any addresses and phone numbers, even though much of the info is public record as is required for all nonprofit 501c3 corporations. I would never share a private address even if I had a legal right to, if one was used to register with.
Remember, 501c3 nonprofits are required to provide their financial & tax records to whoever asks to see them, so that’s an option if you are nervous about your donations whoever they are going to.

*Edited further 2/24 to add the screenshots of our early prototype posts and Erin’s.

Adafruit has assured me that they will be crediting me for inspiration for the wings and linking to my tutorial video, which I very much appreciate since we still feel her tutorial came about through unethical behavior. I’m glad they have the integrity to credit even if she won’t.
Especially since I’ve learned that most of the construction of the new flapping wings for them is done by someone else:
https://twitter.com/ecken/status/1357375971482034176?s=20
It appears Erin made the code (we had code for ours already), the wing panels, which I obviously could have provided and putting a video tutorial together, something we also could have done.

One more thing people might want to look at, is Erin’s very recent cultural appropriation of indigenous facial markings and other elements in her cosplay of a fictional ‘barbarian’ group of white women she and her friends made official accounts for & smells of white feminism.

The FB page was removed within a day after I posted about it, but although the Instagram account is still up, most photos were deleted.
Perhaps someone else removed them, because Erin still has those photos up publicly. Though she switched her profile pic today, just yesterday it was still a photo of her with those facial markings.
With that response, my guess is she cares about cultural appropriation as much as she cares about the rights of fellow artists - zero percent.
Screenshots below of the FB page description for her group ‘The Horde’ before it was removed, the Twitter account, as well as photos that are still up on her Instagram. The photos on her Facebook timeline are still there as well.
Although there’s a common misconception among cosplayers that the chin stripe was a Nordic, Celtic or Viking thing, it is not. It’s used by Indigenous people in the Americas, by the Inuit, and various tribes in Africa and Asia. None of which are her heritage.

Infringement is NOT hot, Paris Hilton.

*Update: As of February 2023, the legal issue between Paris Hilton and myself has been privately resolved

How cheap does someone have to be, to find a listing for digital wing overlays and cut & copy the wings out from the preview image rather than buy them for a measly $6.99??

I got a message yesterday linking to an Instagram post from Paris Hilton, asking "are these your wings?" Yes, yes they are, and what is especially disappointing is it appears my wing image was cut from the listing graphic.

The listing is here: https://fancy-fairy-wings-things.myshopify.com/products/titania-fairy-wings-transparency-stock-png-files

That's right - rather than buy the legit files they happened upon, it appears this person instead copied the green wings out of my graphic, infringing on my intellectual property and violating my copyright.
I expect this is what they did because you can still see the edges of the yellow wings that are behind the green ones in my listing graphic and they included the wings in back on each side, which are in exactly the same position as in the graphic.

The files do not come that way.

I've sent a DMCA to Paris' merch store email, I've commented on the post as well as tweet at her and lots of other people have commented on this as well with no response.

Looks like another artist, Indg0 may have also been infringed in this image!

It's their background used here, without permission or payment according to Indg0.

I'm gonna need to see some order receipts if I'm wrong - and credit on the post - because there are no digital wing orders from her or anyone tagged in the post, which can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CE7-zZqHIG0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

This is not the first celebrity infringement and I'm sure it sadly won't be the last as long as entitled wealthy celebs assume they can take whatever they want from indie artists due to their privilege and power. Paris Hilton's image is shown here in Fair Use, for the purposes of criticism, public commentary and communicating important news to the public about a public figure. For more of my experiences with copyright infringement, you can see my past blog entries by clicking on the Copyright Issues link on the right.

Oh and also? Just read today that she’s been heaping some praise on Trump, saying:
”He’s a very nice man. I think on TV people like to say things about certain people, but he’s actually a very sweet person. I like him a lot.”
GROSS.
She’s got an awful history of racist behavior as well, but somehow is still famous for being an heiress and the world’s first influencer.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/09/14/paris-hilton-praises-donald-trump-on-cnbc?source=twitter&via=mobile