Sparsile - Character Theft & Attempted Sale

[jansither.livejournal.com]

Please don't harass her (don't think you would, but yanno, gotta say it).

WHO: Sparsile / Kowasenai
https://www.picarto.tv/live/channel.php?watch=sparsile
http://kowasenai.deviantart.com/
https://www.weasyl.com/~sparsile
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/sparsile
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=352169 (lol)
http://www.sparsbutt.livejournal.com/

WHERE: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/sparsile

WHAT: My character, Anne (bought from AugustAmnesia, see below): http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12127753/

EXPLAIN:
(x-paste from FA ticket)
My character was blatantly stolen by user Sparsile and then offered as an adoptable.

On Thursday, February 19 at around 5 PM EST, I refreshed FurAffinity to find one of my characters on the frontpage. I originally thought it was gift art ‘til I clicked it.

It turns out that user Sparsile had ripped my character’s design from the character’s creator, Fayleh’s, page. She is a “fan” of Fayleh’s art so it makes sense she retrieved the reference from there. Links to it can be found below.

She then took the design, complete with accessories and hairstyle (which I would not have minded if the colours and markings weren’t the same), and made extremely minimal changes to it. She turned her hip spots into triangles, unwrapped the bandages on her tail, and hardly modified the facial markings.

She took the submission down a couple min later because I had linked everyone in the comments to my OC.

ALL PROOF:
The original character, created by Fayleh, that I own: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11819144/
Its update to the current, more refined design, that I still own, by Fayleh: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12127753/

Proof that Sparsile stole the design and submitted it to sell it: http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2015/050/a/4/sparsilelol2_by_janscyther-d8ipfbq.png | http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2015/050/b/1/spartsilelol_by_janscyther-d8ipfbn.png (not whole screen, but all my really-mad-gyazoing could do at the time)

Proof that she simply changed the colours from my original character to the adopt using hue/saturation: http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2015/050/c/2/sparsilecolourcahnge_by_janscyther-d8ipezf.png

The character was bought by FA user Novaka1n (Novakain on Wolfhome.com) from FA user AugustAmnesia (August on Wolfhome.com) on the website Wolfhome.com's forums months ago as a gift to me, Jansither on FA (Clovette on Wolfhome.com).

Proof Novakain bought this character for me: http://i.gyazo.com/4fb281cf450d7fb8cd009c93f8896319.png (it does not have the image, but it is "unnamed Fayleh character", as seen here on the topic it was originally sold: http://i.gyazo.com/0449bc0e4a06647ff7bc1bc3d80f6027.png)
August, the original owner, created an album of all its artwork for me to use: http://i.gyazo.com/6ac54007cfdb8b01cf312d813093309b.png | http://imgur.com/a/9lDyz

Proof I am Clovette: http://i.gyazo.com/35f2452b5dad2b431a6062e5713fe0e2.png

Proof I have had it much longer than the date Sparsile posted the rip-off adoptable:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13890305/ | http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13892660/ | http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15702500/

OUR NOTED CONVERSATION:
I admit that I acted a bit childish at first, but I’m sure any of you with endeared characters can understand.
(Green is me, red is Sparsile. Janscyther is my dA where these images are hosted.)
First: http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2015/050/a/c/sparsilenote1_by_janscyther-d8ipcrr.png
(Links from note, in order: http://i.gyazo.com/7a34c0566046354b1bc4770e1b084777.png | http://i.gyazo.com/123e093789edf55e2d7d948f24171637.png |https://i.gyazo.com/77274ebe9a5689ad00a105177fc2e2ec.png (x2, sta.sh link)
Next: http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2015/050/3/4/sparsilenote2_by_janscyther-d8ipdjo.png
Next: http://i.gyazo.com/2df69dd3068a91490f53fd307b6c152e.png
Last contact: http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2015/050/6/f/sparsilenote3_by_janscyther-d8ipe2j.png

She took no credibility for the theft, even though it was blatant. She sent me a cruddy redesign of the character, though in essence it was still the same thing. She did, in the end, take the character down and did not post another design with the same colours. That’s not the point, though; the point is that she stole my character and tried to profit off it.

She is still selling adoptables a lot, so please, please be careful – I would hate for anyone to buy someone’s OC, or anyone’s OC to be sold. I am lucky I caught this when I did.

There have been no updates, besides her posting journals that I have been "harassing" her, since this happened. She has hidden everything that so much as suggests she was in the wrong.

Thank you.

Comments

[maxx attax (from livejournal.com)]

Wow, that makes me worried because she inquired about one of my characters that was also designed by Fayleh awhile back. :/

[jansither.livejournal.com]

The best I can do is to say to keep an eye out! I got really, really lucky with mine.

[dragroon.livejournal.com]

Wow. :/..

The fact that the colors just tweeked barely on a saturation/hue scale match perfectly is, just, wow.

[jansither.livejournal.com]

Creativity! Someone actually made that for me. I would not have known it was that simple of a change unless they had done that, lol

[latiro.livejournal.com]

Off-topic: many of you have heard about this in the lost contact post, but Sparsile may've owed several people their art/money.

On-topic: that is very low of her to sell someone else's OC's, especially if they're designed by popular artists like Fayleh. One good reason I've stopped watching her.

[jansither.livejournal.com]

Audacious and brave? :P

[(re)becca !! (from livejournal.com)]

Uh also I think she either now owns, or completely ripped off the third one in that line of adoptables by Fayleh.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11819144/

Her current icon: http://i.imgur.com/GstU0ZF.png

She had posted an f5 journal when she made that her icon, I remember it saying something about "a new character in the works" but it seems she deleted it. :(

[jansither.livejournal.com]

No, that one is hers, I'll give her that. ^^
This thread might give you some clarity there: http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/832175.html
EDIT
Wow. I am sorry, I got it confused with her main 'sona. That is completely outrageous. I will contact Fayleh again, she's a good friend of mine. I also know Urschin, the owner of that character (or at least the one who bought it), and I will let her know, too.

[whoop-zi.livejournal.com]

she owns it now, according to this submission. https://www.furaffinity.net/view/15936358/

edit: nevermind apparently i completely did not register in my mind the comments underneath this one?? I: whoops.

[whoop-zi.livejournal.com]

yikes, that's skeevy. :x i'm glad she at least took it down. i suppose not going through with the sale tells us even she knew she couldn't get away with the blatant theft.

[jansither.livejournal.com]

She only took it down because I spammed every comment on it with my ref sheet and the bidders saw it, sadly. :p

[mekania.livejournal.com]

In the redesign auction I noticed she also has people send payment as friends and family which is not good at all, especially if she is the same person as that other post. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15910862/

[jansither.livejournal.com]

She removed the submission.

[puddingpaw.livejournal.com]

I love how nonchalant she is about the whole thing, and has a "I'm right, you're wrong" attitude, as well as the other thing.

[jansither.livejournal.com]

If she would have owned up to it, I wouldn't have posted an A_B.

[lackoflollies.livejournal.com]

I find this little thing on her profile to be quite ironic;
"Please be original and not copy anything of mine. Thanks."

[jansither.livejournal.com]

She used to have more. She used to have something that said.. like.. "Do notcopy/reference my characters!"
And she has a journal up right now that says she won't be selling her adopt base because she doesn't like the thought of someone simply colouring over her work.

The hypocrisy is ok, though. She doesn't think anyone believes me about this. XD

[runspotter.livejournal.com]

Same here. It's really not a laughing matter, but that and a few other things made me chuckle.

[laughsatthunder.livejournal.com]

Awesome to see your submission come through but uuughhhh...

Can she get banned (or suspended) for stealing designs with the proof shown, if the TT is ever looked at by staff? I'd hope it'd be for block evading but this is pretty disgusting too.

[maxx attax (from livejournal.com)]

She would get banned for the ban-evading.

[ramthedragon.livejournal.com]

My goodness, I would be so mad if someone took my character and hue shifted it like that. Terrible behaviour.

[jansither.livejournal.com]

Yeah - hopefully it explains some of my more spontaneous, rude behaviour... ^^; /points at the Patreon comment/
hahhaaaaaa :'D

(frozen)

[lakotawolf.livejournal.com]

Is she stealing images/drawings themselves, or just designs/colors?

If she's just stealing designs/colors and drawing her own art (or slapping the colors/design onto a "free" base), then she is not violating copyright or doing anything legally wrong. Morally wrong, sure, but it isn't art theft.

You cannot copyright a design. You cannot copyright a character. A thousand people could use those exact colors and markings, provided they do not steal the art itself.

You can trademark a character's likeness, which WILL protect its appearance (design, colors, etc) but you cannot copyright it.

From a legal standpoint, there is no such thing as "character theft". It's a crappy thing to do, I agree, but they're not violating any laws.

(frozen)

[jansither.livejournal.com]

No, you are right, but she did it on a character/art oriented website with its own rules outside of legalities. I've not even thought about legalities when it comes to art stuff. They are completely besides the point. I just want everyone to know and I would like to think FA staff could do something about it.

In OP I did not accuse her of stealing trademarked or copyrighted materials. Just an Artists_Beware entry warning others who do want to know about these things.

[pikaapaws.livejournal.com]

Jeez what a horrible attempt..they didn't even try to be subtle. That really sucks that they thought they could get away with this :c
At least now they should avoid you and your characters because you caught them.
I saw the other beware about them too smh

[runspotter.livejournal.com]

I did NOT have a good run in with this artist, in case anyone hasn't seen my Lost Contact/Beware hybrid.
http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/832175.html
I find it laughable that she tried to pass it off as simply being a mishap or coincidence. I'd maybe be more accepting of that excuse if it were one or two characteristics. Say, the hair and similar markings, or the colors and species, but not when it's nothing more than a slightly tweaked rip-off. I also find her 'I did absolutely nothing wrong' attitude and the way she expected you to just be okay with what she had done to be rather alarming. Seeing this and knowing what I do now about her it really makes me question what other designs she's taken and how many more people she's cheated out of art and money.

[smokey-incense.livejournal.com]

Not to be overly harsh, but I don't for a single second buy that this gross example of copy-catting was in any way a 'mishap' like she claims. This artist has a nasty reputation as it is, and judging from the two bewears recently posted she apparently must think that she's either terribly clever, or that everyone else is not only stupid but also blind.

I don't think anyone could truthfully deny that she copied and minimally adjust this character's design just so she could sell it off to the highest bidder and feed her wallet. Her lack of integrity and entitled attitude is disturbing to say the least, and the entire situation leaves one to ponder what other designs she may have stolen.

When you do stuff like this it isn't just the original owner that you hurt, but it's also the poor sap that unknowingly buys the rip-off. It opens them up to possible harassment form other users who recognize the copy, and eventually they realize that the design they spent their hard earned money on is useless and the chances of getting a full or even partial refund slim.

[ravensmoon666.livejournal.com]

Her account is now suspended.

[jansither.livejournal.com]

Any idea why specifically?