Here is the reply I got when I asked Creative Fabrica about this. They are putting it in our hands to make sure we won't get sued. I'm not sure how Google lens will help me figure out who the original creator is, so I'm going to go on the assumption that they're all stolen, use them for personal use only, and not renew my membership. Sigh. Probably for the best to avoid AI designs anyway. "I understand that it must be very worrying to hear about the accounts of creators finding themselves in trouble. Firstly, I would like to assure you that these situations are extremely rare but nevertheless we take this matter extremely seriously. I’d also like to provide some initial context regarding our terms and conditions. Many of the sellers on Creative Fabrica are third parties, who are required to operate within our terms and conditions, including our content policies that stipulate that designers must have the relevant rights to offer designs in their stores on our platform. If you intend to use our assets for commercial purposes, we recommend that you use the following tools and knowledge to help you avoid copyright claims. Use content ID tools, such as Google lens or TinEye. Check trademark databases such as tmdn.org/tmview/#/tmview. Make sure that you have a good understanding of how our license works - if in doubt, please reach out to our support team, we will always be happy to help. Make sure that you understand the terms and conditions of any platform (e.g. Etsy) that you intend to sell on. If you have a doubt about a specific product on Creative Fabrica, we would encourage you to use the report problem button on every product page I hope that I have been able to answer your concerns and reassure you that Creative Fabrica takes the quality of the content on our site very seriously, and that we are always here to help you if you have any doubts or questions."
Thank you for sharing this response. I see that Creative Fabrica (with whom I have just finished a year's subscription) is now saying that their designs, after being altered sufficiently in order to make new creations, CANNOT be sold freely on products.They are not guaranteeing that you are free to use any of the designs on their site. Is this correct? I wonder if Creative Market and similar sellers, when they sell the licensed copy of their material (for commercial use, not the personal or basic copy), is also not guaranteeing that you cannot be sued for using their products when used according to the licence agreement? This reminds me of the music copyright case faced last year by the artist Renn, who bought the 'authorised' copyright-free version of a snippet of music to use in the background of one of his compositions. He then found himself being sued for used of the sample, as the original seller had stolen the sample from the original performers. This 'artist' was selling it without credit (including payment) to the original performers. So the 'copyright free' contract was void, due to it being wrongfully taken in the first place. The moral of the story: never use other's work, even if you think you've paid for it.
@@loverlyme I also seen a similar case last year in music. I think it happens quite a bit when it comes to the music industry. Maybe because there is just so much out there that artists hope they can use someone's beat or sample without the original artist finding out. So a rapper called That Mexican OT had a break out hit in 2023 called "Johnny Dang".. Well the loop used for the song had been downloaded from a pack put out by Kyle Beats. Called the Nightmare pack it included a few loops, beats, samples, etc and was offered royalty and contract free for download on Kyles website. A fan of Kyles contacted Kyle a year after the song came out and had gone viral and let him know. The song had actually started the career of the rapper as he was signed to a record label because of it. So Kyle was a little upset as in that year of the song going viral no one had ever contacted him and he was never credited, which apparently is something commonly done even when the work was acquired for free. Turns out a producer working with That Mexican had been the one to bring him the loop. The producer had never told anyone the clip was taken from another creator, as a matter of fact he had basically led everyone to believe he had created the loop. So luckily That Mexican OT and his team were excellent and didn't bat an eye at giving the creator his props which in turn resulted in the creator of the loop getting a platinum record plaque, his first which was super awesome. I find it really scummy though that this website would even be able to remain in business while ultimately lying to their customers. I won't be buying a membership now like I was planning to. I think I'll check out the new website offering the same type service called Kittl
This is all because so many influencers are sharing how to get rich doing POD. Too many people doing it now. The OG’s are pissed about the competition and coming after everyone. I had a lady come after me for a design I bought. It was a bestseller for her. Well, it was a free design from Microsoft. She said the font was the same which is impossible because I have no idea what font she used. I told her I had zero sales on it. Etsy sided with her and removed my listing. I was shocked she even sent it to Etsy for review because technically the words are Taylor Swift related. Ballsy 🤦🏼♀️ So I got AI to make me a new image and I re-listed with the same words and font. Someone else tried to shake me down for a png I bought on Etsy but I used a different font for some of the letters. She apologized when she realized but I let her have it for threatening me wrongly. I feel like there is an influencer out there who is telling people to do this. Go after infringement if they think they can get away with it.
Definitely! They should make sure they are NOT allowing Copyrighted content to be uploaded to their platform for resale. Etsy is guilty of the same thing. They have tons of copyrighted content on their platform. They need to be held responsible as well for what is uploaded to a platform that is owned by them.
CF is advertising something that is clearly not true and misleading their customers into violating copyrights without their knowledge. Fraud, false advertising and violation of warranty.
The lawsuit would fall flat. CF is a marketplace and the responsibility falls on the sellers. The seller violated their TOS and the buyer, in turn, unknowingly violated copyright. It’s the same on every platform with user generated content. RUclips TOS clearly bans certain material, if a channel uploads prohibited material that isn’t a reflection on RUclips. Companies only have the responsibility to take action once they’ve been notified of an infraction. Failure to take action against the perpetrator is what would make them legally responsible.
A couple years ago, I downloaded some photos from CF -- and within each zip file, there were items with clear watermarks for a variety of different photographers. I contacted CF, and asked if it was okay to use these clearly watermarked and labeled "NOT FOR RESALE" photographs per the terms and conditions of a CF license. They said it was not, apologized and took down that single file from the contributor, but left everything else that person had submitted up and kept that person's account. It was at that point that I realized that you're on your own to try and figure out what's safe and what isn't, which defeats the purpose of a subscription with commercial use terms.
The Terms of Service do not permit a subscriber to Creative Fabrica to use the files anywhere other than "on up to 3 of your devices." What is the purpose of having a subscription to a service where all you can do is look at the artwork on 3 of devices which you own? The license doesn't permit the user to reproduce the works in any physical or electronic form beyond those 3 devices.
If Creative Fabrica fails in vetting the designers as they state in the fine print: "There maybe rare occasions where designs that do not meet our standards slip through the cracks", then THEY should be liable for the copyright infringement of the design in question. I get that the original designer might contact whoever is using the design, but they should be redirected to contact Creative Fabrica, since they where the ones who authorized the design to be posted on their site with commercial use. They shouldn't be off the hook so easily, and drop the ball to the subscriber that used the design.
If THEY can do this, why can't the sellers also do this exact same thing, and put a similar notice on the Shop Banner ("There may be rare occasions where designs that do meet our standards slip through the cracks, and accidentally contains unauthorized IP Content."), then that in itself should afford us the same legal protection against accountability and from lawsuits that it gives to CF ... right?!
I agree. If we pay for the license, then they are the ones that are capitalizing on that and should be held 100% accountable. It's like buying a car at a dealership where they sell stolen cars. The car dealership should be liable for selling stolen cars. It's the exact same thing. Something sounds fishy because if creative fabrica does not take responsibility for what is on their site, then they are a fraudulent company that should be shut down.
//THEY should be liable for the copyright infringement of the design in question// They are liable, they're facilitating the distribution and transactions.
They are doing their due diligence but they are stopping short of giving a guarantee that every asset is free of infringement. Vetting can also mean a lot of different things -- they aren't clear abotu their vetting process so what they do is a mystery While vetting may help protect users and the platform, the TOS still shifts the liability away from the platform for third-party misconduct (artist uploading stolen content). Enforcement of their artist rules also is not a waiver of liability. Here's the thing: buyers have a tiny tiny tiny loophole that they could use but it really depends on local consumer protection laws and whether or not you can prove that the platform overstated their vetting. The challenge is that the TOS attempts to clarify that no platform can realistically police 100% of uploads. The DMCA Safe Harbor frameworks further protects CF as long as they respond promptly to valid take-down requests and doesn't ignore known infringements.
What? I cannot believe what I just saw! If the designs were added to Creative Fabrica without the owners consent, CF should be penalized, not the user! I have a 3 year subscription with CF, and I have been told in writing what the guidelines are via their customer support. This is insane! Thank you for sharing this!
No need to respond, just commenting that I just cancelled and told them exactly why. I had been on the fence about trying them for years, and literally less than a month ago I broke down & got the year subscription. I still cancelled. I saved all my download keys, if that even matters, and even though I have access to them for a year, I will not use them anymore. If nothing else, for they way they treated your students. That says volumes. Thank you for being responsible by giving them adequate time to respond then letting us know. 🌻
I just posted on the same thought. I totally agree. CF is really leaving themselves OPEN to a lot of harm if they don't address this at the point of the UPLOADING artist. And shame on each one of them for following through with these awful lawsuits. Artists should be standing together, not making each other broke - taking away a person's way of life in some cases.
I wish I knew this before I renewed my subscription earlier this month. They were so helpful to me but if they aren't doing that when you need it the most, can't trust them.
Did you get a response from them? I cancelled and they wrote this looong email which basically says I have to check all the designs I download form them on Google reverse images search or tineye, and that I have to keep all the download files and copyright files. I wrote back saying that if I wanted to do the reverse image checks every time i download an image I would be buying images separately and not paying for a yearly subscription. If I buy a service which says the image I want to download has full POD commercial rights, I trust the service to provide legally clean files with such statement. It is the reseller who has to check what they are selling, and not the subscribed buyer.
@@MagdalenaPiechota-w4v I totally agree with you. No one should have to do that even if they are buying the designs individually. THEY should be the one to do all of that research and reverse image checks BEFORE they allow it for sale on their site. They are based in the Netherlands so that is probably why they have a lax attitude about it (and they know they can't be sued by Americans).
This is basically legalized blackmail. I had something similar many years ago with a law firm (if they even were that) stating that we infringed on their client's IP. They wanted something like $5000 at first. I talked to a lawyer who said "tell them you'll send them a check for all the sales" that we had using that IP, which was around $100. The firm came back with - "We'll take $2500 or we're taking you to court!" My lawyer said, send them the offer to pay the $100 again. They came back with: "Pay $1000 or we're suing you!". My lawyer said, send them the check with a note in the memo saying it's paid off". They never cashed the check, but we never heard back from the firm again. They're just fishing to see who will pay up the big bucks for their scare tactics.
@@StarlaMoore Seems like if they were legit then they'd actually be going after CF for distributing the licensed material to begin with, but they're not going to mess with people who can actually afford good lawyers so they go to the little guys instead.
@@sonic_gloom Wow, this is dirty dirty pool. Another way the ones at the bottom of the financial food chain are being fleeced. But we are not without our resources people. Band together and fight this crap. This is wrong. CF should be right in there doing more to protect people too.
@@StarlaMoorein that case we need an action lawsuit for us against creative fabrics and those that actually were supposedly infringed on and then we can go after the lawyers that actually were complicit. If you do one I’ll join the fight😭
@@sonic_gloom In the fucked-up US legal system, it's very common for the 'winning' or 'blameless' side to still bear their legal expenses. Companies know this and weaponize the threat of costs for blackmail. It's barbaric.
Well that settles it. Looks like I’ll be cancelling my subscription indefinitely. I have a small business that runs off the need to have commercially licensed products. It’s why I signed up with them in the first place. Now I’ve wasted money on a 2 year subscription, supporting a business whose morals, (and lack of care and urgency regarding this matter) is absolutely appalling. Thank you for bringing this to light. I truly appreciate it and only wish more people knew about this.
Wow I am a lawyer and frankly this is stunning. While I don’t do trademark or copyright cases as a seller I would normally feel secure if someone was selling me a commercial license even with the limitations imposed by the warranty language
You are never secure when there are evil lawyers out there who practice extortion and blackmail, and force you to either pay the blackmail demands or pay the costs of having to go to court to prove that you used the license properly.
Completely agree. I believe they do remove these sellers when they find them... BUT I feel a bit of accountability for their customers who were sued is also due.
@@StarlaMoore -- I disagree about the part of their customers holding some responsibility. That would be like going to Walmart and buying a TV which they had on the shelf, but it just happened to be stolen. Would you feel the least bit responsible or accountable for having bought a stolen TV from Walmart? It's not like you bought it off a shady character in some dark alley out of the back of his van. There is a such thing as doing business in good faith.
@@dennisborg7751 What Starla is saying is that CF should have accountability on behalf of their customers, not that the customers should be held accountable! I think you misread that.
Any sellers who have gone through this with Creative Fabrica should file a claim with FTC. They should face a class action. This means their service is basically a scam. What are people paying them for?
@@1StopToyShop -- I understand your point. But for the other side of that coin ... Let me ask you, do you do your due diligence and make sure that everything you buy from Walmart was obtained legally by Walmart? What if the TV you bought from them had actually been stolen? Honestly, this is no different.
@@dennisborg7751 um yes because walmart is a huge corporation and they have legit procurement process / requirements. but if i was to buy something from walmart to then sell on amazon im aware amazon likely wont count the walmart receipt as authentic if there's ever an issue with a customer complaint. you would need to purchase directly from the source/ authorized distributor with receipts to be safe. we are sellers - we are responsible for everything.
Walmart would be liable, not the buyer. Walmart would not leave their customer to be legally responsible. That's the difference. We don't have to do our due diligence with Walmart. That would be handled as white collar corporate crime.
Hey friends! I'm doing my best to keep up with questions but obviously there are a LOT of comments. Many of the comments I'm seeing are repeats so please consider scrolling the comments section if you have a question I haven't responded to yet. It's very likely someone else may have already asked. I appreciate you all.
Creative Fabrica site is not safe to use. The same thing can happen with ANY of their assets, the same lawyer has handled a few claims… which is ominous to say the least.
What about Canva, isnt that same thing. Recently I watched some girl on youtube filming issuing takedowns on Etsy. She upload her designes on canva and than issuing takedowns on etsy who ever uses her designe. At one point she showed her list of takedowns. It was huuuge. Was the layer involved I do not know. She never mentioned any layer. She does not film anymore because she got so many negative comments, but in comment she said she can do that. Maybe she can, as people are lazy. Thay do not alter designe or do not combine to make something new.
The "key word" in your post is INFORMED. When you trust something at face value without reading the fine print, which no one has the time to read a ton of that gobal-de-gook, nor the legal knowledge to really understand it - you really don't realize how vulnerable you really are until the shite hits the fan for some unsuspecting legal victim. Thank goodness for videos like this.
Thank you for bringing attention to this. I almost got sued last month due to something that I got from Creative Fabrica, edited, and posted in my shop. Thank goodness the woman contacted me and we resolved it via email, it could have been sooooo much worse. This is so horrible. Exactly what you said, if we aren't paying for the rights to use these things, like they advertise we are, then wtf are we paying for?!
did your download say full POD usage allowed? I am trying to figure out if it says that, then you SHOULD be allowed to use it. They don't all say that, so I am just wondering if that is how they get around this. It says commercial use but not full POD. I googled and it says if it says Full POD usage, you don't have to change anything. This is crazy!!!
@@AndreaPeligri On Creative Fabrica it said full commercial use and Full POD but come to find out, the template was stolen from a creator on Canva. So even though I legally obtained it from Creative Fabrica with the rights to adapt it and sell it as my own, it didn't matter because it was stolen content. In my mind, nothing from Creative Fabrica can be trusted at this point or other places like it unless you're getting it directly from the designer on their website. The person I got the particular contested design from on Creative Fabrica even has the little green checkmark next to their name which is supposed to mean that CF has vetted them somewhat but nope. Now I'm learning how to create my own graphics which is really time consuming as I'm a writer not a graphic designer. I plan on moving away from graphics and more so on items that don't require graphics and just focusing back on blogging.
Wow! Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. Creative Fabrica should be ashamed. Clearly, they expect this to happen to their users or their policy would not be written the way it is. I am so glad I haven't listed any items for sale yet with any of the graphics I had downloaded from their site.
I've covered this topic separately many many times on my channel. Check my copyright playlist for the explanation. The short answer is, only an IP owner can file an infringement report. Disney often waits until a seller has made a substantial amount of money from their IP before taking action because it builds a more impactful case.
I agree. People who have a business like Etsy should be held responsible for what is being sold on their site. If illegal things are being sold.. they should be sued and made to clean up their mess and not be able to continue selling illegal items with NO kind of penalty at all for them.
@@StarlaMooreSo what you're saying is that in these cases Disney is not interested in protecting their IP, they're more interested in making a profit from small sellers?
@@omnombrains No, they are protecting their IP by having a strong case against the violator. It's the same as Wal-Mart waiting until you've stolen an amout equal to a felony before they report you to the police.
@@hb4196 most of us users aren't rolling in the dough as the lawyers are, so yes. Band together. Anyone who has used the site and has sold anything with these designs/downloads should even think about joining because they are at potential risk too!!
Depending on the case, some lawyers will take class action lawsuits and they don't get paid unless they win the case and recover $$ - so if they feel they can win the case, they pay all the court filing fees, depositions, record requests etc upfront and then if they win the case they get their expenses back, then their % of whatever was agreed on by the petitioners who joined the suit. So may not be anything out of pocket. I would however recommend you go to a large firm first to see if they will take the case, a lawyer that just runs his own office, maybe has 1 other lawyer working with him, they often don't have the cash to fork out until the lawsuit settles or funds to cover the discovery and trial fees. But the large firms do.
@@teresak.hernandez6741 Please look for my comments above. The EU would GLADLY pay for and take on this class-action to avoid international scandals in the eyes of the CURRENT American Administration that is looking to find a poster child for FRAUD, like CF.
Agreed it is a business decision to make money twice, once in the subscription and a second time for the commercial use they need to contact state consumer protection all of you do. in the communication include screenshots of the promise for commercial license and the sneaking small print that essentially says "just kidding no you do not have a commercial license".
What your ignorance fails to comprehend; the lawsuits were not from Creative Fabrica themselves. The lawsuit (and lawyers) were from a 3rd Party selling the assets bought on the Creative Fabrica (CF) website. As CF themselves do not "make" the assets, they only offer a platform for others to sell assets.
@ thank you for calling me ignorant. My point was it makes it seem like Creative Fabrica partners with lawyers to get a money grab by not addressing the issue of better vetting designer uploads. Creative Fabrica could take a better stance of supporting the designers getting sued instead of basically saying “too bad for you”.
@@UberSlackr Where your ignorance fails, is I bet that sellers in New Zealand aren't the people getting letters of intent to sue on this. I would bet it is sellers living in larger cities in the USA where the lawyer can blanket small claims courts with enough BS harassment suits to convince CF to be afraid. In this way, they get CF to add validity to the thousands of individual notices of intent by forcing CF to share their corporate database of customers so the lawyer has a ready-made list of targets. I could buy $500 worth of envelopes, printer paper, forms software, merge software, and a stamp printing machine to do this today for 30,000 customers in San Diego. Essentially, I know this because I did this same workflow conducting legitimate work over 25 years ago for real estate companies throughout San Diego. While your statement rings true, reasonable people that have seen this before smell FRAUD. CF better hope "Amsterdam, The Netherlands" doesn't have a status of Force agreement with the United States because if they have ANY legal enforcement mechanism enforcing EU directives on The Netherlands (which I'm sure there are) CF is going to be in a world of hurt when they piss off the wrong people that understand how to navigate that morass within the U.S. State Department -- as the new United States Administration is looking for timely economic examples to throw in the face of the EU right now, I believe. I honestly hope you are a representative from CF so that someone at their offices will realize that being on the other side of the world from the people their lawyer tells them they can never be touched by doesn't make them immune to prosecution once they've poked the wrong bear.
Thank you for sharing this. I found stolen mockups on CF a couple times that I recognized from Etsy. I notified the Etsy sellers and confirmed they were stolen and they got them removed but it proved to me that CF doesn't do any vetting of what gets sold on there!
I see a lot of comments talking about a class action against CF, but Im.more curious about this attorney who has a pattern of these cases. It's almost like a fishing game on behalf of the attorney and alleged copyright owners to see how much money you can squeeze out of small businesses. I'd be really interested to learn more of the details surrounding these cases and am not completely ready to put all the blame on CF. Sounds like a shady lawyer to me.
Yes, this is a common extortion scam perpetrated by shady lawyers and "clients." (sometimes the named "client" doesn't even know anything about it!) I wish this video had "named and shamed" the scam lawyer so we can be aware of their scam!
Creative Fabrica should definitely be accountable, but the person who stole and uploaded the art in the first place should be the one who pays. The Etsy sellers should point it back to CF because they legally used the license. But the person who uploaded the art was the one who broke all the laws and CF's rules about uploading stolen stuff in the first place. CF should go after THEM and make them pay. In this case, someone stole artwork, uploaded it to CF, made a bunch of money, and paid ZERO consequences. CF also made money off stolen designs and paid no consequences. The Etsy sellers, who legally made the money due to the license they had, should be the last ones to pay!
I think the problem is that the "licence" CF issues is not legal in some cases, and therefore the person who has bought the licence is using it illegally too, though they don't know it. Looks like CF is definitely scamming.
I most definitely agree that Creative Fabrica should go after the sellers of copyrighted materials. I assume Creative Fabrica removed these items but it would be helpful if sellers could be alerted immediately regarding which items are targeted for copyright infringement.
Exactly. CF are responsible for this as the purchaser has bought the asset in good faith. CF need to be suing the dishonest uploader of copyright material and they need to have regular updates on their sites as to which assets have been removed due to copyright so that users of the site can be sure to stay within the law. If this doesn't happen, then we simply cannot use the site.
They already don't allow obvious ones - I tried to sell a Father's Day super hero set a few years ago and they deleted the listing because it could maybe have been infringing. But I don't know how they can verify each individual design if some unknown person designed it.
@@NZTiberius2023 I said above I don't think some designers understand how CF works or Canva. CF offers commercial and POD rights. In other words, you can't claim copyright infringement if you submit a graphic from CF and someone sells it elsewhere.
Scary. Those lawsuits were misdirected, should have been at CF for allowing someone to upload and sell work that is not theirs. I have bought and downloaded fonts, but I never use their artworks/graphics. I'm an illustrator myself so I like to make my own things, but I feel very bad for those sued crafters. Informative video, thank you.
I do use CF myself cause illustration is not my strength. I love designing but I can't paint to save my life. LOL But with that being said, I use the graphics and make my own designs with them. But as Starla mentioned in that video, so did those other sellers that got sued. They actually made their own designs with the graphics, but it still didn't protect them. But they need to go straight to the source, which is CF.
Very sad to hear. Just as CF has infringement issues, so does Etsy but yet Etsy isn't sued the seller is, and people keep selling on the site. Thanks for providing awareness of possible situations...greatly appreciated :)
No need to respond, just came here to say I've used CF many times (personal use CF). After watching this and their shady dealings, I won't be using them anymore. Thank you for informing us of what kind of snakes they are.
@laurachevrette8060 Absolutely. As a designer on CF I stand behind every one of my designs 100%. It is definitely the fault of a 'designer' posting someone else's designs.
@@laurachevrette8060 seems to me that a sleazy lawyer saw an opportunity. CF is a marketplace like Etsy. If this happened on Etsy, would they cover lawsuits brought against buyers?
thanks for sharing this, Starla! I use them all the time. I do add to the designs, but this still scares me! Wow, not sure what I'm going to do. I certainly don't want to take any chance of getting sued. Frustrating because I follow all the rules of copyright, etc, but had no idea I might have a problem using Creative Fabrica designs. Huge eye opener, thank you!
@@StarlaMoore -- Exactly what CF should be doing in the first place (reverse image search all newly submitted assets), to make sure they are not accepting stolen content. They need to vet their sources.
I'm with you on that. I love using them for my designs. But they have no right to charge us any money if they aren't doing their job by vetting these artists. Other than that, why not just find anything on the internet to use in your designs if it's not any less safe than CF is. That's what bothers me. I pay for a service and I expect to get that service. Other than that, what the hell am I paying them for?
I can see the kind of holes in systems that we trust that we all need to be aware of. Someone taking advantage of a system that we never anticipated. Your input is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for sharing!
That's exactly what this is. The vendor who stole the art is taking advantage of CF. And the lawyer who specifically targets those who use the CF art clearly knows that these sellers are doing so unknowingly.
@@StarlaMoore -- I suspect that you are correct ... Just like insurance scammers who pull in front of you and slam on the brakes, or put it in reverse and back into you, just so they can sue you for physical damage and medical expenses.
Honestly, this sounds like the law firm is trolling for designers, spinning them a yarn about how their assets are being used incorrectly, and then shaking down creators for what is essentially a bribe to make it go away.
I suspect that this lawyer makes bank on cases like this. The summons was sent to 90+ sellers in one massive sweep. Obviously the original artist has every right to sue, BUT CF needs to take a bit of accountability as a service that sells commercial licensing.
Do you know if CF let everyone else know that downloaded the bad files that there was an issue? Will others continue to get sued because they are unaware that the file they downloaded ages ago is fraudulent?
This is absolutely the case! Until someone fights them in court, they will continue to do it. Actually, it is likely you wouldn't even need to go all the way to court, just resist their blackmail demands for settlement. They know they don't have an actual case, so they would have to be completely stupid not to drop it before it went to court!
Thank you for letting us creatives know about this. I am a designer and I have a CF subscription. I use them only for fonts, but this makes me sick. I feel so bad for the sellers who got sued. I'm cancelling my CF for sure.
If a company offers a service or good with absolutely no guarantees of quality, lawfulness, and respect, then that company DESERVES TO FAIL. The fine print clearly states that they are unethical, untrustworthy, and as respectful of artists and creators as they are of the law.
Wow. Thank you so much for opening my eyes to their terms of service! 😮. CF has always seemed too good to be true, and it looks like it is. You are the best, Starla. Thank you so much for your unbelievably hard work on behalf of sellers!!! Don’t know how you do it. ❤❤❤
Thank you so much! This is horrendously shocking to hear. I am a seller there and a user of assets as well. I will definitely look into this and make some changes immediately. I sincerely appreciate your clarity and honesty to help little sellers like myself. It is sincerely appreciated. ❤❤❤
Thanks for sharing this - hard to believe that you went through all this - especially seller #2 that was stuck with thousand dollar penalties for $50 of sales. I wish you success standing up to these guys.
This needs to be put into reviews for CF to warn people! I just renewed my subscription and am pooping myself now! I think if we bombard them with reviews they will do something about it?
If you want your money back, you should tell them you want your subscription cancelled and refunded in full. And tell them it's because you can't trust their service and that you won't support them until they do more to ensure against copyright violation, for the good of your business. I did a similar thing when the Adobe AI debacle happened, and they refunded me every penny (admittedly, after talking in circles for over 20 minutes... DON'T LET THEM WIN)
@@Bel-ro Thank you for this. I have used your words as a guideline to send them an email to request a full refund which was purchased for me as a gift in November. Hopefully, I get it. I refuse to use Creative Fabrica now as the reassurance they advertise is BS. I'm glad that I found this out before I started my business.
There has been a lot of content recently covering various incidences of penalising sellers in various ways. I've been researching the possibility of opening an account but this is the final straw. Thank you for your honesty and clarity. I sincerely hope there's no backlash for you. 😊
This is so frustrating as a CF designer who has spent hours upon hours of time carefully crafting a trustworthy and reliable store to help build my brand. As on Etsy, its so frustrating when other people game the system. I'm so sorry for your students Starla. This is a hard industry and that kind of financial loss can torpedo a small business.
I appreciate the comments, but what would be more helpful is designers not doing business with CF or companies like CF, which are supporting obvious FRAUD.
Thank you for posting this video and for the great advice on reverse image searches. These cases remind me of this local lawyer who goes after small business restaurant owners for ADA compliance issues. Several restaurants have gone out of business because of these lawsuits - restaurants that have been around for decades - because they can't afford the lawyer fees to fight them. It's just a shakedown of small businesses, and it's infuriating. There's no deceitful intent here by your students, and it should be on CF to make sure the assets they're making available are legit. 😣
I suspect that this lawyer makes bank on cases like this. The summons was sent to 90+ sellers in one massive sweep. Obviously the original artist has every right to sue, BUT CF needs to take a bit of accountability as a service that sells commercial licensing.
@@StarlaMoore -- If the original artist is uploading these onto CF for the sole purpose of suing those who use their artwork, then they have ZERO RIGHT to sue anyone, no more than someone who brake-checks someone or hits another car by driving in reverse has any right to sue for physical damages and for medical expenses. It would be good to know, critically important actually, whether the identity of the original artist doing the suing and that of the one uploading the artwork to CF are in fact the same person or not.
I have downloaded creative fabrica in the past but only used their fonts. This is alarming and I'm so glad you chose to speak out on this. I will not use them again. The risk is not worth it.
I would hope that the sellers who basically got scammed would go back to the products they were sued over and leave a comment not to purchase due to copywrite infringement and CF should remove those items and if enough of the shop owner's items are not legit, then close their shop.
I just signed up for CF this week. After purchasing, I started going through designs and realized that the majority of them are bad AI designs that I could easily make myself much better. I thought I was saving time with CF, but after this, it sounds like I may not be saving anything at all. Thanks for the heads up.
DEFINITELY CANCELLING CF! ABSOLUTELY ABSURD AND SCUMMY! now that I look at CF as a whole...it's totally way to good to be true! Under $5 a month for a million assets!??? Thanks for the update and all of your great content!!
What a shakedown ! I have been paying for the full POD rather than relying on the subscription just for this purpose. I’m so thankful you made this video.
If someone paid the extra money to buy the full POD license, are those people getting sued, too? It states you could use the image commercially without modifying the design. Furthermore, how would you check if the image was uploaded by the original designer and not by someone illegally?
Starla, you are such a wealth of information. Thank you for all you do to help and support us sellers. You are so awesome. I haven't used CF, and after this, I will not use them. Thank you!
This got me too. I used some elements or ideas from CF and I was reported for copywrite infringement. I even changed some items slightly. My shop was shut down permanently. No matter how much I tried to prove to them, I thought I had a license to use the items. AND the same items are still be sold on Etsy!
Ohh this is so bad!, so even if you change the original art and you add your own touch, they still can sue you? this is no good at all, I also use elements from CF and now considering to cancel my subscription :(
@@itsmetlc this exact thing happened to my amazon kdp account. I made log books, coloring books, etc using cf files and images but I also added to them or changed them in some way so it wasn’t just cut and paste. When amazon closed my account I told them I had purchased the rights to use the templates but they didn’t even respond. Now I’m banned forever.
Thank you for sharing this Starla. This practice seems very predatory to me and I certainly would have ended up in a lengthy court battle. It’s very disappointing and I definitely will not be doing any business with CF
I suspect that this lawyer makes bank on cases like this. The summons was sent to 90+ sellers in one massive sweep. Obviously the original artist has every right to sue, BUT CF needs to take a bit of accountability as a service that sells commercial licensing.
@@StarlaMoore Why does the original artist have the right to sue, when they post their graphics for sale under a commercial license? they can't just randomly revoke that license!
Does Canva have fine print similar to CF that we might have missed? Thank you so much, Starla. ❤️ I love how you confidently and openly speak your mind, show your shop and the steps you took to make it work. That's very rare.
@@cherriebrown8677 The way I read, it says graphics can be used commercially but you cannot sell as is . They have to be part of a new design. You also cannot sell the ready made templates. Maybe some Canva or CF people aren't understanding how CF works. If I take a graphic on CF and use it for commercial use as issued with some alterations, you cannot sue me.
Canva states you can not take a single image/element and sell that image however by adding a second element to the design it then becomes a new design that is covered and can be used freely. Ive used them for over a year now
@@iammeniece. Creative Fabrica provides a clear illustration on their site of the proper way to use the images we download, and I’ve always assumed Canva follows a similar policy. I wonder if those who were sued were selling just a single design. It’s unsettling that a creator can sue a seller even when the image is used correctly, and Creative Fabrica won’t defend the seller in such cases. Lately, I’ve been disappointed with Creative Fabrica because there’s so much AI-generated content now, and it feels like there’s far less hands on genuine artistry compared to before.
6:17 they can't do anything about problems you experience with a third party; however, if the third party is representing them then they're engaging in contract fraud - it's extortion. 8:06 - additionally, that whole "we're not responsible for infringement" non-infringement bit? If that company is distributing material they do not own or have license to distribute in the manner they're advertising, i.e. for commercial use, then they're definitely liable for that because they're the ones aiding and abetting copyright infringement by whomever it is that posted the content which is being claimed. And their TOS means nothing in context of that failing on their part. Also, report the lawyer and their law firm - engaging in extrajudicial action as described is coercion on top of the extortion, which is grounds for their debarment.
Step 1: Verify ownership from the person suing you. If they cannot prove they are the original designer and owner of a trademark or copyright then you are free and clear. Step 2: Respond with licensed use and suggest they go after the place you got the licensed image from instead of you the seller who thought they were doing everything legally. Step 3: Counter sue for damages if your shop was closed due to this and for loss of income and for emotional distress and anything else you can add to it. Inflate your numbers above theirs and suggest a settlement of both parties dropping the case. Lawyers, especially copyright lawyers, are a special breed of scumbag. Don't let them push you around or scare you. They just want you to pay them some made up number because frankly, they're assholes.
You have to have hundreds of thousands of dollars to successfully fight a copyright lawsuit and file a countersuit. It would be awesome if people could make shady lawyers and clients pay, but it's not economically feasible for most people. Just look at how many people prenda and other shady copyright lawyers have sued. Sometimes the threat of lawsuits are just bogus, but in many cases they really will Sue and keep suing, and use motion practice to make the lawsuit more expensive to defend. Using boilerplate accusations that they don't actually have to customize, making their legal offense much cheaper than the legal defense.
@@gerardhughes Somehow, I would bet that sellers in New Zealand aren't the people getting letters of intent to sue on this. I would bet it is sellers living in larger cities in the USA where the lawyer can blanket small claims courts with enough BS harassment suits to convince CF to be afraid. In this way, they get CF to add validity to the thousands of individual notices of intent by forcing CF to share their corporate database of customers so the lawyer has a ready-made list of targets. I could buy $500 worth of envelopes, printer paper, forms software, merge software, and a stamp printing machine to do this today for 30,000 customers in San Diego. Essentially, I know this because I did this same workflow conducting legitimate work over 25 years ago for real estate companies throughout San Diego. CF better hope "Amsterdam, The Netherlands" doesn't have a status of Force agreement with the United States because if they have ANY legal enforcement mechanism enforcing EU directives on The Netherlands (which I'm sure there are) CF is going to be in a world of hurt when they piss off the wrong people that understand how to navigate that morass within the U.S. State Department -- as the new United States Administration is looking for timely economic examples to throw in the face of the EU right now, I believe.
I create designs for creative Fabrica. My designs are made that allow whoever buys it to add their own designs. I also make sure nothing is copyrighted. I'm a responsible designer. Also when you first sell they actually look at your design and guide you. After 2 weeks or so, they trust you know what you're doing and let you upload right away. They do still look through things because I did a hawk tua design, and they refused it, explaining it wants to be a family-friendly site. So these designs, these people go sued for just got passed them. It's a sad case, and I wish they had made the wrong right. Hopefully, they will go back to reviewing each and everydesign not for two weeks but the whole time. This may make the designer prepare 3 months ahead because that will be a very long process. But o well that is their problem.
I appreciate the comments, but what would be more helpful is designers not doing business with CF or companies like CF, which are supporting obvious FRAUD.
Wow this is incredibly sad to hear. Ive been a longtime user of CF but after hearing this, it may be time to re-think things. Thanks for sharing. I will be passing this along to my community so that they are in the know.
@vanillas2570I would consider hiring someone to create artwork for you and make sure that you are granted a commercial license to use the work. Hope this helps!
I don't know how Creative Fabrica could prevent this without individually checking each design for copyright infringement. I agree with the other comments - the lawsuit should have been directed to the thief that sold the images.
Totally agree. It's not that they should have prevented it. Obviously that would be very hard. I'm more concerned about their lack of help for the sellers who thought they were protected under CF's licensing.
@@StarlaMoore It is irrelevant if it is difficult for CF to prevent. That should be a basic component of the business. If they can not do it then they should not be in business. If I own a pawn shop it is my basic responsibility that I am not reselling stolen material. If I don't I will be put out of business. What they are doing is basic fraud. They are selling a POD do anything license to a product they do not have permission to. They are going after the little guy because it it easier then going after CF.
@@aimaturebeauty CF is a "safe haven." The sellers that list the assets are claiming that they own the copyrights to the assets they are listing, and they are agreeing that buyers can use those assets as specified in the license. There are two possibilities that were not addressed in this video. One is that the seller listing the assets on CF didn't hold the copyright, and then the lawyer sued on behalf of the actual copyright holder. The other possibility, which is a lot more likely, is that the seller does hold the copyright, but purposely listed the assets in order to later claim copyright infringement against the buyers who bought the assets. This seems a lot more likely, as it is a well-known blackmail scheme from this and similar lawyers. They make their money from the people who settle out of court, and never have to actually defend their blackmail attempt in court.
Thank you SO much for creating this video!! As a new potential store owner and seller I really appreciate you explaining in details as info I've found from other sources weren't as clear/thorough. I will be as vigilant as possible when designing now! Sorry to hear of other stores getting this notice and hope the issue is resolved soon!
Thank you very much for this video! I assumed that the word "license" actually meant something on Creative Fabrica! The big question now is, What is a RELIABLE alternative with a meaningful license?
Etsy suffers from this same problem. There are so much copyrighted and trade marked resources uploaded there by sellers its equally as unreal and they'd leave their end users high and dry as well in the face of lawsuits. The only way anyones ever gonna be protected from copyright/trademark issues is to 100% create the designs themselves.
@@HatFoundry Just this week I found a etsy shop that sells any paper craft items from Tim Holtz to Stamperia stuff! Over 70 k items sold, how is this even allowed😱
That's, frankly, normal. Photobanks have had the very same problem for a long time now. This happens because many people want to get money for doing nothing. So they steal designs and photos to resell them. It's a very very old problem graphic designers as same as photobanks are dealing with.
Thank you so much Starla! The timing of this video being posted was implacable, as I was just considering purchasing a membership with CF earlier today. I saw your video pop up and immediately changed my mind. Thanks again for putting us first!
Thank you for covering this topic. They mislead people on their ads and really the tool doesn't do half of what it claims. I'll be cancelling my subscription, not taking any risks. I checked online and saw so many influencers promoting it for exactly what you've explained is not allowed.
i wonder if this is a loophole for lawyers and shady people to set up a way to put their work on creative fabrica and then sue people who used it later on.
Yes, that is exactly what they do, and will keep on doing it until someone actually goes to court and proves that they had a license and used it properly.
I hope thousands leave immediately and have them go bust. Simply to set an example for all those other sharks out there. Thank you for recording this video as I'm about to start a POD business.
Hi Starla, we all cannot thank you enough for sharing this. I am completely shocked, since I have been working very hard to get my shop off the ground, using a lot of CFs graphics in good faith and now have to learn that this poses a severe risk. I am just one day apart from renewing my CF subscription (which I probably won't after this news.)
It seems like this is a way that Artists could provide their work to Creative Fabrica and then turn around and scan for their images on-line and sue whoever might be using their artwork.
@@StarlaMoore yeah, you can search for "Copyright Troll" and find this isn't new. It's sad that this is a common and acceptable practice. It's also sad the CF wouldn't have support to help defend their clients from rogue sellers.
This is actually under creative fabrica responsibility yet they go after the ppl who uses their site. Creative fabrica should be sued for this. The damage they cause and this sounds more like a blackmailing lawsuit againsting her. This is mess up. Hopefully there will be lawsuit filed against creative fabrica they shouldn't be in business since they are going after sellers who are paying for to use their site and their designs. I had downloaded their stuff 2 years back but never really used them. Thank god I didn't. Thank you starla ❤
Good on you for refusing to promote them, trying to fix the problem for other sellers and letting us all know. Dumping what I have received from them. Cheers :)
I'm so glad I watched this before signing up with them. It pays to research companies and the customer experiences before investing time and money. Thank you..
Yikes!!!!! That’s so scary. I have a few but not a lot of designs I use for my store. Will probably have to take them down or let them expire on my store to be on the safe side. I wish there was a way to contact the designer directly to make sure it’s okay to use but the contact on CF is usually the vendor who could have stolen the designs. Definitely making me rethink my options.
@@JjB19886 AI Overview This might help: To perform a reverse image search and find the original source of an image, go to Google Images, click the camera icon in the search bar, then either upload the image from your computer or paste the image URL to search for visually similar images across the web, which can lead you to the original source of the picture; this is often called a "reverse image search" on
It is likely the original designer that is suing knowing the CF policies mentioned, quick and easy way for them to get a payout, Its disgusting no matter who it is, and the lawyer in question should be just as ashamed as CF should be.
This is why I design all of my own stuff. I also don't do anything based on anything copyrighted. I don't ever want to get involved in any messes like this.
The creator of the “ not today “ lazy cat is suing Etsy owners over the use of her cat design. The problem is that she is also uploading the design to public domain stock photo sites where artists get assets. Then her lawyers find and ban the store. You only get your store back and charges dropped if you pay thousands of dollars and they take you to court if you don’t. It’s brilliant! Moral of the story is make all your assets.
This creator needs to be counter-sued! When she put sup her designs on the stock photo sites, she is agreeing to the license terms of those sites, and she is violating those terms by reneging on her deal. People need to start "naming and shaming" these losers until their extortion scams fail!
What a mess!! Thanks for sharing this info. They are specifically going after Etsy sellers because a lot of Etsy sellers don’t use other platforms and it hurts them. Imagine they are doing this to 10 sellers a month 🤨. This scam adds up fast.
This is disgusting and predatory! Thank you Starla for bringing this to our attention. I appreciate your hard work to keep us informed. I have a subscription with Design Bundles. Have you or anyone in your community ever had issues with Design Bundles?
It is only a matter of time until the predatory lawyers target Design Bundles' customers as well. This has nothing to do with CF, and is a well-known scam by these beasts.
Thank you so much for making this video. I feel so bad for those that were basically duped by CF and had to pay hard earned money for something they legitimately thought was legal. What a nightmare. There is another issue at play here. The people who have lawyers going after these small individual Etsy sellers. It appears predatory. They obviously know that the CF subscribers were scammed and yet they go after them anyway...heartless. I've cancelled my subscription to CF and will be deleting all downloads. Thank You!!
I've heard of some cases where people will steal your design, put them on Temu or Shein, and then file a complaint with Etsy against you, the original artist, and Etsy will take your shop down.
I use CF as inspiration, to use as guides and then all ”small” designs like glitter paper, fonts etc as part of my hand drawn illustrations. I always make something totally new with it.
No Question, just a bloody big thank you for being you!! My god, you have so much integrity, knowledge, and most of all YOU CARE, and it's no wonder you are so successful in your work for us, erank and yourself and Marcs RUclips channel! Just brilliant people you both are, and so refreshing in this ever changing weird world we live in. Thank you 🤗
This almost sounds like an extortion scheme. Same lawyer, same client? Quick negotiated cash settlement with only threats of a lawsuit, but no actual suit. I'm wondering if it was verified whether the downloaded artwork was actually copyright protected? Plus, a litigant can always add (joinder) another party to the lawsuit. Even though Creative Fabrica is incorporated in Amsterdam, they're still accountable to the laws of the countires in which they do business. They may try to indemnify themselves from liability for a Seller's damages as a consequence of Etsy's policies, but they are responsible for the content being placed on their website and marketed as licenseable. I hope someone filed a complaint with the FTC, at a minimum. If this was distributed among FB as much as their ads, I'd bet you $650 that they'd do something about it.
Wow. Such bullies. Thank you for exposing this. I'm glad I paint all my own stuff but still... large companies targeting the small guy. Thanks for being their voice. I really hope you get 1 million views on this vid... P.s. Doesn't a legal document if someone wants to sue you have to be served in person ? However if you respond to their email you are entering into the contract with them ?
1. Has Creative Fabrica removed the illegal items from their site or is it possible more of us have downloaded or will download these same assets and then be similarly sued for selling them? 2. Also, has the CF seller who received commission/payment for it being sold thru CF to your Etsy seller also been sued for selling it and claiming it as their design, or terminated by CF or even notified that their CF assets they are selling through CF are being copyright claimed causing this CF seller's customers to be sued over this. Can you reveal the items/assets in question in case we are at risk for selling it in our shops, so we can remove it before we get sued??? Thank you in advance Starla!
I heard of CF but never used them. After this video I'll definitely not use their services. So sorry for the hard working people who had to endure this. Thanks a lot for sharing!👍🏾
I doubt it since that would take a lot of investigation, and I don't even know how someone could do that in the first place... I suppose there's probably a way like a service or website to check for the copyright of an asset by analyzing the metadata of each asset, but it would probably require a lot of time and money to check for each asset. You could also contact the seller of an asset you're interested in and ask them if their asset was previously copyrighted or done by another person. Whatever the answer is, take screenshots of the conversation in case you need it in a court later on. Alternatively, you could save yourself the stress by designing the assets yourself (might take time to learn, and money if you take a paid course as well), or by commissioning an artist to make designs specifically for you.
@@Mamika_AFK I'm glad Starla posted this. I'm already checking in with sellers and cross referencing with Etsy listings for things I've used in my listings. I do know how to make my own art, that's what I would normally do anyway but it is time consuming. CF should have more responsibility if this is their business model. They should invest in whatever tech to help protect consumers otherwise it's false advertising. Not acceptable.
Prior to my knowledge of this, through this video, I was Really counting on Creative Fabrica files to help me start a new craft business. It's Really sad & disturbing that a membership contract seems Meaningless for helping small businesses. It's Depressingly irritating how even more Greedy people have become. People should be paid for their work but sometimes people manipulate the system at their own convenience 👺🤨
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Here is the reply I got when I asked Creative Fabrica about this. They are putting it in our hands to make sure we won't get sued. I'm not sure how Google lens will help me figure out who the original creator is, so I'm going to go on the assumption that they're all stolen, use them for personal use only, and not renew my membership. Sigh. Probably for the best to avoid AI designs anyway.
"I understand that it must be very worrying to hear about the accounts of creators finding themselves in trouble. Firstly, I would like to assure you that these situations are extremely rare but nevertheless we take this matter extremely seriously.
I’d also like to provide some initial context regarding our terms and conditions. Many of the sellers on Creative Fabrica are third parties, who are required to operate within our terms and conditions, including our content policies that stipulate that designers must have the relevant rights to offer designs in their stores on our platform.
If you intend to use our assets for commercial purposes, we recommend that you use the following tools and knowledge to help you avoid copyright claims.
Use content ID tools, such as Google lens or TinEye.
Check trademark databases such as tmdn.org/tmview/#/tmview.
Make sure that you have a good understanding of how our license works - if in doubt, please reach out to our support team, we will always be happy to help.
Make sure that you understand the terms and conditions of any platform (e.g. Etsy) that you intend to sell on.
If you have a doubt about a specific product on Creative Fabrica, we would encourage you to use the report problem button on every product page
I hope that I have been able to answer your concerns and reassure you that Creative Fabrica takes the quality of the content on our site very seriously, and that we are always here to help you if you have any doubts or questions."
I've decided to pin this comment so that others can read CF's response.
Thank you for sharing this response. I see that Creative Fabrica (with whom I have just finished a year's subscription) is now saying that their designs, after being altered sufficiently in order to make new creations, CANNOT be sold freely on products.They are not guaranteeing that you are free to use any of the designs on their site. Is this correct? I wonder if Creative Market and similar sellers, when they sell the licensed copy of their material (for commercial use, not the personal or basic copy), is also not guaranteeing that you cannot be sued for using their products when used according to the licence agreement?
This reminds me of the music copyright case faced last year by the artist Renn, who bought the 'authorised' copyright-free version of a snippet of music to use in the background of one of his compositions. He then found himself being sued for used of the sample, as the original seller had stolen the sample from the original performers. This 'artist' was selling it without credit (including payment) to the original performers. So the 'copyright free' contract was void, due to it being wrongfully taken in the first place.
The moral of the story: never use other's work, even if you think you've paid for it.
@@loverlyme I also seen a similar case last year in music. I think it happens quite a bit when it comes to the music industry. Maybe because there is just so much out there that artists hope they can use someone's beat or sample without the original artist finding out.
So a rapper called That Mexican OT had a break out hit in 2023 called "Johnny Dang".. Well the loop used for the song had been downloaded from a pack put out by Kyle Beats. Called the Nightmare pack it included a few loops, beats, samples, etc and was offered royalty and contract free for download on Kyles website. A fan of Kyles contacted Kyle a year after the song came out and had gone viral and let him know. The song had actually started the career of the rapper as he was signed to a record label because of it. So Kyle was a little upset as in that year of the song going viral no one had ever contacted him and he was never credited, which apparently is something commonly done even when the work was acquired for free. Turns out a producer working with That Mexican had been the one to bring him the loop. The producer had never told anyone the clip was taken from another creator, as a matter of fact he had basically led everyone to believe he had created the loop. So luckily That Mexican OT and his team were excellent and didn't bat an eye at giving the creator his props which in turn resulted in the creator of the loop getting a platinum record plaque, his first which was super awesome. I find it really scummy though that this website would even be able to remain in business while ultimately lying to their customers. I won't be buying a membership now like I was planning to. I think I'll check out the new website offering the same type service called Kittl
This is all because so many influencers are sharing how to get rich doing POD. Too many people doing it now. The OG’s are pissed about the competition and coming after everyone. I had a lady come after me for a design I bought. It was a bestseller for her. Well, it was a free design from Microsoft. She said the font was the same which is impossible because I have no idea what font she used. I told her I had zero sales on it. Etsy sided with her and removed my listing. I was shocked she even sent it to Etsy for review because technically the words are Taylor Swift related. Ballsy 🤦🏼♀️ So I got AI to make me a new image and I re-listed with the same words and font. Someone else tried to shake me down for a png I bought on Etsy but I used a different font for some of the letters. She apologized when she realized but I let her have it for threatening me wrongly. I feel like there is an influencer out there who is telling people to do this. Go after infringement if they think they can get away with it.
@@frannienn4215 thank you. I will not be renewing either.
Maybe a class action lawsuit should be brought against Creative Fabrica.
Exactly!
Definitely! They should make sure they are NOT allowing Copyrighted content to be uploaded to their platform for resale. Etsy is guilty of the same thing. They have tons of copyrighted content on their platform. They need to be held responsible as well for what is uploaded to a platform that is owned by them.
CF is advertising something that is clearly not true and misleading their customers into violating copyrights without their knowledge. Fraud, false advertising and violation of warranty.
@@laracartier770 sure seems like it is going that way huh?
The lawsuit would fall flat. CF is a marketplace and the responsibility falls on the sellers. The seller violated their TOS and the buyer, in turn, unknowingly violated copyright. It’s the same on every platform with user generated content. RUclips TOS clearly bans certain material, if a channel uploads prohibited material that isn’t a reflection on RUclips. Companies only have the responsibility to take action once they’ve been notified of an infraction. Failure to take action against the perpetrator is what would make them legally responsible.
A couple years ago, I downloaded some photos from CF -- and within each zip file, there were items with clear watermarks for a variety of different photographers. I contacted CF, and asked if it was okay to use these clearly watermarked and labeled "NOT FOR RESALE" photographs per the terms and conditions of a CF license. They said it was not, apologized and took down that single file from the contributor, but left everything else that person had submitted up and kept that person's account. It was at that point that I realized that you're on your own to try and figure out what's safe and what isn't, which defeats the purpose of a subscription with commercial use terms.
Spot on
The Terms of Service do not permit a subscriber to Creative Fabrica to use the files anywhere other than "on up to 3 of your devices." What is the purpose of having a subscription to a service where all you can do is look at the artwork on 3 of devices which you own? The license doesn't permit the user to reproduce the works in any physical or electronic form beyond those 3 devices.
@@gaiustacitus4242 Thanks for pointing this out - extremely limited and many say useless service and waste of $$
If they don't immediately BAN that person and remove their uploads, they are also liable.
Notifying the photographers would have been the thing to do ... then they could take action against the infringer.
If Creative Fabrica fails in vetting the designers as they state in the fine print: "There maybe rare occasions where designs that do not meet our standards slip through the cracks", then THEY should be liable for the copyright infringement of the design in question. I get that the original designer might contact whoever is using the design, but they should be redirected to contact Creative Fabrica, since they where the ones who authorized the design to be posted on their site with commercial use. They shouldn't be off the hook so easily, and drop the ball to the subscriber that used the design.
If THEY can do this, why can't the sellers also do this exact same thing, and put a similar notice on the Shop Banner ("There may be rare occasions where designs that do meet our standards slip through the cracks, and accidentally contains unauthorized IP Content."), then that in itself should afford us the same legal protection against accountability and from lawsuits that it gives to CF ... right?!
I agree. If we pay for the license, then they are the ones that are capitalizing on that and should be held 100% accountable. It's like buying a car at a dealership where they sell stolen cars. The car dealership should be liable for selling stolen cars. It's the exact same thing. Something sounds fishy because if creative fabrica does not take responsibility for what is on their site, then they are a fraudulent company that should be shut down.
//THEY should be liable for the copyright infringement of the design in question//
They are liable, they're facilitating the distribution and transactions.
How will it stop them from being sued by the original owner? It won’t. Same thing will happen. Two wrongs don’t make a right describes this scenario.
They are doing their due diligence but they are stopping short of giving a guarantee that every asset is free of infringement. Vetting can also mean a lot of different things -- they aren't clear abotu their vetting process so what they do is a mystery While vetting may help protect users and the platform, the TOS still shifts the liability away from the platform for third-party misconduct (artist uploading stolen content). Enforcement of their artist rules also is not a waiver of liability.
Here's the thing: buyers have a tiny tiny tiny loophole that they could use but it really depends on local consumer protection laws and whether or not you can prove that the platform overstated their vetting. The challenge is that the TOS attempts to clarify that no platform can realistically police 100% of uploads. The DMCA Safe Harbor frameworks further protects CF as long as they respond promptly to valid take-down requests and doesn't ignore known infringements.
What? I cannot believe what I just saw! If the designs were added to Creative Fabrica without the owners consent, CF should be penalized, not the user! I have a 3 year subscription with CF, and I have been told in writing what the guidelines are via their customer support. This is insane! Thank you for sharing this!
No need to respond, just commenting that I just cancelled and told them exactly why. I had been on the fence about trying them for years, and literally less than a month ago I broke down & got the year subscription. I still cancelled. I saved all my download keys, if that even matters, and even though I have access to them for a year, I will not use them anymore. If nothing else, for they way they treated your students. That says volumes. Thank you for being responsible by giving them adequate time to respond then letting us know. 🌻
I just posted on the same thought. I totally agree. CF is really leaving themselves OPEN to a lot of harm if they don't address this at the point of the UPLOADING artist. And shame on each one of them for following through with these awful lawsuits. Artists should be standing together, not making each other broke - taking away a person's way of life in some cases.
No CF for me! Thanks for the information 😊
I wish I knew this before I renewed my subscription earlier this month. They were so helpful to me but if they aren't doing that when you need it the most, can't trust them.
Did you get a response from them? I cancelled and they wrote this looong email which basically says I have to check all the designs I download form them on Google reverse images search or tineye, and that I have to keep all the download files and copyright files. I wrote back saying that if I wanted to do the reverse image checks every time i download an image I would be buying images separately and not paying for a yearly subscription. If I buy a service which says the image I want to download has full POD commercial rights, I trust the service to provide legally clean files with such statement. It is the reseller who has to check what they are selling, and not the subscribed buyer.
@@MagdalenaPiechota-w4v I totally agree with you. No one should have to do that even if they are buying the designs individually. THEY should be the one to do all of that research and reverse image checks BEFORE they allow it for sale on their site. They are based in the Netherlands so that is probably why they have a lax attitude about it (and they know they can't be sued by Americans).
This is basically legalized blackmail. I had something similar many years ago with a law firm (if they even were that) stating that we infringed on their client's IP.
They wanted something like $5000 at first. I talked to a lawyer who said "tell them you'll send them a check for all the sales" that we had using that IP, which was around $100.
The firm came back with - "We'll take $2500 or we're taking you to court!" My lawyer said, send them the offer to pay the $100 again. They came back with: "Pay $1000 or we're suing you!". My lawyer said, send them the check with a note in the memo saying it's paid off". They never cashed the check, but we never heard back from the firm again. They're just fishing to see who will pay up the big bucks for their scare tactics.
That's exactly the case. I suspect that this lawyer makes bank on cases like this. The summons was sent to 90+ sellers in one massive sweep.
@@StarlaMoore Seems like if they were legit then they'd actually be going after CF for distributing the licensed material to begin with, but they're not going to mess with people who can actually afford good lawyers so they go to the little guys instead.
@@sonic_gloom Wow, this is dirty dirty pool. Another way the ones at the bottom of the financial food chain are being fleeced. But we are not without our resources people. Band together and fight this crap. This is wrong. CF should be right in there doing more to protect people too.
@@StarlaMoorein that case we need an action lawsuit for us against creative fabrics and those that actually were supposedly infringed on and then we can go after the lawyers that actually were complicit. If you do one I’ll join the fight😭
@@sonic_gloom In the fucked-up US legal system, it's very common for the 'winning' or 'blameless' side to still bear their legal expenses. Companies know this and weaponize the threat of costs for blackmail. It's barbaric.
Well that settles it. Looks like I’ll be cancelling my subscription indefinitely.
I have a small business that runs off the need to have commercially licensed products. It’s why I signed up with them in the first place.
Now I’ve wasted money on a 2 year subscription, supporting a business whose morals, (and lack of care and urgency regarding this matter) is absolutely appalling.
Thank you for bringing this to light. I truly appreciate it and only wish more people knew about this.
X2 😢
Wow I am a lawyer and frankly this is stunning. While I don’t do trademark or copyright cases as a seller I would normally feel secure if someone was selling me a commercial license even with the limitations imposed by the warranty language
You are never secure when there are evil lawyers out there who practice extortion and blackmail, and force you to either pay the blackmail demands or pay the costs of having to go to court to prove that you used the license properly.
I also don't do trademark or copyright cases, but I can assure you that the many credits I took on IP in law school indicate this is sketchy AF.
Wow. Thanks so much for the heads up. Absolutely NOT using or recommending Creative Fabrica. What a sham.
That's ridiculous. They should be going after the person who uploaded it onto CF or after CF themselves. What a mess.
Completely agree. I believe they do remove these sellers when they find them... BUT I feel a bit of accountability for their customers who were sued is also due.
@@StarlaMoore -- I disagree about the part of their customers holding some responsibility. That would be like going to Walmart and buying a TV which they had on the shelf, but it just happened to be stolen. Would you feel the least bit responsible or accountable for having bought a stolen TV from Walmart? It's not like you bought it off a shady character in some dark alley out of the back of his van. There is a such thing as doing business in good faith.
@@dennisborg7751 What Starla is saying is that CF should have accountability on behalf of their customers, not that the customers should be held accountable! I think you misread that.
@@PrettyWitchCraft -- You are correct. In rereading this, I see that you are precisely correct. I stand corrected.
did the uploader sell it or the downloader?
Any sellers who have gone through this with Creative Fabrica should file a claim with FTC. They should face a class action. This means their service is basically a scam. What are people paying them for?
Sellers should still due their due dilligience tho . Everyone can get sued here.
@@1StopToyShop -- I understand your point. But for the other side of that coin ... Let me ask you, do you do your due diligence and make sure that everything you buy from Walmart was obtained legally by Walmart? What if the TV you bought from them had actually been stolen? Honestly, this is no different.
@@dennisborg7751 um yes because walmart is a huge corporation and they have legit procurement process / requirements. but if i was to buy something from walmart to then sell on amazon im aware amazon likely wont count the walmart receipt as authentic if there's ever an issue with a customer complaint. you would need to purchase directly from the source/ authorized distributor with receipts to be safe. we are sellers - we are responsible for everything.
I Agree!!!!
Walmart would be liable, not the buyer. Walmart would not leave their customer to be legally responsible. That's the difference. We don't have to do our due diligence with Walmart. That would be handled as white collar corporate crime.
Hey friends! I'm doing my best to keep up with questions but obviously there are a LOT of comments. Many of the comments I'm seeing are repeats so please consider scrolling the comments section if you have a question I haven't responded to yet. It's very likely someone else may have already asked. I appreciate you all.
Who do you recommend we use?
design bundles? I use them but who knows if they could do same as CF
Creative Fabrica site is not safe to use. The same thing can happen with ANY of their assets, the same lawyer has handled a few claims… which is ominous to say the least.
AI software. Research it, learn it. Do it yourself.
What about Canva, isnt that same thing. Recently I watched some girl on youtube filming issuing takedowns on Etsy. She upload her designes on canva and than issuing takedowns on etsy who ever uses her designe. At one point she showed her list of takedowns. It was huuuge. Was the layer involved I do not know. She never mentioned any layer. She does not film anymore because she got so many negative comments, but in comment she said she can do that. Maybe she can, as people are lazy. Thay do not alter designe or do not combine to make something new.
I cannot thank you enough for your time and transparency in giving out this information. People need to make informed decisions about thier business.
The "key word" in your post is INFORMED. When you trust something at face value without reading the fine print, which no one has the time to read a ton of that gobal-de-gook, nor the legal knowledge to really understand it - you really don't realize how vulnerable you really are until the shite hits the fan for some unsuspecting legal victim. Thank goodness for videos like this.
Thank you for bringing attention to this. I almost got sued last month due to something that I got from Creative Fabrica, edited, and posted in my shop. Thank goodness the woman contacted me and we resolved it via email, it could have been sooooo much worse. This is so horrible. Exactly what you said, if we aren't paying for the rights to use these things, like they advertise we are, then wtf are we paying for?!
It's so scary, especially since their advertisements make it seem like they are providing safe assets!
did your download say full POD usage allowed? I am trying to figure out if it says that, then you SHOULD be allowed to use it. They don't all say that, so I am just wondering if that is how they get around this. It says commercial use but not full POD. I googled and it says if it says Full POD usage, you don't have to change anything. This is crazy!!!
@@AndreaPeligri On Creative Fabrica it said full commercial use and Full POD but come to find out, the template was stolen from a creator on Canva. So even though I legally obtained it from Creative Fabrica with the rights to adapt it and sell it as my own, it didn't matter because it was stolen content. In my mind, nothing from Creative Fabrica can be trusted at this point or other places like it unless you're getting it directly from the designer on their website. The person I got the particular contested design from on Creative Fabrica even has the little green checkmark next to their name which is supposed to mean that CF has vetted them somewhat but nope. Now I'm learning how to create my own graphics which is really time consuming as I'm a writer not a graphic designer. I plan on moving away from graphics and more so on items that don't require graphics and just focusing back on blogging.
Wow! Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. Creative Fabrica should be ashamed. Clearly, they expect this to happen to their users or their policy would not be written the way it is. I am so glad I haven't listed any items for sale yet with any of the graphics I had downloaded from their site.
Yeah, the policies seem to have been written with cases like these in mind, rather than offering protection for the affected individuals
They're using policies to excuse the fact they don't put the work in to get art from only reputable sources. It's gross.
@@Bel-royep
I've been on the fence for months about canceling my account..... Canceling today. Thank you!!!
@@mrsarnoldrocks and I’ve been on the fence about opening an account and using CF. Not now! Not a chance.
@@MadMorti same! Thank you, girl of the video!
There are so many sellers using Disney and other copyrighted assets that dont come from CF, its insane!
I've covered this topic separately many many times on my channel. Check my copyright playlist for the explanation. The short answer is, only an IP owner can file an infringement report. Disney often waits until a seller has made a substantial amount of money from their IP before taking action because it builds a more impactful case.
I agree. People who have a business like Etsy should be held responsible for what is being sold on their site. If illegal things are being sold.. they should be sued and made to clean up their mess and not be able to continue selling illegal items with NO kind of penalty at all for them.
Yes, cannot get blood out of a stone. You want to sue someone who has money to pay up.
@@StarlaMooreSo what you're saying is that in these cases Disney is not interested in protecting their IP, they're more interested in making a profit from small sellers?
@@omnombrains No, they are protecting their IP by having a strong case against the violator. It's the same as Wal-Mart waiting until you've stolen an amout equal to a felony before they report you to the police.
If I was among those damaged by Creative Fabrica I'd get a lawyer to file a class action lawsuit against them.
Lawyers don’t come cheap. People need to band together and sue as a group.
@@hb4196 That's what a class action lawsuit is. A group suing to share attorney's fees.
@@hb4196 most of us users aren't rolling in the dough as the lawyers are, so yes. Band together. Anyone who has used the site and has sold anything with these designs/downloads should even think about joining because they are at potential risk too!!
Depending on the case, some lawyers will take class action lawsuits and they don't get paid unless they win the case and recover $$ - so if they feel they can win the case, they pay all the court filing fees, depositions, record requests etc upfront and then if they win the case they get their expenses back, then their % of whatever was agreed on by the petitioners who joined the suit. So may not be anything out of pocket. I would however recommend you go to a large firm first to see if they will take the case, a lawyer that just runs his own office, maybe has 1 other lawyer working with him, they often don't have the cash to fork out until the lawsuit settles or funds to cover the discovery and trial fees. But the large firms do.
@@teresak.hernandez6741 Please look for my comments above. The EU would GLADLY pay for and take on this class-action to avoid international scandals in the eyes of the CURRENT American Administration that is looking to find a poster child for FRAUD, like CF.
This sounds like a backhanded legal form of extortion by Creative Fabrica’s lawyers. Shame !
@@normaspencer5593 yes it would be interesting to know if any of the other sellers rejected the extortion offer and went to court 🤔
Agreed it is a business decision to make money twice, once in the subscription and a second time for the commercial use they need to contact state consumer protection all of you do. in the communication include screenshots of the promise for commercial license and the sneaking small print that essentially says "just kidding no you do not have a commercial license".
What your ignorance fails to comprehend; the lawsuits were not from Creative Fabrica themselves. The lawsuit (and lawyers) were from a 3rd Party selling the assets bought on the Creative Fabrica (CF) website. As CF themselves do not "make" the assets, they only offer a platform for others to sell assets.
@ thank you for calling me ignorant. My point was it makes it seem like Creative Fabrica partners with lawyers to get a money grab by not addressing the issue of better vetting designer uploads. Creative Fabrica could take a better stance of supporting the designers getting sued instead of basically saying “too bad for you”.
@@UberSlackr Where your ignorance fails, is I bet that sellers in New Zealand aren't the people getting letters of intent to sue on this. I would bet it is sellers living in larger cities in the USA where the lawyer can blanket small claims courts with enough BS harassment suits to convince CF to be afraid. In this way, they get CF to add validity to the thousands of individual notices of intent by forcing CF to share their corporate database of customers so the lawyer has a ready-made list of targets. I could buy $500 worth of envelopes, printer paper, forms software, merge software, and a stamp printing machine to do this today for 30,000 customers in San Diego. Essentially, I know this because I did this same workflow conducting legitimate work over 25 years ago for real estate companies throughout San Diego. While your statement rings true, reasonable people that have seen this before smell FRAUD. CF better hope "Amsterdam, The Netherlands" doesn't have a status of Force agreement with the United States because if they have ANY legal enforcement mechanism enforcing EU directives on The Netherlands (which I'm sure there are) CF is going to be in a world of hurt when they piss off the wrong people that understand how to navigate that morass within the U.S. State Department -- as the new United States Administration is looking for timely economic examples to throw in the face of the EU right now, I believe. I honestly hope you are a representative from CF so that someone at their offices will realize that being on the other side of the world from the people their lawyer tells them they can never be touched by doesn't make them immune to prosecution once they've poked the wrong bear.
Thank you for sharing this. I found stolen mockups on CF a couple times that I recognized from Etsy. I notified the Etsy sellers and confirmed they were stolen and they got them removed but it proved to me that CF doesn't do any vetting of what gets sold on there!
I see a lot of comments talking about a class action against CF, but Im.more curious about this attorney who has a pattern of these cases. It's almost like a fishing game on behalf of the attorney and alleged copyright owners to see how much money you can squeeze out of small businesses. I'd be really interested to learn more of the details surrounding these cases and am not completely ready to put all the blame on CF. Sounds like a shady lawyer to me.
And shady client, first of all
Yes, this is a common extortion scam perpetrated by shady lawyers and "clients." (sometimes the named "client" doesn't even know anything about it!) I wish this video had "named and shamed" the scam lawyer so we can be aware of their scam!
@@CMRenda I agree but wish the name of the client too
Creative Fabrica should definitely be accountable, but the person who stole and uploaded the art in the first place should be the one who pays. The Etsy sellers should point it back to CF because they legally used the license. But the person who uploaded the art was the one who broke all the laws and CF's rules about uploading stolen stuff in the first place. CF should go after THEM and make them pay. In this case, someone stole artwork, uploaded it to CF, made a bunch of money, and paid ZERO consequences. CF also made money off stolen designs and paid no consequences. The Etsy sellers, who legally made the money due to the license they had, should be the last ones to pay!
I think the problem is that the "licence" CF issues is not legal in some cases, and therefore the person who has bought the licence is using it illegally too, though they don't know it. Looks like CF is definitely scamming.
@ Good point. IMO CF should be held the most accountable, followed by the uploader.
I most definitely agree that Creative Fabrica should go after the sellers of copyrighted materials. I assume Creative Fabrica removed these items but it would be helpful if sellers could be alerted immediately regarding which items are targeted for copyright infringement.
Exactly. CF are responsible for this as the purchaser has bought the asset in good faith. CF need to be suing the dishonest uploader of copyright material and they need to have regular updates on their sites as to which assets have been removed due to copyright so that users of the site can be sure to stay within the law. If this doesn't happen, then we simply cannot use the site.
They already don't allow obvious ones - I tried to sell a Father's Day super hero set a few years ago and they deleted the listing because it could maybe have been infringing. But I don't know how they can verify each individual design if some unknown person designed it.
@@NZTiberius2023 I said above I don't think some designers understand how CF works or Canva. CF offers commercial and POD rights. In other words, you can't claim copyright infringement if you submit a graphic from CF and someone sells it elsewhere.
💯 agree!
Scary. Those lawsuits were misdirected, should have been at CF for allowing someone to upload and sell work that is not theirs. I have bought and downloaded fonts, but I never use their artworks/graphics. I'm an illustrator myself so I like to make my own things, but I feel very bad for those sued crafters. Informative video, thank you.
I do use CF myself cause illustration is not my strength. I love designing but I can't paint to save my life. LOL But with that being said, I use the graphics and make my own designs with them. But as Starla mentioned in that video, so did those other sellers that got sued. They actually made their own designs with the graphics, but it still didn't protect them. But they need to go straight to the source, which is CF.
@@vickieclark5931 no she said if you use a design and add to it then it’s not the original design no more so your safe!
Yeah, I only use the fonts there,. As a cover designer, myself, I want the fonts to be safe for my client....Now...I'm not so sure.
@ Same, I use fonts on apparel and vinyl designs, this has made me very unsure.
Very sad to hear. Just as CF has infringement issues, so does Etsy but yet Etsy isn't sued the seller is, and people keep selling on the site. Thanks for providing awareness of possible situations...greatly appreciated :)
No need to respond, just came here to say I've used CF many times (personal use CF). After watching this and their shady dealings, I won't be using them anymore. Thank you for informing us of what kind of snakes they are.
This is ridiculous! They should have sued the "artists" who falsely put them up on CF!
@laurachevrette8060 Absolutely. As a designer on CF I stand behind every one of my designs 100%. It is definitely the fault of a 'designer' posting someone else's designs.
@@laurachevrette8060 seems to me that a sleazy lawyer saw an opportunity. CF is a marketplace like Etsy. If this happened on Etsy, would they cover lawsuits brought against buyers?
thanks for sharing this, Starla! I use them all the time. I do add to the designs, but this still scares me! Wow, not sure what I'm going to do. I certainly don't want to take any chance of getting sued. Frustrating because I follow all the rules of copyright, etc, but had no idea I might have a problem using Creative Fabrica designs. Huge eye opener, thank you!
I would just be sure to reverse image search any assets you use to ensure you're getting them from the original artist.
@@StarlaMoore would love to know more about this. I know how to reverse image search, so check in CF to see if what I find matches?
@@StarlaMoore How do we do this Starla! I am not sure what we are looking for. Thank you for the heads up.
@@StarlaMoore -- Exactly what CF should be doing in the first place (reverse image search all newly submitted assets), to make sure they are not accepting stolen content. They need to vet their sources.
I'm with you on that. I love using them for my designs. But they have no right to charge us any money if they aren't doing their job by vetting these artists. Other than that, why not just find anything on the internet to use in your designs if it's not any less safe than CF is. That's what bothers me. I pay for a service and I expect to get that service. Other than that, what the hell am I paying them for?
She should have went to trial. This is just a scam case, it’s extortion. Most people are afraid to go to court so they will settle.
Appreciate you taking up for the sellers in your community.
I can see the kind of holes in systems that we trust that we all need to be aware of. Someone taking advantage of a system that we never anticipated. Your input is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for sharing!
That's exactly what this is. The vendor who stole the art is taking advantage of CF. And the lawyer who specifically targets those who use the CF art clearly knows that these sellers are doing so unknowingly.
@@StarlaMoore -- I suspect that you are correct ... Just like insurance scammers who pull in front of you and slam on the brakes, or put it in reverse and back into you, just so they can sue you for physical damage and medical expenses.
Is there a possibility that the person stealing the designs and the person suing are in cahoots?
Honestly, this sounds like the law firm is trolling for designers, spinning them a yarn about how their assets are being used incorrectly, and then shaking down creators for what is essentially a bribe to make it go away.
It does sound suspect. And *who* is actually suing? Did the "designer" filing the lawsuit have a trademarked design to prove their ownership?
I suspect that this lawyer makes bank on cases like this. The summons was sent to 90+ sellers in one massive sweep. Obviously the original artist has every right to sue, BUT CF needs to take a bit of accountability as a service that sells commercial licensing.
Do you know if CF let everyone else know that downloaded the bad files that there was an issue? Will others continue to get sued because they are unaware that the file they downloaded ages ago is fraudulent?
This is absolutely the case! Until someone fights them in court, they will continue to do it. Actually, it is likely you wouldn't even need to go all the way to court, just resist their blackmail demands for settlement. They know they don't have an actual case, so they would have to be completely stupid not to drop it before it went to court!
Thank you for letting us creatives know about this. I am a designer and I have a CF subscription. I use them only for fonts, but this makes me sick. I feel so bad for the sellers who got sued. I'm cancelling my CF for sure.
I only use their fonts too. I won't buy from CF again now. Other places are far more expensive, but I don't think CF is worth the risk after this.
If a company offers a service or good with absolutely no guarantees of quality, lawfulness, and respect, then that company DESERVES TO FAIL. The fine print clearly states that they are unethical, untrustworthy, and as respectful of artists and creators as they are of the law.
Wow. Thank you so much for opening my eyes to their terms of service! 😮. CF has always seemed too good to be true, and it looks like it is. You are the best, Starla. Thank you so much for your unbelievably hard work on behalf of sellers!!! Don’t know how you do it. ❤❤❤
Thank you so much for looking out for us and the time you took to look into this. I am brand new to selling on Etsy and am glad to have found you
Thank you so much! This is horrendously shocking to hear. I am a seller there and a user of assets as well. I will definitely look into this and make some changes immediately. I sincerely appreciate your clarity and honesty to help little sellers like myself. It is sincerely appreciated. ❤❤❤
@@wonderlilydesign I am also a CF designer who sells on their site.
@ Oh Ok! 😊
Thanks for sharing this - hard to believe that you went through all this - especially seller #2 that was stuck with thousand dollar penalties for $50 of sales. I wish you success standing up to these guys.
This needs to be put into reviews for CF to warn people! I just renewed my subscription and am pooping myself now! I think if we bombard them with reviews they will do something about it?
If you want your money back, you should tell them you want your subscription cancelled and refunded in full. And tell them it's because you can't trust their service and that you won't support them until they do more to ensure against copyright violation, for the good of your business.
I did a similar thing when the Adobe AI debacle happened, and they refunded me every penny (admittedly, after talking in circles for over 20 minutes... DON'T LET THEM WIN)
cancel your subscription, that's the only way companies learn. Why would you want to support a company with low morals and integrity?
@@Bel-ro Thank you for this. I have used your words as a guideline to send them an email to request a full refund which was purchased for me as a gift in November. Hopefully, I get it. I refuse to use Creative Fabrica now as the reassurance they advertise is BS. I'm glad that I found this out before I started my business.
@bekahpenguin You're welcome, hopefully they refund you without too much headache 😊
There has been a lot of content recently covering various incidences of penalising sellers in various ways. I've been researching the possibility of opening an account but this is the final straw. Thank you for your honesty and clarity. I sincerely hope there's no backlash for you. 😊
This is so frustrating as a CF designer who has spent hours upon hours of time carefully crafting a trustworthy and reliable store to help build my brand. As on Etsy, its so frustrating when other people game the system. I'm so sorry for your students Starla. This is a hard industry and that kind of financial loss can torpedo a small business.
I appreciate the comments, but what would be more helpful is designers not doing business with CF or companies like CF, which are supporting obvious FRAUD.
Thank you for posting this video and for the great advice on reverse image searches. These cases remind me of this local lawyer who goes after small business restaurant owners for ADA compliance issues. Several restaurants have gone out of business because of these lawsuits - restaurants that have been around for decades - because they can't afford the lawyer fees to fight them. It's just a shakedown of small businesses, and it's infuriating. There's no deceitful intent here by your students, and it should be on CF to make sure the assets they're making available are legit. 😣
I suspect that this lawyer makes bank on cases like this. The summons was sent to 90+ sellers in one massive sweep. Obviously the original artist has every right to sue, BUT CF needs to take a bit of accountability as a service that sells commercial licensing.
@@StarlaMoore -- If the original artist is uploading these onto CF for the sole purpose of suing those who use their artwork, then they have ZERO RIGHT to sue anyone, no more than someone who brake-checks someone or hits another car by driving in reverse has any right to sue for physical damages and for medical expenses. It would be good to know, critically important actually, whether the identity of the original artist doing the suing and that of the one uploading the artwork to CF are in fact the same person or not.
@@dennisborg7751 Absolutely true!
Great job warning us about this! Thank you so much!
I have downloaded creative fabrica in the past but only used their fonts. This is alarming and I'm so glad you chose to speak out on this. I will not use them again. The risk is not worth it.
I would hope that the sellers who basically got scammed would go back to the products they were sued over and leave a comment not to purchase due to copywrite infringement and CF should remove those items and if enough of the shop owner's items are not legit, then close their shop.
I just signed up for CF this week. After purchasing, I started going through designs and realized that the majority of them are bad AI designs that I could easily make myself much better. I thought I was saving time with CF, but after this, it sounds like I may not be saving anything at all. Thanks for the heads up.
DEFINITELY CANCELLING CF! ABSOLUTELY ABSURD AND SCUMMY!
now that I look at CF as a whole...it's totally way to good to be true! Under $5 a month for a million assets!??? Thanks for the update and all of your great content!!
Good stuff standing with your students/viewers. A masterclass on how to handle this sort of issue while being a creator. Subbed and liked!!
What a shakedown ! I have been paying for the full POD rather than relying on the subscription just for this purpose. I’m so thankful you made this video.
Is that definitely safe though? Maybe they have hidden terms for that too. Wouldn't put it past CF after seeing this .
If someone paid the extra money to buy the full POD license, are those people getting sued, too? It states you could use the image commercially without modifying the design. Furthermore, how would you check if the image was uploaded by the original designer and not by someone illegally?
Starla, you are such a wealth of information. Thank you for all you do to help and support us sellers. You are so awesome. I haven't used CF, and after this, I will not use them. Thank you!
This got me too. I used some elements or ideas from CF and I was reported for copywrite infringement. I even changed some items slightly. My shop was shut down permanently. No matter how much I tried to prove to them, I thought I had a license to use the items. AND the same items are still be sold on Etsy!
Ohh this is so bad!, so even if you change the original art and you add your own touch, they still can sue you? this is no good at all, I also use elements from CF and now considering to cancel my subscription :(
@@nupalv5770No if you change or add to the element/art then it becomes a New design!
@@itsmetlc this exact thing happened to my amazon kdp account. I made log books, coloring books, etc using cf files and images but I also added to them or changed them in some way so it wasn’t just cut and paste. When amazon closed my account I told them I had purchased the rights to use the templates but they didn’t even respond. Now I’m banned forever.
Thank you for sharing this Starla. This practice seems very predatory to me and I certainly would have ended up in a lengthy court battle. It’s very disappointing and I definitely will not be doing any business with CF
I suspect that this lawyer makes bank on cases like this. The summons was sent to 90+ sellers in one massive sweep. Obviously the original artist has every right to sue, BUT CF needs to take a bit of accountability as a service that sells commercial licensing.
@@StarlaMoore Why does the original artist have the right to sue, when they post their graphics for sale under a commercial license? they can't just randomly revoke that license!
@@CMRenda the original artist did not provide the art asset on CF. The CF poster stole the design without attribution and put it up on CF.
@@CMRenda someone else uploaded the stolen work to CF. So the original artist has the right to sue.
Does Canva have fine print similar to CF that we might have missed?
Thank you so much, Starla. ❤️ I love how you confidently and openly speak your mind, show your shop and the steps you took to make it work. That's very rare.
I would like to know too. Are we safe using Canva?
Me too! Would love to know if Canva is safe.
@@cherriebrown8677 The way I read, it says graphics can be used commercially but you cannot sell as is . They have to be part of a new design. You also cannot sell the ready made templates. Maybe some Canva or CF people aren't understanding how CF works. If I take a graphic on CF and use it for commercial use as issued with some alterations, you cannot sue me.
Canva states you can not take a single image/element and sell that image however by adding a second element to the design it then becomes a new design that is covered and can be used freely. Ive used them for over a year now
@@iammeniece. Creative Fabrica provides a clear illustration on their site of the proper way to use the images we download, and I’ve always assumed Canva follows a similar policy. I wonder if those who were sued were selling just a single design. It’s unsettling that a creator can sue a seller even when the image is used correctly, and Creative Fabrica won’t defend the seller in such cases. Lately, I’ve been disappointed with Creative Fabrica because there’s so much AI-generated content now, and it feels like there’s far less hands on genuine artistry compared to before.
6:17 they can't do anything about problems you experience with a third party; however, if the third party is representing them then they're engaging in contract fraud - it's extortion.
8:06 - additionally, that whole "we're not responsible for infringement" non-infringement bit? If that company is distributing material they do not own or have license to distribute in the manner they're advertising, i.e. for commercial use, then they're definitely liable for that because they're the ones aiding and abetting copyright infringement by whomever it is that posted the content which is being claimed. And their TOS means nothing in context of that failing on their part.
Also, report the lawyer and their law firm - engaging in extrajudicial action as described is coercion on top of the extortion, which is grounds for their debarment.
How awful. And Creative Fabrics KNEW this could happen because they had already absolved themselves of all liability in their terms and conditions 😮
Step 1: Verify ownership from the person suing you. If they cannot prove they are the original designer and owner of a trademark or copyright then you are free and clear. Step 2: Respond with licensed use and suggest they go after the place you got the licensed image from instead of you the seller who thought they were doing everything legally. Step 3: Counter sue for damages if your shop was closed due to this and for loss of income and for emotional distress and anything else you can add to it. Inflate your numbers above theirs and suggest a settlement of both parties dropping the case.
Lawyers, especially copyright lawyers, are a special breed of scumbag. Don't let them push you around or scare you. They just want you to pay them some made up number because frankly, they're assholes.
I totally agree!
You have to have hundreds of thousands of dollars to successfully fight a copyright lawsuit and file a countersuit.
It would be awesome if people could make shady lawyers and clients pay, but it's not economically feasible for most people.
Just look at how many people prenda and other shady copyright lawyers have sued.
Sometimes the threat of lawsuits are just bogus, but in many cases they really will Sue and keep suing, and use motion practice to make the lawsuit more expensive to defend. Using boilerplate accusations that they don't actually have to customize, making their legal offense much cheaper than the legal defense.
@ I could fight one by myself with ChatGPT. :)
@@gerardhughes Somehow, I would bet that sellers in New Zealand aren't the people getting letters of intent to sue on this. I would bet it is sellers living in larger cities in the USA where the lawyer can blanket small claims courts with enough BS harassment suits to convince CF to be afraid. In this way, they get CF to add validity to the thousands of individual notices of intent by forcing CF to share their corporate database of customers so the lawyer has a ready-made list of targets. I could buy $500 worth of envelopes, printer paper, forms software, merge software, and a stamp printing machine to do this today for 30,000 customers in San Diego. Essentially, I know this because I did this same workflow conducting legitimate work over 25 years ago for real estate companies throughout San Diego. CF better hope "Amsterdam, The Netherlands" doesn't have a status of Force agreement with the United States because if they have ANY legal enforcement mechanism enforcing EU directives on The Netherlands (which I'm sure there are) CF is going to be in a world of hurt when they piss off the wrong people that understand how to navigate that morass within the U.S. State Department -- as the new United States Administration is looking for timely economic examples to throw in the face of the EU right now, I believe.
I create designs for creative Fabrica. My designs are made that allow whoever buys it to add their own designs. I also make sure nothing is copyrighted. I'm a responsible designer. Also when you first sell they actually look at your design and guide you. After 2 weeks or so, they trust you know what you're doing and let you upload right away. They do still look through things because I did a hawk tua design, and they refused it, explaining it wants to be a family-friendly site. So these designs, these people go sued for just got passed them. It's a sad case, and I wish they had made the wrong right. Hopefully, they will go back to reviewing each and everydesign not for two weeks but the whole time. This may make the designer prepare 3 months ahead because that will be a very long process. But o well that is their problem.
It's good that you're taking such a responsible approach with your designs!
I appreciate the comments, but what would be more helpful is designers not doing business with CF or companies like CF, which are supporting obvious FRAUD.
Wow this is incredibly sad to hear. Ive been a longtime user of CF but after hearing this, it may be time to re-think things. Thanks for sharing. I will be passing this along to my community so that they are in the know.
@@YourChicGeek same but who else can trust to buy from then?
@vanillas2570I would consider hiring someone to create artwork for you and make sure that you are granted a commercial license to use the work. Hope this helps!
@vanillas2570 I’m wondering the same thing. I have depended on their designs and now I’m in a panic.
I don't know how Creative Fabrica could prevent this without individually checking each design for copyright infringement. I agree with the other comments - the lawsuit should have been directed to the thief that sold the images.
Totally agree. It's not that they should have prevented it. Obviously that would be very hard. I'm more concerned about their lack of help for the sellers who thought they were protected under CF's licensing.
@@StarlaMoore It is irrelevant if it is difficult for CF to prevent. That should be a basic component of the business. If they can not do it then they should not be in business. If I own a pawn shop it is my basic responsibility that I am not reselling stolen material. If I don't I will be put out of business. What they are doing is basic fraud. They are selling a POD do anything license to a product they do not have permission to. They are going after the little guy because it it easier then going after CF.
@@aimaturebeauty CF is a "safe haven." The sellers that list the assets are claiming that they own the copyrights to the assets they are listing, and they are agreeing that buyers can use those assets as specified in the license. There are two possibilities that were not addressed in this video. One is that the seller listing the assets on CF didn't hold the copyright, and then the lawyer sued on behalf of the actual copyright holder. The other possibility, which is a lot more likely, is that the seller does hold the copyright, but purposely listed the assets in order to later claim copyright infringement against the buyers who bought the assets. This seems a lot more likely, as it is a well-known blackmail scheme from this and similar lawyers. They make their money from the people who settle out of court, and never have to actually defend their blackmail attempt in court.
Thank you SO much for creating this video!! As a new potential store owner and seller I really appreciate you explaining in details as info I've found from other sources weren't as clear/thorough. I will be as vigilant as possible when designing now! Sorry to hear of other stores getting this notice and hope the issue is resolved soon!
Thank you very much for this video! I assumed that the word "license" actually meant something on Creative Fabrica! The big question now is, What is a RELIABLE alternative with a meaningful license?
Etsy suffers from this same problem. There are so much copyrighted and trade marked resources uploaded there by sellers its equally as unreal and they'd leave their end users high and dry as well in the face of lawsuits. The only way anyones ever gonna be protected from copyright/trademark issues is to 100% create the designs themselves.
@@HatFoundry Just this week I found a etsy shop that sells any paper craft items from Tim Holtz to Stamperia stuff! Over 70 k items sold, how is this even allowed😱
That's, frankly, normal. Photobanks have had the very same problem for a long time now. This happens because many people want to get money for doing nothing. So they steal designs and photos to resell them. It's a very very old problem graphic designers as same as photobanks are dealing with.
Thank you so much Starla! The timing of this video being posted was implacable, as I was just considering purchasing a membership with CF earlier today. I saw your video pop up and immediately changed my mind. Thanks again for putting us first!
Thank you for covering this topic. They mislead people on their ads and really the tool doesn't do half of what it claims. I'll be cancelling my subscription, not taking any risks. I checked online and saw so many influencers promoting it for exactly what you've explained is not allowed.
i wonder if this is a loophole for lawyers and shady people to set up a way to put their work on creative fabrica and then sue people who used it later on.
Yes, that is exactly what they do, and will keep on doing it until someone actually goes to court and proves that they had a license and used it properly.
I thought the same exact thing. I was going to get a subscription but will not be moving forward.
This goes so much deeper than just CF. Now I need to look over the terms in depth for image licensing for photos I use on my website. This is scary!
I hope thousands leave immediately and have them go bust. Simply to set an example for all those other sharks out there. Thank you for recording this video as I'm about to start a POD business.
Hi Starla, we all cannot thank you enough for sharing this. I am completely shocked, since I have been working very hard to get my shop off the ground, using a lot of CFs graphics in good faith and now have to learn that this poses a severe risk. I am just one day apart from renewing my CF subscription (which I probably won't after this news.)
It seems like this is a way that Artists could provide their work to Creative Fabrica and then turn around and scan for their images on-line and sue whoever might be using their artwork.
I suspect that this lawyer makes bank on cases like this. The summons was sent to 90+ sellers in one massive sweep.
@@StarlaMoore yeah, you can search for "Copyright Troll" and find this isn't new. It's sad that this is a common and acceptable practice. It's also sad the CF wouldn't have support to help defend their clients from rogue sellers.
That is exactly what they do!
I literally just saw an ad for CF and was really thinking of checking it out to use, so glad this came up before I subscribed
This is actually under creative fabrica responsibility yet they go after the ppl who uses their site. Creative fabrica should be sued for this. The damage they cause and this sounds more like a blackmailing lawsuit againsting her. This is mess up. Hopefully there will be lawsuit filed against creative fabrica they shouldn't be in business since they are going after sellers who are paying for to use their site and their designs. I had downloaded their stuff 2 years back but never really used them. Thank god I didn't. Thank you starla ❤
Thanks for sharing this, and all you do to keep your sellers safe and well-informed!
Good on you for refusing to promote them, trying to fix the problem for other sellers and letting us all know. Dumping what I have received from them. Cheers :)
I'm so glad I watched this before signing up with them. It pays to research companies and the customer experiences before investing time and money. Thank you..
Yikes!!!!! That’s so scary. I have a few but not a lot of designs I use for my store. Will probably have to take them down or let them expire on my store to be on the safe side. I wish there was a way to contact the designer directly to make sure it’s okay to use but the contact on CF is usually the vendor who could have stolen the designs. Definitely making me rethink my options.
It may be worth reverse image searching the designs instead. This may help you to see if the vendor is the original artist.
same here
@@StarlaMooresorry I’m new to this, how would a reverse image search help me find out if I can use the design or not?
@@JjB19886 Would love to know as well.
@@JjB19886 AI Overview
This might help:
To perform a reverse image search and find the original source of an image, go to Google Images, click the camera icon in the search bar, then either upload the image from your computer or paste the image URL to search for visually similar images across the web, which can lead you to the original source of the picture; this is often called a "reverse image search" on
It is likely the original designer that is suing knowing the CF policies mentioned, quick and easy way for them to get a payout, Its disgusting no matter who it is, and the lawyer in question should be just as ashamed as CF should be.
I agree and just posted the same cenerio, just different words. Don't sue me 😂😂 I do believe they are doing that.
This is why I design all of my own stuff. I also don't do anything based on anything copyrighted. I don't ever want to get involved in any messes like this.
Wow, that's seriously f-ed up. Thanks for sharing this!
The creator of the “ not today “ lazy cat is suing Etsy owners over the use of her cat design. The problem is that she is also uploading the design to public domain stock photo sites where artists get assets. Then her lawyers find and ban the store. You only get your store back and charges dropped if you pay thousands of dollars and they take you to court if you don’t. It’s brilliant! Moral of the story is make all your assets.
This creator needs to be counter-sued! When she put sup her designs on the stock photo sites, she is agreeing to the license terms of those sites, and she is violating those terms by reneging on her deal. People need to start "naming and shaming" these losers until their extortion scams fail!
@@CMRenda She does it anonymously
What a mess!! Thanks for sharing this info. They are specifically going after Etsy sellers because a lot of Etsy sellers don’t use other platforms and it hurts them. Imagine they are doing this to 10 sellers a month 🤨. This scam adds up fast.
Your video convinced me they are simply not a safe company to do business with.
Thank you so much for the heads up and your dedication to helping others to avoid the pitfalls of these types of apps.
This is disgusting and predatory! Thank you Starla for bringing this to our attention. I appreciate your hard work to keep us informed. I have a subscription with Design Bundles. Have you or anyone in your community ever had issues with Design Bundles?
It is only a matter of time until the predatory lawyers target Design Bundles' customers as well. This has nothing to do with CF, and is a well-known scam by these beasts.
Thank you so much for making this video. I feel so bad for those that were basically duped by CF and had to pay hard earned money for something they legitimately thought was legal. What a nightmare. There is another issue at play here. The people who have lawyers going after these small individual Etsy sellers. It appears predatory. They obviously know that the CF subscribers were scammed and yet they go after them anyway...heartless. I've cancelled my subscription to CF and will be deleting all downloads. Thank You!!
Etsy closed my shop..saying my original design was copy righted....my design wasn't downloaded from anywhere
I've heard of some cases where people will steal your design, put them on Temu or Shein, and then file a complaint with Etsy against you, the original artist, and Etsy will take your shop down.
Wow! What a horrible way for them to conduct business. Thank you for teaching me of this corruption. Very disheartening.
I use CF as inspiration, to use as guides and then all ”small” designs like glitter paper, fonts etc as part of my hand drawn illustrations. I always make something totally new with it.
That's a great idea!
I do the same 😅
Whoah!! thank you so much for exposing this.
The "ambulance chasers" of IP. Yet ANOTHER reason to hate lawyers.
Omg that creative fabrica response is wild. No longer willing to use them. Thank you for providing the education
No Question, just a bloody big thank you for being you!! My god, you have so much integrity, knowledge, and most of all YOU CARE, and it's no wonder you are so successful in your work for us, erank and yourself and Marcs RUclips channel! Just brilliant people you both are, and so refreshing in this ever changing weird world we live in. Thank you 🤗
Awww, I cannot express how much this means to me!!!!
Wow, that is really sad and thanks for everything you do for us
This almost sounds like an extortion scheme. Same lawyer, same client? Quick negotiated cash settlement with only threats of a lawsuit, but no actual suit. I'm wondering if it was verified whether the downloaded artwork was actually copyright protected? Plus, a litigant can always add (joinder) another party to the lawsuit. Even though Creative Fabrica is incorporated in Amsterdam, they're still accountable to the laws of the countires in which they do business. They may try to indemnify themselves from liability for a Seller's damages as a consequence of Etsy's policies, but they are responsible for the content being placed on their website and marketed as licenseable. I hope someone filed a complaint with the FTC, at a minimum. If this was distributed among FB as much as their ads, I'd bet you $650 that they'd do something about it.
Wow. Such bullies. Thank you for exposing this. I'm glad I paint all my own stuff but still... large companies targeting the small guy. Thanks for being their voice. I really hope you get 1 million views on this vid...
P.s. Doesn't a legal document if someone wants to sue you have to be served in person ? However if you respond to their email you are entering into the contract with them ?
1. Has Creative Fabrica removed the illegal items from their site or is it possible more of us have downloaded or will download these same assets and then be similarly sued for selling them?
2. Also, has the CF seller who received commission/payment for it being sold thru CF to your Etsy seller also been sued for selling it and claiming it as their design, or terminated by CF or even notified that their CF assets they are selling through CF are being copyright claimed causing this CF seller's customers to be sued over this.
Can you reveal the items/assets in question in case we are at risk for selling it in our shops, so we can remove it before we get sued???
Thank you in advance Starla!
Great questions! This is some scary stuff since there are so many unknowns here...
I heard of CF but never used them. After this video I'll definitely not use their services. So sorry for the hard working people who had to endure this. Thanks a lot for sharing!👍🏾
Can you pinpoint which CF sellers stole and posted those assets so we can know to avoid them?
I doubt it since that would take a lot of investigation, and I don't even know how someone could do that in the first place... I suppose there's probably a way like a service or website to check for the copyright of an asset by analyzing the metadata of each asset, but it would probably require a lot of time and money to check for each asset.
You could also contact the seller of an asset you're interested in and ask them if their asset was previously copyrighted or done by another person. Whatever the answer is, take screenshots of the conversation in case you need it in a court later on.
Alternatively, you could save yourself the stress by designing the assets yourself (might take time to learn, and money if you take a paid course as well), or by commissioning an artist to make designs specifically for you.
@@Mamika_AFK the sellers who were sued know the designs
@@galaxia4709exactly. They should expose the illegal CF Vendor!
@@Mamika_AFK I'm glad Starla posted this. I'm already checking in with sellers and cross referencing with Etsy listings for things I've used in my listings. I do know how to make my own art, that's what I would normally do anyway but it is time consuming. CF should have more responsibility if this is their business model. They should invest in whatever tech to help protect consumers otherwise it's false advertising. Not acceptable.
@@galaxia4709 yeah they could, but I meant it in a more general way
Thank you for warning the public of these scam companies
Prior to my knowledge of this, through this video, I was Really counting on Creative Fabrica files to help me start a new craft business. It's Really sad & disturbing that a membership contract seems Meaningless for helping small businesses. It's Depressingly irritating how even more Greedy people have become. People should be paid for their work but sometimes people manipulate the system at their own convenience 👺🤨