Are you serious Lynn! What a character. I've been taken several times by people, but I get wiser after each occurance. :-(

Well how tacky is that!! People are so selfish these days. AND the other embroidery place should not have used the design unless it was free & they had gotten it on the internet themselves. I think I might go to the the other place and POLITELY let them know it was my design. Hopefully they didn't realize that??

Um, that is just theft.

Totally unethical tatics both on the part of the club member and the other place who did the design. Sorry to hear this happened to you. Hugs, Mary

I totaly understand how you feel. What goes around, comes around, Lynn.
The same thing happen to me when i first started. It's very disappointing and you feel so hurt and mad and sad and grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Hugs Lee

oh man that is sew not right! I wish there was a way of preventing things like this, but I think there will always be people out there that will take advantage of kindness! Thank you for warning others about this, maybe it will prevent it from happening to one of us! I'm sorry too that you had to find out about it like this. I too believe in Karma.

Maybe of interest to you[1] http://myembroiderymentor.ning.com/video/pricing-lesson

and sorry they scamped your design.
From Bev

I appreciate all the hard work and creativity that all the designers/digitizers put into their work.I feel terrible for you!That man will never be able to enjoy wearing the jacket because of the stolen work - it's like he's walking around with a burden on his back.I wonder if the other club members are aware of his lack of character.Shame on him !!!

I'm so sorry, i have been fortunate to enjoy all of what cuties has to offer, addicted now, when i'm feeling a little down you cheer me up with your messages and designs. I'm maddened that someone would sink so low as to steal from you, i hope he reads all of the message and feels very ashamed. x

hugs & sparkes to you from minicow

Have noticed lots of designs have a watermark logo through the design which makes it harder to copy since they would have to meticulously erase the watermark to copy the design. Just adding your name to the bottom can still be covered up and copied.

Oh Lynn, I really feel for you. I know how it feels too.A real bummer.What I do now is a printout and if they want to place an order then I will do an actual stitchout when they place a deposit.Hope it doesn't stop you sharing your talent with other prospective customers.Always get one bad apple in the cart.Chin up girl, you are better than that. Hugs, maria.

it's awful if something happens to you! I think you made the right decission if ou do it next time with the copy

I have had something simular with a drawing I made for the cover of a schoolmagazin( I was in the schoolboard then).I did it for free. And than about 5 years later they have that drawing as their logo.and it's everywhere : on the schoolbuilding on all the paperwork .They never asked my permission. They say : they didnt know anymore who made it :(

How horrible. This has provoked a discussion between my husband and myself. It is the first post he has read here. This has happened to him in the past. You acted in good faith. Spanishpeach and sciencewidow have given good points. Each country has different laws. If the design is an original by you someone has stolen it. You could contact the club and tell them this and you could let the firm who 'stole' your design know that they have broken copyright. This company is obviouly lacking in eithics and the rest of the club probably are not aware of what has happened. Let them all know.

I recently heard of someone who was asked to sew a design out, which they duely did for the prospective customer to then be told they had broken the copyright of the owner ie the person who asked them to embroider in the first place.

Take care and thinking of you

I agree with below, it was your original design, owned by you and the other company should NOT have copied it without first enquiring as to whom the copyright, if any, belonged to. I am sorry this has happened to you. SOmetimes we just want to forget out mistakes and if you do, thats ok, if not contact your attorney.
Best of Luck
Ans remember, we have to make a mistake to learn from it, so all is not lost.

Ohhhh how awful!

Sadly some ppl have no scruples so I'm guessing that even tho he knows YOU did all the designing, I doubt he's feeling one iota of guilt and still wearing that jacket without a 2nd thought. A friend of mine sends her images to a chinese email addy and gets things digitised for around 3USD - perhaps your guy did this too..? (Someone still had to stitch them locally to him even if this was the case.) What a ratbag either way. :(

I guess I'm learning from you: If anyone ever asks me to digitise something for them, the sewn out design AND the printout stays in my possession .. if now isnt a convenient time to view my creation, then I'll come back when it is. xXx

Wow, the nerve of some people! I would be very angry too! Hope this never happens again!

I will be very angry. I call that dishonesty!

Lynn, I am so sorry this happened to you.

I would be so angry, that is so dishonest!

There are laws about this. He violated your intellectual copyright. I would have my friend, the attorney, write him a nasty letter. He should have to pay for his dishonesty.

Pat in Colorado

Sorry, I will be mad too, but remember when do wrong things to people, bad things comeback to you too. So dont worry his day is coming too.

What a horrible, inconsiderate, selfish jerk! All that work to have it stolen. How did you find out? If you know the other store, maybe put a bug in their ear that you "know who they are and saw what they did" kind of message. I guess I'm venting for you but that is just soooooooooo rude.

Oh Lynn, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I know how you feel, as I had part of a book I wrote copied into another book. It's horrible, after all work you have done. Chin up, my friend. Love and blessings, Yoriko

I have not had this happen to me but I have heard it from others. I did have a guy who brought a pencil drawing of his truck and a photo of it to me to digitize for him I spent 16 hours on it because of the poor quality image, I had to use the photo not the pencil drawing, he came to look at the stitch out and told me it was not what he wanted. I have since learned to say no I can't digitize that image. Not because I can't but because of the time it takes to digitize poor quality images. This will be the same for your, it is frustrating and makes you angry but you have learned a lesson now and it won't happen to you again.
Hugs Alice.

I am so sorry that happened to you. I would personally send the person a huge for bill and make sure to add alittle extra for pain and suffering. Write right on the paper you send him... estimate is.. add the amount that you would have made off of the design. Just a thought!

I feel so bad for you. I know what it is like to be taken advantage of. Vent any time we are here for you! Suzanne

I know how you feel. A couple of years ago I was working with a lion and lamb design for a company logo to use for company t-shirts for a museum near by. Meganne and Ricky helped me with the lion and lamb part and I worked on the letters and words and sizing and placement. I worked on it for days and stitched out all these sample designs to show the owner. I was treated very rudely and not even thanked for all my hard work. The owner just told me that this was not at all what she had in mind. Meganne and Rickey had even gone to the museum website and looked at the artwork on it and used the owners ideas. I guess that experience taught me a lesson and I know how disappointed you must be. Kay

So sorry to hear this...Remember though...Karma follows us...and sometime down the line..it will come back to bite em in the butt...Try not to dwell on it and just chalk it up to a lesson learned..you are a great person and remember that karma follows you as well ..you did a good deed for someone and it will be repaid to you in another way...(((Bear Hugs ))) and a flower to cheer you!

What a jerk

A rotten experience, but chances are you're better off without the business of people like him. I bet he gave the company grief over every little detail as well. Good on you, chalking that one up to experience.

I am so sorry to hear this has happened to you too!

Some people are just mongrels, with no principles at all.

There is a lot of copyright theft in this industry and it just isn't worth getting upset about, I'm afraid. It will do you more harm than the actual deed did.

I do most of my work online and have learnt only to send pictures of the finished work and when you never hear from them again you know they have gone elsewhere, for whatever reason.

Cheer up, no digitiser is immune from this type of thing.
hugs n roses, Meganne

Hi Lynn:
I am so sorry to hear that this happened to you. You don't deserve to be taken advantage of. I would go to the embroidery company and tell them what he did. He should know that just isn't right.

So sorry Lynn, there are so many dishonest people out there in the world. I do believe we reap what we sow & sooner or later he'll get his comeuppance one way or another./Lillian

This sucks! I am so sorry. His attitude makes me wonder if he knew what he was doing. And wouldn't the 'emb company' that made it know the laws? I'm thinking you have a lawsuit on your hands.
Please don't let this ruin things for you. There is always some out there ready to pounce. There is a wealth of information here on Cute that I'm sure could suggest a way to handle these situations and cover your own back at the same time. Good Luck and know we are all thinking of you!

Hmmmm--start selling the design to the public on etsy or wherever people post stuff for sale. Everyone can buy this club's supposed exclusive design. Bet they will complain if everyone can have their exclusive design. Might also be a way to establish your copyright.

Put your name across the middle of the design so that they can't copy it!!! So sorry this happened to you and I believe in Karma! Send him a bill for your time and work and the designs. Hugs Dawn

Lynn, I am so sorry to hear this. If I have to design a logo, I ask for a desposit. (They are told that if the order is over 10 the deposit is taken off the total.) I do not give them the stitch out either, or a print out of my design. They can come and view it and then place the order As I had done a few designs from e-mail requests before and after I have spent all the time working on it, they then say they don't need it any longer, or they give some other excuse.
Yes we all learn from our mistakes.
Hugs Yvonne