When Conception Bay South-based artist Kelly Bastow saw their ink print Beard and Barnacles on a T-shirt recently, they felt a sting.
That's because their artwork had been copied and used without permission and there isn't much they can do to stop it.
"I don't really have any hope for financial compensation because I don't have a lawyer and I'm not sure what country they're operating out of," Bastow told CBC News. "But if they just took it down and gave me an apology, I'd be pretty happy."
The websites in question are Demenswear, Peachbruh and FinderCube. They're all selling the same article of clothing called "Beard and Barnacles Mermaid Short Sleeve Shirt." FinderCube is also selling a sleeveless version that has slightly edited artwork on it.
The print is clearly Bastow's artwork, which they created in 2019 and was inspired by the MerB'ys.
None of the companies responded to CBC's request for comment.
For Bastow, it seems like an uphill battle for accountability.
"It's a struggle. I don't have a lawyer who could kind of tackle it," Bastow said. "I think they're based in other countries anyway. So yeah, I just feel really helpless, and hurt and salty."
Bastow sent a message to Demenswear but is still waiting for a reply.
"They [all] obviously just found it online somewhere and used it," Bastow said.
The law
Matthew Gorman is a lawyer with Cox & Palmer who specializes in intellectual property.
Gorman said he's contacted several times a month over issues of copyright infringement or intellectual property theft for things like art, music and literature.
"I would say it's becoming more difficult for creators to enforce their intellectual property rights simply by virtue of the speed at which creative work can be uploaded and distributed to the public," he said in an email to CBC News.
"Content creators should ensure they watch out for unauthorized use of their work. If they believe others are using their original work without permission, they should contact a lawyer with experience in this field."
While every case is different, he said, it's common to put the other party on notice over the alleged infringement.
The artist may want the artwork removed from the website, product discontinued, as well as compensation.
"Always contact an entertainment lawyer to provide an assessment of your situation," said Gorman.
Theft online ramps up
This isn't the first time Bastow's art has been used on clothing without their consent.
In 2012 an image they had posted to Tumblr ended up on a Forever 21 shirt. At the time, the company claimed they'd bought the image from a third party and wasn't aware the artist hadn't given permission.
In recent years, art being stolen for clothes has become more commonplace and Bastow said there are few things a small artist can do besides put "ugly watermarks" on the art they share online.
"It just seems like, you know, if I ask one to take it down, then another one is going to pop up. So I just feel really helpless to make it stop and these companies are just going to keep doing this," Bastow said.
"And they don't seem to care about the artists who made the work as long as they get paid."
The timing is also harsh, Bastow explained, as artists are still trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bastow is encouraging people to go to the artists themselves to buy their work, rather than these types of websites. That way, customers know the artist is involved and is compensated.
This recent incident has gotten Bastow thinking about making their own high quality shirts with a local company
"A few people have messaged me with the stolen art website and said, 'You know, this is a cute shirt. If I knew that you were selling it, you know, I would buy it.'"
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