“But I’ve seen these online before!” you’ll say.
And you’d be right.
They’re still taken from my original photos however, and I own the exclusive copyright, which they have no right to do no matter if it’s been one year or ten since I made it. You might not know this but copyright lasts in the US for at least 75 years after the death of the author and in some cases it’s longer than that if it’s a business registered or estate.
I know there’s an organization out there that’s trying to argue they can do what they want with my work because 10 years have passed and they’re sorely mistaken, but that’s another story.
Yes these particular wings were made notorious, and a nuisance I can’t shake off ever since Maryneim on DeviantArt stole my photo years ago and made them into clip art. I think now she goes by Mary Lau or something else, either way she started a big mess and never cleaned it up so she’s on a permanent ban from every using any of my work for any reason among other people.
Next thing you know, other people are stealing from her and uploading them too, and it has been a vicious cycle ever since.
In fact, because Nikki Lipstick infringed on those same wings a few months ago, I became determined to scrub them from the internet, and I’ve finally found some success. They no longer come up with the search terms she told me she used, and if they do it’s well after you see my own, and hey good luck with whatever virus you’ve just installed on your device if you do decide to use stolen goods once you finally scroll down to those shady free art sites.
So it’s almost 4pm Pacific time now, and although I’d gotten an email from Megan Fargo at Paris Hilton Digital, the content’s all still up even though she knows I want it down, even though I’ve sent a formal DMCA to Megan and the other official Paris email address.
Megan wrote:
“Hope this email finds you well,
This is Megan from Paris Hilton Digital, we have been looking into your posts about Paris's use of your wing designs & would like to address some of your concerns.
Paris does not make any of the edits of herself on her own, they are all fan made edits that she loves & reposts, she always credits the fan who made them & if the fan indicates any other tags she will tag them as well.
I have reached out to the fan who made the edit with the wings & she has confirmed with me that she had gotten the wings off a free PNG site, please find the sources attached below”
She signed off and that was it.
Surprisingly, December 17, Instagram removed Paris Hilton’s post in response to my DMCA notice! This was very unexpected, as past attempts had failed in even the most blatant infringement cases, and I hope this trend continues next time I need to report. Because there is unfortunately always going to be a ‘next time’.
I am curious if this recent Supreme Court case decision had anything to do with it?
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/dr-seuss-enterprises-wins-appeal-in-dispute-over-star-trek-mash-up?fbclid=IwAR3wwUK2Z3B0UJOHcDAg_vmyDQJUAQ8tgGLxuvmfvtdNW_uSqnz6ltXlTcg
